AIP honey garlic pulled pork - Instant Pot slow-cook or high-pressure, batch protein

AIP stays sustainable on weeks when you are not deciding what to cook every single night from scratch. This pork solves a few nights at once. Build the sauce, set the tenderloin to cook low and slow, and by dinner you have shreddable pork for a bowl tonight, lettuce wraps tomorrow, and whatever you want the night after that.

The zinc in a cut like this is nothing dramatic on its own, one more small deposit toward a gut lining that is working to close back up. The honey is here for flavor more than virtue, a modest amount holding the glaze together, not a health food in its own right. What keeps this genuinely clean is what is missing: no seed spices, no refined sugar beyond the honey, nothing extra for an already-busy immune system to sort through.

Choose a tenderloin from a source you trust when you can. Shred it as soon as it is done, spoon some sauce back over the top, and scatter fresh herbs so the plate has some green in it. A meal built to be eaten three times deserves at least one of those times to feel a little cared for.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 5 to 6 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more for seasoning the pork
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 large yellow onion, sliced
• 1 pork tenderloin, approximately 1 lb
• fresh cilantro or parsley, for garnish (optional)

Method

(Instant Pot, slow-cook setting)

Season the pork tenderloin all over with sea salt.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil and add the garlic, cooking just until fragrant, around 30 to 60 seconds; do not let it brown. Stir in the honey, coconut aminos, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp sea salt, and dried thyme. Let it come to a gentle simmer for a couple of minutes so it thickens slightly into a sauce.

Lay the sliced onion across the bottom of the Instant Pot. Set the pork on the onions and pour the warm honey-garlic sauce over the top.

Set the Instant Pot to its slow-cook setting and cook on the low equivalent until the pork is fork-tender and shreds easily, around 6 to 8 hours. Lift the pork out, shred it with two forks, and return it to the pot to soak up the sauce and onions. Garnish with fresh cilantro or parsley if you like.

Instant Pot variation (faster, high pressure)

When you are short on time, use pressure instead of the slow setting. You can build the sauce right in the pot: set it to saute, soften the garlic in the olive oil, add the rest of the sauce ingredients, then nestle the salted pork on the sliced onions. Seal and cook on high pressure for about 20 to 25 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before opening. Shred and return to the sauce. Pork tenderloin is lean, so resist the urge to add extra time; it shreds best when it is just done, not overcooked.

Slow cooker variation

In a standalone slow cooker, layer the onions, set the salted pork on top, and pour over the warm sauce exactly as above. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours until it shreds easily, then return the shredded pork to the sauce.

Oven variation

You can also braise this in the oven. Use an oven-safe pot with a lid, sear nothing if you would rather not, layer onions, pork, and sauce, cover, and cook at 325 F until tender, around 2.5 to 3 hours, checking that there is enough liquid as it goes.

Core note

Honey-garlic sauces often hide black pepper or chili; both are excluded on AIP Core (black pepper is a seed spice, chili and other peppers are nightshades). This version keeps the honey, coconut aminos, and garlic that define the flavor and leaves those out entirely. Balsamic and apple cider vinegar are Core compliant; always check the balsamic label for hidden additives.

*Adapted from heal-me-delicious*