My signature pulled pork recipe is slow roasted for 12 hours. This is my easy pulled pork recipe made in a slow cooker, a recipe loved by readers all around the world! High returns for minimal effort, pork is rubbed with a secret spice mix, slow cooked until the meat pulls apart effortlessly then tossed in a simple-yet-flavour-loaded homemade BBQ Sauce.
Super economical, makes loads, freezes 100% perfectly and insanely moreish. Make sliders or a big Southern BBQ dinner plate complete with classic sides like Mac and Cheese, Cornbread and Coleslaw!
Pulled Pork
No self respecting BBQ Shack would cook pulled pork in a slow cooker. They do an overnight smoke, with a pork babysitter on duty all through the night to stoke the coals, monitor and maintain the temperature, and occasionally give the pork a good spray with their secret-formula spritzer.
I do not do that.
I need my beauty sleep.
(Also, I don’t have a smoker).
So here’s how I make pulled pork in a slow cooker. Simple. Totally hands off. Makes loads, super economical. Amazing result for minimum effort!
What you need for pulled pork
Here’s what you need for pulled pork made in a slow cooker – a spice rub and some kind of liquid for a braising liquid to infuse with flavour, add a touch of sweetness and keep everything nice and moist.
I like to use beer – any beer other than dark brown beers like stout or Guinness. Apple cider – alcoholic or non alcoholic – or similar fruit ciders (like pear) are also terrific. For non alcoholic, apple juice works really well. Emergency fallback: water!
Best pork for pulled pork?
The best pork for pulled pork is bone in Pork Butt – also known as Boston Butt – or pork shoulder. It’s well marbled with fat so it’s juicy, and it’s a tough cut of pork so it needs the long cook time to become tender enough to shred – which means more flavour infusion time!
Difference between pork butt and pork shoulder
While both are cut from the shoulder of pig, the pork shoulder comes from the lower end (upper leg) whereas pork butt is the upper part near the back which is why the shape is more rectangle block-like. Here’s an excellent diagram from Cooks’ Illustrated!
Homemade barbecue sauce
And here’s what you need for the homemade Barbecue Sauce. It’s my base recipe for all things barbecue sauced – from pork ribs to chicken, beef ribs to brisket.
Sometimes I change it up a bit – depends on the protein and purpose of the dish, but fundamentally the same ingredients!
How to make pulled pork
We’re bypassing the step to sit by a smoker through the whole night, and just opting for a simple home version here. So all I need you to do is:
-
rub pork with spice mix;
-
plonk in slow cooker with beer, set and forget;
-
brown in oven – optional step, but totally worth it for that extra little edge of flavour (besides, you need to use a pan for shredding anyway, so you may as well throw it in the oven for a bit!);
-
shred, douse with BBQ sauce, devour.
PS I slow cook it with the thick layer of fat on it so it looks blubbery and unappetising when you pull it out of the slow cooker but it does all sorts of wonderful things to the pork as it slow cooks – imagine the spice rubbed layer of fat slooooowly dripping down the pork and basting it for hours!
Pulled pork should be tender…but not mushy!
When I see pork being shredded with a food processor and vigorously mixed with sauce until it resembles baby food, it makes me want to cry.
We want tender, juicy pork that can be pulled apart effortlessly, but still has the texture of meat – we don’t want mush! To achieve that, you just need to cook it for the right length of time (10 hours on low is long enough) and toss with the sauce gently rather than vigorously stirring it like it’s a pot of soup!
How to serve pulled pork
The two classic ways to serve pulled pork are:
1. Sliders – stuffed in soft rolls with Coleslaw*. Terrific way to serve loads of people – this recipe will make around 20 sliders;
* If you or your hips are anti mayo, try the RecipeTin No Mayo Coleslaw – it’s very, very good!
2. Southern BBQ Dinner Plate – complete with classic sides like Baked Mac and Cheese, Corn Bread, steamed corn slathered with butter, Coleslaw (or this No Mayo version) and a side of something green (pictured: simple steamed greens drizzled with butter, salt and pepper).
This recipe makes loads of pulled pork. Pork butts are BIG – so there’s no getting around that!
If you use shoulder you can get smaller pieces. But actually, you don’t want to make this with much less than 2kg / 4 lb because otherwise the pork will cook too quickly and lack the time it needs for the flavour to infuse.
Besides, it freezes 100% perfectly. And imagine how smug you’ll feel knowing you’ve got a stash of this in your freezer??? Shove it in a bread roll for a quick meal anytime! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Pulled Pork with BBQ Sauce - easy slow cooker recipe
Ingredients
- 3.5-4.5kg/ 5-7lb pork butt / pork shoulder , bone in, fat cap on (Note 1)
- 1 cup beer , apple cider or apple juice (Note 2)
RUB:
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp paprika powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp mustard powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
BBQ Sauce:
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar (Note 3)
- 3 cups tomato ketchup (or Aussie tomato sauce)
- 1 cup water (or use remaining beer!)
- 3 tbsp molasses , orginal (not blackstrap, Note 4)
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 4 tsp mustard powder
- 3 tsp garlic powder
- 4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp Tabasco or cayenne pepper (optional, for spiciness)
Instructions
- Mix the Rub together, then rub all over the pork.
- Place in a slow cooker, pour over beer. Slow cook on low for 10 hours. Pork should be tender enough to easily shred.
Browning in oven (optional, recommended):
- Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F.
- Transfer from slow cooker into a roasting pan (reserve liquid).
- Scoop fat off surface of juices in slow cooker and drizzle over pork (about 1/3 cup), then roast pork for 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven, cut thick layer of fat off top and discard. Spoon over 1/4 cup fat from slow cooker juices, then roast 15 minutes.
Shredding:
- Shred pork using 2 forks. Pour over BBQ sauce, toss gently.
- Serve stuffed in sliders with Coleslaw, or make a Southern dinner plate with Coleslaw, Mac and Cheese, Corn bread, steamed corn & green beans tossed in butter, with Margaritas to quench your thirst!
Barbecue Sauce:
- Place all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes or until thickened.
- Add 3/4 - 1 cup of juices from slow cooker until sauce is syrup consistency.
- Adjust to taste: sweetness with brown sugar / honey, salt and sour with vinegar. Use per recipe.
Recipe Notes:
- Pressure cooker / instant pot - With a slightly smaller pork (2-2.5 kg/4-5lb), I make this in my pressure cooker, 1 hr 20 minutes on high.
- Oven - 7 to 8 hours at 130C/270F, covered with double foil in a roasting pan with 2 cups of water (plus the beer per recipe). I rarely do this simply because of logistics - I don't like to leave the house or sleep with the oven on! But by roasting, you do get an amazing crust which I compensate for by roasting the pork briefly after slow cooker. Note: slow cooker yields juicier pork.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
This is how my post-trip reunions with Dozer go down…..
We made this for Mother’s Day lunch. Oh my goodness! It was amazing! The bbq sauce was the best we’ve ever had.
Ok! This is without doubt the best pulled pork I have eaten…..that sauce is to die for! I did end up adding a bit more brown sugar just because of a few fussy eaters round here but I won’t be using a bought sauce EVER again! I used a 2.3kg pork shoulder. Cooked it on the slow cooker function in my oven for 8hrs on 100 C. Very moist and pull apart. So easy and delicious! Thanks again Nagi😊
I am 1 cup of tomato sauce what can I do!!
I plan on making this dish this upcoming weekend but I may not have time…could I start to cook it on high for a few hours and reduce to low to shorten overall cook time if I’m going this in a slow cooker?
Thanks!
I followed the recipe to the letter for meat and sauce. My family and friends loved it. It is the best!!!
Could you recommend a sub for molasses, as I can’t get it here in Ireland?
Treacle/ maple syrup / honey?
Love this recipe xxx
Cooked this for y husband and his poker buddies. They said it awesome especially the home made BBQ sauce
My bbq sauce did not thicken so I had to use flour. I converted your cup measurements to grams but I must have made a mistake somewhere. Is there any chance you could include gram measurements in your recipes for us Europeans? Thanks 🙂
My bbq sauce did not thicken so I had to use flour. I converted your cup measurements to grams but I must have made a mistake somewhere. Is there any chance you could include gram measurements in your recipes for us Europeans? Thanks 🙂
The meat was delicious, but I had a difficult time separating the fat from the shredded meat. Next time, I will refrigerate the pork after cooking and shred the next day. From other pork dishes that I have cooked, I’ve found that removing the fat is very easy when the cooked pork has been cooled.
Hi Linda! You can certainly do that but you’ll find the pork is harder to shred from cold. So you’d need to remove fat when cold, then reheat pork then shred 🙂 N x
Thanks, I’ll give that a try!
I made this over the weekend, I skipped the homemade bbq sauce this time and used commercial that we all enjoy but otherwise made this following recipe to a T……wow! The flavor is so complex w/ so little ingredients and the beer makes a HUGE difference! I used Modelo (mexican beer) and it was incredible. Next time I’ll try it w/ the bbq sauce recipe you provided. Another winner! Not surprised in the least
A firm favorite in our family, thanks Nagi, you are part of our family!
This is an amazing recipe! Had for dinner tonight and will be making again.
2.5kg pork shoulder slow cooked for 9 hours, turned out wonderfully. Mixed through with only part of the BBQ sauce as it was so sweet and people could add more if desired. Kids loved it on sliders with cole slaw.
Delicious! Total crowd pleaser! Didn’t have time to brown it in the oven and it was amazing anyways so I don’t know if I’ll ever bother with the extra step 😛
Hi Nagi. My sons introduced your wonderful website to me. All 3 sons and my wife and I love making food you describe. I made this Pulled Pork last week and made Pies. Tomorrow I am making Pizza for my son, DIL and 2 grandkids. 1 will be pulled pork from the freezer (your recipe), the other will be the potato and rosemary (your recipe).
I want to thank you for the way you introduce each recipe with a wonderful story and context, You also have alternatives and notes that are quite valuable, as it give us a change to choose and not robotically follow the ingredients and method so often presented. Your make make me look good as the cook in our home! Thank You.
Hi Nagi!
I’ve just put the rub on the meat and put it it in the fridge to add to the slow cooker tomorrow morning but just realised I don’t have the beer/apple cider/apple juice!! Can you suggest anything I could use instead? Can I use stock and some applesauce maybe? Thanks!
Hey Nagi, I’m really looking forward to making this in advance for a party… just wondering, what is the BEST way to freeze and reheat?? Whole, shredded, sauce on, sauce off, reserve some cooking liquid?? Thanks 😊
Also wondering about the best way to reheat and serve?
Firstly, I want to say how grateful I am to have found your site! Every single recipe I have made has been 12/10 and now I don’t google recipes I just come straight here, so thank you for providing such brilliant meals and easy to follow instructions Nagi! Secondly, I want to make this recipe for a family dinner tomorrow night and have just realised I’ve bought blackstrap molasses! Do I need to go buy regular? Thanks
Help! I have made this outstanding recipe many times, have just cooked 20kg for a party and realised I used black strap molasses (mistake not tasting as it is always great until my last batch). Coles only had only one molasses and didnt check. Can I stir in sugar when I unfreeze the pork beef before I serve to try and correct the taste? Have learnt my lesson to check labels!!!!
I just read and saved this recipe now. And I had to tell you that the greeting from Dozer is wow perfect! Going to make the recipe this winter. I’m in Canada.