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!
Easy slow cooker 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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Easy slow cooker BBQ pulled pork
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…..
Was wondering the procedure for the instant pot….do you sear first? Use the beer as the liquid? And what setting are you using…. I’ve seen the meat/stew button used….thanks for your help!! Looking forward to trying this today 😊
I’d like to make this but only able to purchase blackstrap Molasses. Would that be okay? Noticed it states not blackstrap
Hi…blackstrap has a very strong flavour and will not taste good. Substitute treacle if you can find it. N x
Just wondering if you got a response as I have the same issue or if you tried it anyway.
Thanks Joanne
This was amazing. The rub was delicious and the homemade bbq sauce is outstanding. I like how the meat wasn’t cooked with the sauce. You can then put as much or as little as you want on the pork. Thanks Nagi!
Hi Nagi. Love yur recipes. Could you use Canadian Maple syrup instead of Molasses?? TKU Gabrielle
Hi Nagi. Sounds amazing. Do you think I could use Jack Daniels whisky instead of the can of beer?
I’m sure you could Jennifer – love to know if you try it! N x
Can you use pork neck with this recipe?
Yes 100% Joanne! N x
I have a large leg of pork I need to use up, could I use it instead of shoulder for this recipe?
Having not made pulled pork before, this was amazing. The sauce is sweet, tangy, sour all in one. Enough for two of us for 3 meals.
Flood in the oven. My slow cooker couldn’t take that large a piece of meat so I cooked in the oven. Beer + water + foil = too much liquid. At about 5 hours, it boiled over, and I removed about 500ml, then at 7 hours it was full again. All up, after I removed the liquid for adding to the BBQ sauce, I still had close to 1.5 litres of liquid. And the pork was still juicy so I kind of wonder how juicy the slow cooked version would be!?
The BBQ sauce definitely needed more sugar when I finished cooking it. Or maybe my sour ingredients were super sour! Still could take the tomato and it was a bit dominating.
Overall the dish is really good but I definitely didn’t need the extra liquid.
Hi Rebekah, sounds like you needed a bigger baking dish to hold all the liquids in! I hope you give it another shot! N x
Thanks for this amazing recipe, Nagi! I made it in the pressure cooker for 1 hour 20 mins as suggested and it was perfect.
Nagi – how much boneless pork shoulder do you think I need to make pulled pork sliders for 60 people? Thanks
I just finished pulling my pork, it tastes fabulous! I made it in the pressure cooker then in the oven. Love it!
YUM! Enjoy Maria!!! N x
Just made this! I ran short of ketchup but the sauce was still lovely (didn’t add cooking juices), another winner Nagi 😊
We made this recipe yesterday and enjoyed it very much ( like all other of your recipes we tried ). One question regarding the sauce: how long will it keep and can it be frozen? Many thanks for a reply and hugs to Dozer.
Hi Nagi – love your recipes – question can the pulled pork be cooked in the oven
It’s a perfect freezer meal – I generally say up to 3 months in the freezer is fine. N x
Great recipe! Easy to make and delicious! Thanks Nagi
Fantastic and easy to make! I served for breakfast on a Belgian waffle with a poached egg, and a few chilies and coriander. Deelish!
Hi Nagi! Love your recipes!
I’m making this with a 2.25kg piece of pork scotch fillet. I’m wondering how to change the post-slow cooker oven part, as there’s no thick piece of fat on top. Lessen the time much in the oven?
I’m going to work with a 1.2kg boneless pork shoulder tonight, in the oven. Do I cook it for less and what time roughly ? The oven time is 7/8 hours but I’m working with half the size so should I be looking for a 3-4 hour cook ? Thank you 🙂
Hi Emma, check at 3 hours – the pork should be tender and spreadable – if not, just give it another hour until soft, you really can’t go wrong here! N x
Hi Nagi, I love all of your recipes and would like to know if or how I could incorporate “liquid smoke” into the pulled pork recipe to make it taste like it was cooked over hickory wood chips. Thank you.
Try using smoked paprika as it is less harsh than liquid smoke and provides a nice color as well
Thank you Scott. I will try that next time.
Hi Betty, you can add it to the bbq sauce, salt with a little though as it can be quite strong! N x
Thank you Nagi. I am so excited to try this. Your recipes are the best. I always check your website first before going elsewhere. You are the BOMB. Lol
Hi Nagi. It’s hard to find pork butt or shoulder over 2kg where I live. What would you recommend as a cook time for 1.7kg roast. I’d probably use the full rub but would you go 8hrs or ??
I made double of the rub and sauce, then froze the sauce and stored the leftover rub in a jar. So I got a second fabulous meal with less than five minutes prep. Excellent recipe, Nagi