Instant Pot makes pork shoulder a weeknight dinner

Despite its commercial success, the Instant Pot is not the most beloved vessel within food writing circles.

It lacks a certain romance of being “involved” with your food, artificially speeding up the course of the time it should take for a dish to braise. It doesn’t look as romantic as a clay pot used for simmering beans or as eye-catching as a brightly colored Le Creuset

passed on to you by your family.

I won’t try to convince the naysayers that the time-saving and hands-off benefits of the multicooker can be a godsend to working parents or busy folk, but those of us on the Washington Post Food desk who own an Instant Pot sing it praises.

One of my favorite ways to use the multicooker is to take a large piece of meat and pressure-cook it in less than half the time it would take the conventional way. I stay away from such hearty meals in warmer months, but as temperature trends lower, I find myself craving belly-filling comfort. Such comfort is perfectly embodied by the possibilities that lie in a pork shoulder.

Unfortunately, the pork shoulder also falls into what I like to call the “weekend aspiration” cooking category, highly rewarding but requiring a sizable chunk of your day to produce. The Instant Pot turns it into a weeknight reality.

Though I’m not embracing colder months willingly — I’m still mourning switching to hot coffee — I am leaning in by braising pork shoulder in apple cider, sage and rosemary, some of my favorite autumn flavors. For any meat I braise, I like to do an overnight cure or marinade to infuse the meat with more flavor.

For this recipe, I coated the meat in an overnight marinade of brown sugar, fennel, sage and rosemary, and a slurry of orange and lemon juices whisked together with olive oil.

After searing the meat on all sides — by far the most labor-intensive part of the recipe — I sauteed an onion and then nestled the chunks of meat among the

half-moon heaps. Next I added apple cider and a little white wine, the latter delivering a welcome acidity to a dish that skews heavy. Then, on went the lid, and a little over 90 minutes later, I had an enviable dinner I hardly had to fuss over.

The resulting braising liquid is a flavorful and fragrant concoction that can be served as-is or slightly enhanced. I like to skim the fat from it and simmer the remaining liquid to reduce and enrich the flavors, for a jus-like result.

Rey Lopez / For the Washington Post This flavorful, fragrant meal comes together quickly and cooks in less than two hours.