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Looking for a lucky year ahead? Try out this Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut, a traditional dish that is believed to bring luck and joy to the year ahead.
Ingredients
- 3 lb. boneless pork loin*
- 3/4 tsp. garlic powder, divided
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 + 1/8 tsp. black pepper
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 cup unsalted chicken stock
- 16 oz. sauerkraut, not drained or rinsed
- 2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 1 tsp. caraway seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Take the pork loin out of the refrigerator. Set the Instant Pot to saute.
- Sprinkle the pork all over with 1/2 teaspoon of the garlic powder, the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the black pepper.
- Measure the olive oil into the Instant Pot. Add the pork loin fat-side-down. Cook until browned, about 2-3 minutes. Flip it over and cook until other side is also brown, another 2-3 minutes. Remove roast to a plate.
- Add the chicken stock to the instant pot. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any and all brown bits from the bottom.
- Put the loin in the Instant Pot, fat-side up. With the valve set to sealing, set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 20 minutes. The Instant Pot will then build up pressure and once pressure is reached, it will cook for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, carefully turn the valve to venting and allow all the pressure to release. Once the pressure is fully released and the pressure button has dropped down, remove the lid.
- While the loin cooks, combine the sauerkraut, apples, onion, caraway seeds (if using), 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder, and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper in a large bowl.
- Remove the pork from the Instant Pot. Add the sauerkraut mixture, but leave behind any accumulated juices in the bottom of the bowl. Stir. Add the pork on top of it.
- With the valve set to sealing, set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, allow the pressure to do a natural release (that is, keep the valve at sealing) for 5 minutes. Then turn the valve to venting. Once all pressure has released and the button has dropped, take off the lid.
- Use an instant read thermometer and make sure that the pork is at least 145F.** If it is not, set the instant pot to pressure cook for another 5-10 minutes, depending on how far from 145F it is.
- Transfer the pork to a cutting board to rest.
- Set a strainer over a large bowl. Pour the sauerkraut mixture into the strainer to drain off the liquid. Push down on the sauerkraut a bit to get more moisture out.
- Slice the pork and serve it with the sauerkraut.
Notes
Notes:
*If using a bone-in 3 pound bone-in pork loin, the initial pressure-cooking time should be set to 40 minutes instead of 20 minutes.
**145F is the minimum temperature for pork loin recommended by the National Pork Board. If you like your pork more well done, cook it for longer in the initial phase, 22 minutes instead of 17 minutes.
17 minutes is nowhere long enough. Using my meat thermometer the pork loin was only at 75F. 45 min is what worked for me.
Followed this recipe and the 17 minute time wasn’t enough to do a pork butt of 3 to 4 lbs.
In fact, it took a total of 45 minutes in the instant pot. Plus the additional time for Sauerkraut and apple mixture of 5 minutes. I followed your recipe but did use pork butt instead of loin.
Heads up anyone.
Great tasting recipe after that.
We would like to make the pork as tender as possible and we normally cook our pork and saurcrout with wine. Any suggestions?
Happy New Year!
Rob, I actually suggest using a pork butt or pork shoulder instead of a loin for the tenderest pork. And my method using the reverse sear over here is pretty great https://cookthestory.com/how-to-roast-pork-perfectly/ If you were doing this, I would add the sauerkraut and apple mixture for the final 1.5 hours when it’s at 300F. I’ve never tried it but some wine in the mix would be great. For that pork butt recipe, maybe add the wine instead of the broth right at the beginning of cooking. It will simmer down nicely. THen add the sauerkraut and apples for that final 1.5 hours. Good luck and Happy New Year!