Immediate Pot Frozen Pork Shoulder

March 11, 2025

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Immediate Pot Frozen Pork Shoulder. Stress cooking a pork shoulder from frozen works surprisingly effectively. After two hours underneath strain, the frozen pork shoulder turns into tender, juicy, shreddable meat.

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This is a follow-up recipe from my Immediate Pot Frozen Pot Roast. That method, borrowed from Chris Younger’s YouTube channel, labored so effectively on a chuck roast that I needed to strive it on a frozen pork shoulder.

Now, not a whole pork shoulder – that thick of a chunk of meat takes without end to prepare dinner, even when it’s not frozen. I take advantage of half a pork shoulder butt roast or picnic roast, about 3 inches thick at its thinnest half. It ought to weigh 4 to five kilos, although you possibly can go lighter or heavier if the roast is not over 3 inches thick.

Tailored from: Chris Younger Stress Cooker Frozen Pot Roast Can Cooking from Frozen actually be juicier? – Youtube

Elements

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 to 5-pound pork shoulder roast, about 3 inches thick
2 massive onions, diced
½ teaspoon effective sea salt
4-6 sprigs recent thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
1 sprig recent rosemary (or ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary)
1 cup cider (onerous cider or non-alcoholic)
1 teaspoon effective sea salt
1 ½ cups rooster broth (ideally do-it-yourself rooster broth, or store-bought low sodium broth)
½ teaspoon salt (if utilizing store-bought broth)
15-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce)
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, minimize into 1-inch chunks
1 pound carrots (about 4 thick carrots), peeled and minimize into 1-inch chunks
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and minimize into 1-inch chunks
1 celery rib, sliced into ½-inch rounds
Minced parsley for garnish

How you can prepare dinner a frozen pork shoulder in an Immediate Pot

Brown the frozen pork shoulder

In a large Immediate Pot (8-quart or 7-quart huge), warmth the two tablespoons of oil till it begins to shimmer, about 5 minutes. (Use medium-high warmth in a stovetop strain cooker.) Rigorously add the frozen pork shoulder to the pot. It is going to splatter when it hits the oil within the pot, so I put a lid on the pot or use my splatter display screen excessive. Cook dinner the shoulder till it’s browned on the underside, about 4 minutes. Flip the shoulder (once more, watch out of splattering oil) and brown on the second facet for about 4 extra minutes. Transfer the shoulder to a plate and pour out all however 1 tablespoon of the oil within the pot. (I additionally wipe down the skin of my Immediate Pot and the counter to wash up any oil droplets.)

Sauté the aromatics and simmer the cider

Put the onions within the pot, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon effective sea salt, and sauté till the onions soften, about 5 minutes, stirring and scraping the underside of the pot with a flat-edged wood spoon to loosen any browned bits of pork. Scatter the thyme and rosemary sprigs over the onions. Pour within the cider, convey it to a boil, and boil it for 1 minute. (This can prepare dinner off among the alcohol in case you use a tough cider.)

Pork shoulder, broth, tomatoes, and Worcestershire into the pot

Put the browned pork shoulder into the pot (together with any juices on the plate). Sprinkle the roast on either side with 1 teaspoon of salt. Pour within the rooster broth (and ½ teaspoon of salt if utilizing do-it-yourself broth), drizzle the Worcestershire sauce over the roast, after which pour the can of crushed tomatoes over every part.

Stress prepare dinner the pork shoulder for two hours with a Fast Launch

Lock the lid and strain prepare dinner at excessive strain for two hours in an Immediate Pot or different electrical strain cooker or for 90 minutes in a stovetop strain cooker. (Use Handbook, Stress Cook dinner, or Stress Cook dinner – Customized mode in an Immediate Pot.) When the strain cooking time is completed, fast launch the strain within the pot.

Adding carrots, potatoes, apples, and celery

Stress prepare dinner the foundation greens for 8 minutes with a Fast Launch

Unlock the lid of the strain cooker—tilt it away from you as you open it to keep away from the scalding steam. Add the potatoes, carrots, apples, and celery to the pot. Lock the lid and strain prepare dinner at excessive strain for one more 8 minutes to prepare dinner the foundation greens (the identical cooking time in an Immediate Pot or stovetop PC). When the strain cooking time is completed, fast launch the strain within the pot.

Slice and serve

Unlock the lid of the strain cooker. Once more, tilt it away from you as you open it to keep away from the scalding steam. Fish out the thyme and rosemary stems and discard them. Take away the pork shoulder from the pot with a spatula and a slotted spoon, and transfer it to a carving board for slicing. (Be light; the pork is fall-apart tender; let it relaxation when you scoop the greens so it might agency up for slicing). Scoop the foundation greens out with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a serving bowl. Pour the pot liquid right into a fats separator. Slice the pork shoulder into ½-inch thick slices. (Don’t be concerned if a few of them shred aside when you’re attempting to chop – serve them as shredded pot roast.) Switch the sliced pork to a serving platter, encompass it with some root greens, and drizzle with a wholesome quantity of the defatted pot liquid. Serve with the remainder of the foundation greens on the facet, and cross the defatted pot liquid as a sauce on the desk. Take pleasure in!

Gear

You want a large Immediate Pot for this recipe. A 4- to 5-pound pork shoulder might be going to be too huge to slot in a 6-quart strain cooker as a result of the pot is slender and tall. (And the frozen roast is not going to allow you to bend or squish it to suit.) If yow will discover a roast that matches in your 6-quart, go forward, however I like to recommend utilizing an 8-quart strain cooker (or bigger) or a large strain cooker just like the Immediate Pot Large 7-quart cooker.

Ideas and Tips

Easy pulled pork model

If you’d like the best model of this recipe, skip all of the greens and browning. Add the rooster broth and cider to the pot, add the frozen pork roast, and sprinkle it with 1 teaspoon of salt (or your favourite BBQ spice rub). Drizzle a cup of BBQ sauce over the frozen roast, then lock the lid and strain prepare dinner for two hours with a Pure Launch. Shred the meat, stir in additional barbecue sauce, and also you’re prepared!

Add the potatoes, carrots, apples, and celery on the finish

Greens will prepare dinner to mush in the course of the 2-hour strain prepare dinner time wanted for a frozen pot roast. That is why I added them in on the finish. (It is a trick I’ve used earlier than in my Immediate Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe).

Browning the pork shoulder is sweet – however messy

Within the unique recipe, Mr. Younger deep-fried a pot roast to brown it earlier than strain cooking. I am not huge on deep-frying, so I sauté in a few tablespoons of vegetable oil. As I stated within the recipe, be careful—frozen meals and scorching oil imply quite a lot of splatter. Put on an apron, and preserve a lid or splatter display screen on the pot to maintain the mess contained.

You possibly can skip the browning step if you’d like – the recipe will nonetheless work – however browning provides quite a lot of taste to the pork shoulder. (Personally, I all the time brown the meat.)

Additionally, a frozen roast is not going to sit flat on the underside of the pan, and can brown in spots. That is effective; the browned bits will add their taste to the pot in the course of the lengthy cooking time. The roast does not need to be completely browned to get the additional taste.

Skinny roasts

These directions are for a 4- to 5-pound roast, 2 ½ to three ½ inches thick. When you’ve got a skinny roast, about 2 inches thick, cut back the pot roast cooking time to 90 minutes underneath strain in an Immediate Pot.

Sluggish cooker

I do not suggest cooking a frozen pork shoulder in a gradual cooker. It takes too lengthy to come back as much as a secure temperature. From the USDA: “Frozen items will take longer to achieve a secure inner temperature and will probably lead to foodborne sickness.” (Supply: Is it secure to prepare dinner frozen meals in a gradual cooker or crock pot? [ask.usda.com]). Stick with strain cooking if you wish to prepare dinner from frozen.

Substitutions

Bigger roasts?

The biggest roasts I purchase are half of a pork butt roast (or pork shoulder roast) from my native grocery retailer. I have never tried a full-size pork butt roast (or pork shoulder roast), which weighs about 10 kilos. (I am unsure it could even slot in my Immediate Pot Large 7-quart pot). I assume it must prepare dinner even longer than 2 hours at excessive strain, however I do not know the way lengthy.

Different cuts of pork

I’m a pork shoulder purist with regards to strain cooking. Different cuts of pork do not work with this pot roast method and have a tendency to dry out within the lengthy cooking time. If you do not have a pork shoulder roast, a pork leg roast will work with this method, so long as it’s 2 ½ to three ½ inches thick and weighs roughly 4 kilos. Do not do that with a frozen pork loin roast or pork tenderloin – these cuts are too lean and can dry out within the lengthy cooking time,

Different root greens

You need to use different root greens as a substitute of potatoes, carrots, apples, and onions. I might counsel turnips, parsnips, or candy potatoes minimize into 1-inch chunks. It’s also possible to add bell pepper minimize into 1-inch squares.

Skip the alcohol

I like having onerous cider within the pot; some flavors (particularly the herbs and tomatoes) dissolve higher in alcohol. I convey the cider to a boil to simmer out among the alcohol, however there may be nonetheless alcohol left within the dish. If you cannot drink alcohol (or do not need to), use apple cider, apple juice, or additional rooster broth as a substitute.

Worcestershire sauce

I like including Worcestershire sauce to my pot roasts; it provides a little bit of umami depth to the flavors. If you do not have Worcestershire sauce, you possibly can substitute soy sauce or skip it.

What to serve with Pork Shoulder

This pork shoulder is a one-pot meal; it is acquired protein (pork pot roast), greens (carrots and celery), and starch (potatoes). I wish to serve pork shoulder with one thing to absorb the liquid, mashed potatoes or dinner rolls. And, extra greens are good with it, particularly one thing inexperienced, like

Immediate Pot Inexperienced Beans, Immediate Pot Collard Greens, or Stress Cooker Kale.

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