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September 16, 2025
Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Recipe
My signature pulled pork recipe is gradual roasted for 12 hours. That is my simple pulled pork recipe made in a gradual cooker, a recipe cherished by readers all around the globe! Excessive returns for minimal effort, pork is rubbed with a secret spice combine, gradual cooked till the meat pulls aside effortlessly then tossed in a simple-yet-flavour-loaded home made BBQ Sauce.
Tremendous economical, makes hundreds, freezes 100% completely and insanely moreish. Make sliders or a giant Southern BBQ dinner plate full with basic sides like Mac and Cheese, Cornbread and Coleslaw!
No self respecting BBQ shack would cook dinner pulled pork in a gradual cooker. They do an in a single day smoke, with a pork babysitter on obligation all by the night time to stoke the coals, monitor and keep the temperature, and infrequently give the pork a superb spray with their secret-formula spritzer.
I don’t try this.
I want my magnificence sleep.
(Additionally, I don’t have a smoker).
So right here’s how I make pulled pork in a gradual cooker. Easy. Completely fingers off. Makes hundreds, tremendous economical. Wonderful end result for minimal effort!
Right here’s what you want for pulled pork made in a gradual cooker – a spice rub and a few type of liquid for a braising liquid to infuse with flavour, add a contact of sweetness and preserve all the pieces good and moist.
I like to make use of beer – any beer aside from darkish brown beers like stout or Guinness. Apple cider – alcoholic or non alcoholic – or comparable fruit ciders (like pear) are additionally terrific. For non alcoholic, apple juice works very well. Emergency fallback: water!
Finest pork for pulled pork?
The most effective pork for pulled pork is bone in Pork Butt – also referred to as Boston Butt – or pork shoulder. It’s nicely marbled with fats so it’s juicy, and it’s a troublesome lower of pork so it wants the lengthy cook dinner time to turn out to be tender sufficient to shred – which implies extra flavour infusion time!
Distinction between pork butt and pork shoulder
Whereas each are lower from the shoulder of pig, the pork shoulder comes from the decrease finish (higher leg) whereas pork butt is the higher half close to the again which is why the form is extra rectangle block-like. Right here’s a superb diagram from Cooks’ Illustrated!
And right here’s what you want for the home made Barbecue Sauce. It’s my base recipe for all issues barbecue sauced – from pork ribs to chicken, beef ribs to brisket.
Typically I modify it up a bit – relies on the protein and objective of the dish, however basically the identical substances!
We’re bypassing the step to sit down by a smoker by the entire night time, and simply choosing a easy house model right here. So all I want you to do is:
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rub pork with spice combine;
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plonk in gradual cooker with beer, set and overlook;
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brown in oven – optionally available step, however completely price it for that further little fringe of flavour (in addition to, it’s essential to use a pan for shredding anyway, so you might as nicely throw it within the oven for a bit!);
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shred, douse with BBQ sauce, devour.
PS I gradual cook dinner it with the thick layer of fats on it so it appears blubbery and unappetising once you pull it out of the gradual cooker nevertheless it does all types of great issues to the pork because it gradual cooks – think about the spice rubbed layer of fats slooooowly dripping down the pork and basting it for hours!
Once I see pork being shredded with a meals processor and vigorously combined with sauce till it resembles child meals, it makes me wish to cry.
We would like tender, juicy pork that may be pulled aside effortlessly, however nonetheless has the feel of meat – we don’t need mush! To attain that, you simply have to cook dinner it for the best size of time (10 hours on low is lengthy sufficient) and toss with the sauce gently slightly than vigorously stirring it prefer it’s a pot of soup!
The 2 basic methods to serve pulled pork are:
1. Sliders – stuffed in tender rolls with Coleslaw*. Terrific method to serve a great deal of individuals – this recipe will make round 20 sliders;
* For those who or your hips are anti mayo, attempt the RecipeTin No Mayo Coleslaw – it’s very, superb!
2. Southern BBQ Dinner Plate – full with basic sides like Baked Mac and Cheese, Corn Bread, steamed corn slathered with butter, Coleslaw (or this No Mayo model) and a aspect of one thing inexperienced (pictured: easy steamed greens drizzled with butter, salt and pepper).
This recipe makes a great deal of pulled pork. Pork butts are BIG – so there’s no getting round that!
For those who use shoulder you may get smaller items. However really, you don’t wish to make this with a lot lower than 2kg / 4 lb as a result of in any other case the pork will cook dinner too shortly and lack the time it wants for the flavour to infuse.
Moreover, it freezes 100% completely. And picture how smug you’ll really feel understanding you’ve bought a stash of this in your freezer??? Shove it in a bread roll for a fast meal anytime! – Johnsat x
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)
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
Notes
1. Pork – Pork Butt (aka Boston Butt) or pork shoulder are the best for this recipe. They are nicely marbled with fat and need to be slow cooked in order to become tender enough to shred with little effort. Get bone in (pork butt almost always is, shoulder is sometimes not). Leave the thick layer of fat because it does all sorts of wonderful things to the meat as it slow cooks (it self bastes!).
If it’s got skin, best to remove if you can (so spice can infuse better) BUT not the tend of the world if you don’t.
Smaller pork – use recipe scaler if your pork is much less than 2.5kg/5lb.
Will also work well with pork scotch fillet roast (aka pork neck) – 8 hours slow cook on low. Recipe will also work for leaner cuts of pork like loin and tenderloin but will require shorter cook times and end result not as juicy (because the meat isn’t fatty enough).
2. Liquid – Braising liquid for flavour infusion. Any beer other than dark beers like stout and Guinness. Hard or non alcoholic cider is also terrific (or pear cider). For non alcoholic, apple juice is my favourite. Emergency fallback: just use water!
3. Vinegar – white wine or champagne vinegar also works well here. Plain white vinegar can also be used but reduce by 1 tbsp as it is a bit sharper.
4. Molasses adds an extra richness to the Barbecue Sauce and also deepens the sauce colour to the dark brown we know and love about barbecue sauce!
5. Other cook methods:
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.
6. Servings – This recipe makes a LOT! Partly because pork butts are BIG anyway, also because if you make this with a smaller piece, it cooks faster = less flavour.
A 3.5kg/7lb bone in pork shoulder will comfortably feed 12 people if making a plate with sides.
If making sliders with Coleslaw, it will easily make 20.
7. Storage – freezes brilliantly, even after tossing with sauce. Or keeps in fridge for 4 days. Best reheated in microwave to keep things juicy and moist!
8. Nutrition per serving, pork and sauce only. Calories are quite overstated. A lot of fat gets discarded with the slow cooker juices you don’t use. But I have no way of calculating how much! So just know that the actual calories is less than shown below.
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