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…..
Hi Nagi,
Loved the pulled pork but I think something went wrong with the sauce. I followed the quantities but It tastes acidic and the vinegar is overpowering the flavour. Any suggestions?
I had the same experience with the sauce. The vinegar overpowered everything. Took a lot of brown sugar to overcome it. Will make again but probably cut the vinegar down to 1/3 of a cup.
Hi Jakki, sorry you’re having issues here, can I ask what vinegar you used? You can balance it by adding a little more sugar to override the acidic taste. N x
Hi Nagi, I had the same issue. I used apple cider vinegar (cornwell’s). I balanced it out with sugar and by adding a substantial amount of butter (maybe my pork was not super fatty?) it was bizarre because it was very out of balance.
Thanks, love your website!
Hi Nagi, I can’t find non black strap molasses in any of my supermarkets. Is it alright to use black strap? Or is there an alternative I could use please?
Hi, what can I use as an alternative to molasses?
Hi Nagi, I completely forgot to crisp my pork before shredding and adding sauce (I don’t know how because I’ve made this recipe several times perfectly grrr) but anyway, is there a way to crisp it a bit now? It’s for a party tomorrow so I’m just wondering if I could put it in the oven now in a sheet pan to crisp it with some more juices and then just reheat in microwave tomorrow? Thank you!!
Hi Nagi! First I would like to thank you so much for sharing amazing recepies. I am quite new at cooking so following your recepies have inspired me to become a better chef, so thank you! However, in this recepie I was only able to get hold of pre cut pork loin, any tips to how I can use this in the recepie without ending up with a dry cut of meat? I will use a cast iron. Thanks
Five Stars for sure!
Great recipe! First time making pulled pork and appreciate the video and step by step instructions. For those who need to scale down I have a 4.5 qt slow cooker (4.2liters) and was just able to fit a 3.8 lbs (1.7kg) bone in pork shoulder. I cooked for about 8 hours on slow and then followed oven directions. Perfect. Can’t wait to make again!
Thank you for this fabulous recipe Nagi! The BBQ sauce is next-level awesome. I bought the biggest pork shoulder Woolies had (2.9kg) & stuck to the cook times and it turned out perfectly. We served them as sliders with slaw as suggested. I’ve never been much of a coleslaw fan either – until I made yours! 🙌🏼
Hi Nagi!
I’m making this tonight for a big group of people but my friend purchased the meat and the butcher gave her two 2kg boneless rolled roast porks. *facepalm*
I’ve had no choice but to get them on per the recipe, but do you think it’s going to work out okay? Any adjustments I should make?
Looking forward to it regardless – love all your recipes!
Thanks! 🙏🏻
This was incredible. I was hesitant when I saw crock cook time was 10 hours however I followed the recipe exactly as written and it was amazing!!! Next time, I will cook this overnight.
I’m so glad you gave it a go and loved it Lorraine! N x
Greetings Nagi,
I hope all is safe and well. I was wondering if you had any suggestions for the cooking time if this recipe was halved, or if you think 3 pounds of pork might be best suited for a different recipe.
I have the rub and sauce ratios converted (thank you for including the epic serving scale), but worry that I might over cook it in slow cooker for 10 hours, followed by browning it in the oven.
You mentioned that smaller cuts take less time to cook, and you often use your Instant Pot for 4 to 5 pounds. Do you think an hour and 20 minutes might be too long in the instant pot for 3 pounds?
I would greatly appreciate any thoughts on suggested crock pot time adjustments, or if the Instant Pot for an hour and 20 is the way to go?
Also, you mentioned that less cook time means less flavor. Any thoughts on applying the rub the night before on a smaller portion?
Thank you for your time and input, and for the amazing recipes.
All the best.
Elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth, you can’t really go too wrong here – you’re cooking until it’s fall apart tender. I would think an hour in an IP or pressure cooker will be perfect – if you check the pork and it’s not pull apart tender, just put it back in for the added 20 (I don’t think you’ll need to though!) – Love to know how you go! N x
Hello Nagi,
I just wanted to say thank you again for your marvelous guidance with cooking your recipe in an Instant Pot. Your recipes are among our favorites, and I had no doubt you would steer me well.
Our cut of meat took a tad longer than an hour, but I just added 20 minutes, and then an additional 15. Once it was fall apart tender, I knew we were set. The meal was amazing, and your sauce was smashing. I did cut back the brown sugar, since ketchup has quite a bit in it from the start, cut the cayenne in half, and added a dash of liquid smoke. It was the perfect balance of sweet, smokey, and spicey.
I was curious, is there any way to make your BBQ sauce on its own? Since this recipe calls for the liquid from the slow cooker/Instant Pot to be added, is there any recommendation for a substitute to this ingredient if we were to make the sauce as a stand alone?
As always, thank you for sharing your amazing dishes with the world.
Elizabeth
Thank you so much, Nagi. I truly appreciate your input and guidance. I no longer have any hesitation and worry.
We will be making this on Friday, and I will let you know how it goes!
All the best, and then some.
Another really delicious dish which my family absolutely loved, and your coleslaw recipe was a perfect pairing. Didn’t have molasses or treacle but cooked the pork in cider rather than beer to make it GF, that gave the right sweetness to the BBQ sauce. I’m looking forward to leftovers for lunches this week!
Hi Nagi, love the BBQ sauce recipe. How long can I keep leftover sauce in the fridge for?
Hi Renaye, up to 4 days, although you could freeze for longer 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi.
Great recipe!
If I want to freeze it would you suggest adding the BBQ sauce first and then freezing or adding the sauce later once defrosted again?
Many thanks!
Hi Marc, I would just freeze all together to keep the meat moist! N x
Hi Nagi! Love this recipe (as always) but never been particularly keen on pork. Is there anyway it could be adapted to chicken? Thanks!
Hi Nagi
I made this recipe today, taste amazing! Thank you so much for sharing with us ☀️☀️
Cooked this last night….. best ever!!! Just finished round 2 for lunch on baguette with coleslaw, gets better (if that’s even possible) the next day!!!
Hello Nagi,
I’ve just discovered you and your wonderful recipes. I really love the fact you list alternative cook methods (when you can) as I have a pressure cooker, so am definitely going to try many of your recipes. I’ll let you know how I get on! Thank you , Zoe (in the UK)
Having the extended family over for dinner, Thinking of doing the slaw, pork, corn, and what else could I make for a buffet meal. Not a fan of mac and cheese or cornbread.
Some no knead rolls would go down a treat! N x
Argh! I tipped the slow cooker juice out without realising I should add to the sauce!! What should I do?