The delicious fun of making pork recipes at the Instant Pot continues as we make the ultimate instant damn pot pork loin. Tender, juicy and full of an incredible flavor, then topped with a sauce made from the same juices in which pork is cooked. It’s super easy to make and everything is complete and on your plate in about 25 minutes.
Pork loin is an extraordinary meat that is very lean, very tender and always an excellent meal. Making pork loin in the instant pot is not only super easy, pressure cooking makes it so succulent and delicious, it’s my favorite way to do it.
One
of the most popular recipes in RecipeTeacher.com is The Best Damn Instant Pot Boneless Pork Chops. In that recipe we used a very simple massage and some chicken broth with a couple of ingredients added to make great pork chops. For this recipe, we will borrow the same basic ingredients with just a couple of modifications.
Make sure
it’s pork loin and not roast pork loin
Both cuts of meat
may be side by side at the grocery store, but keep in mind that they are very different cuts of meat. Make sure the package clearly says “pork loin.” It will be long and narrow, usually 1.5 to 2.5 inches in diameter. I like to use the vacuum-sealed packages that will tell if the loin contains a solution. This solution is brine and is a great step saver and helps keep the meat tender and juicy. So always be vigilant, it’s the best buy.
We start
by cutting our pork loin in half transversely to have two equal lengths of meat. This will help the pressure cooking process. Then add a touch of brown sugar, salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder. Fresh ground pepper is my choice to use and I like to go heavy on it. Personally, I love using a pepper mix consisting of black peppercorns, pink peppercorns, green peppercorns, white peppercorns, and coriander. The combination of peppercorns, especially when ground fresh, creates such a wonderful flavor profile when combined with the other seasonings for this recipe. You can find pepper mix grinders in almost any spice section of the supermarket, usually also very affordable.
Prepare
the meat
One of the keys to success is to let the meat sit a little out of the fridge. When the meat goes straight from the cold fridge to the hot pot, it’s not going to be as good. Let the meat remain in its packaging on the kitchen counter for 15-20 minutes first. Then, after unpacking, rinse with water and cut it in half. Cover it with a little oil and apply the massage generously. Put the Instant Pot in sautéed mode and, when it is hot, add the meat carefully and brown everywhere. This will take a total of about 5-7 minutes. Remove the meat and press cancel. Then add the chicken broth and use a wooden spoon to deglaze the bottom of the pot. Be sure to scrape off all the small pieces that have stuck to the bottom. This is important. If they are not all scraped, the pot may issue a burn warning when pressure cooking during the next step.
Pressure cook only 3 minutes
After you have deglazed the bottom of the pot, add some Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke to the chicken broth. Then we put the pork loin directly into the liquid, secure the lid, make sure that the ventilation is set to “seal” and cook under pressure at high pressure (manual in some pots) for only 3 minutes. Yes, only 3 minutes. Then let the pressure release naturally. The NPR will take about 12-15 minutes.
When cooked completely and the pressure has been released naturally, remove the pork and place it on a plate for 5 minutes before slicing.
Make some sauce!
Once the meat is removed. Tap cancel, then tap Sautéed. Take out about 3 tablespoons of the juices in a cup and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Mix it well and slowly pour it back into the pot. Everything will thicken very well in about a minute. Press cancel and you will get an amazing sauce from the same juices with which we cook our meat.
