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A blue bowl of braised pork, with orange zest and rosemary sprinkled on top, and an Instant Pot, oranges, honey bear, and rosemary sprigs in the background

Instant Pot Greek Braised Pork with Honey, Orange, and Rosemary


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5 from 1 review

  • Author: Mike Vrobel
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2 quarts of pork 1x

Description

Instant Pot Greek Braised Pork with Honey, Orange, and Rosemary. A taste of the island of Ikaria, in about an hour, thanks to pressure cooking.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes (trim off as much fat as possible)
  • 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large red onion, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1 cup chicken broth (preferably homemade, or water)
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt (if using homemade broth)
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • Juice from 1 medium orange
  • 2 tablespoons honey

Cornstarch slurry (optional)

  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Instructions

  1. Brown the pork in 3 batches: Sprinkle the cubed pork with 1½ teaspoons of salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. In an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, heat the olive oil over Sauté mode adjusted to high until the oil is shimmering. (Use medium-high heat for a stovetop PC). Sear the pork in three batches; sear each batch until well browned on one side, about 3 minutes, and then transfer the seared pork to a bowl. 
  2. Saute the aromatics: Add the minced onion and garlic to the pot, stir to coat with oil, then sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt. Sauté until the onion softens, about 5 minutes, scraping occasionally to loosen any browned bits of pork from the bottom of the pan. Pour the wine into the pot, bring to a simmer, and simmer for 1 minute to boil off some of the alcohol.
  3. Everything in pot: Stir in the pork and any juices in the bowl. Pour in the chicken broth (and add ½ teaspoon salt if using homemade broth). Stir in the minced rosemary, oregano, and 1 tablespoon honey. Scrape the bottom of the pot one last time to make sure nothing is sticking. 
  4. Pressure cook the pork for 24 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid and pressure cook at high pressure for 24 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric PC (use "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" mode in an Instant Pot), or for 20 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 more minutes.
  5. Serve: Unlock the lid on the pressure cooker, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam. Stir in the orange zest, orange juice, and 2 tablespoons of honey. Whisk the water and cornstarch into a slurry, and then stir the cornstarch slurry into the stew. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

  • I sear in batches so I don’t crowd the pot – a crowded pot doesn’t brown the pork, it steams it, and I want those complex browning flavors in my stew. That said, brown the pork on one side only; it’s the best balance between time and flavor, giving me browning for the stew, without spending all day searing the pork cubes on all sides.

Tools

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 60 minutes
  • Category: Sunday dinner
  • Method: Pressure Cooker
  • Cuisine: Greek