The Best Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
How to make The Best Slow Cooker Pulled Pork! Everyone is sure to love this amazing slow cooker pulled pork. The perfect blend of spices make it tender and so flavorful.
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How to make The Best Slow Cooker Pulled Pork is a big claim but I can tell you I’ve tried a lot of pulled pork recipes and this one is at the top of my list! So simple yet plenty of flavor! This has been enjoyed as sandwiches, as tacos, as nachos and even just on it’s own. Short of going through a major process of slow smoking the meat, this slow cooker version will be your new favorite and the best go-to option for slow cooker pulled pork without all the work! And it’s perfect for busy days when you need to have a meal for entertaining. I’ve made this many times for many crowds, and it’s always gone by the end of the night.
This recipe has also been converted for those of you that love pressure cookers and it’s pretty amazing if I do say so myself!
What makes this the best slow cooker pulled pork?
Just the right blend of spices (most you should have on hand) rubbed into a pork shoulder roast make for a flavorful meat that has a tiny bit of kick but is generally mild enough for even picky eaters. Want some bold flavor? Up the spices to your liking… if you like spicy you can up the cayenne!! And I love setting out several different types of BBQ sauce so that everyone can make their own flavor combos.
Check out my video showing you just how easy it is to make this slow cooker pulled pork recipe:
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What is the best cut of meat for pulled pork?
- pulled pork is generally made using pork shoulder
- there are two pieces to the shoulder usually available at the store – the butt and the picnic shoulder
- the first generally works the best, but I’ve had great results with the picnic shoulder too
What is also love is that…..
There is no need to brown anything up ahead of time which makes this a quick start meal.
How long do you cook pulled pork in a slow cooker?
Throw it in early in the day and let it slow cook for at least 8 hours (or even longer) for best results.
For meat like this to properly shred, it needs to reach an internal temperature of 205 degrees F. It will seriously fall apart. If your meat is hard to shred, it’s not done yet.
A little bit of apple cider vinegar goes in here too and it really does the trick to break down the meat to make it more tender plus gives it just the right zip of extra flavor. I haven’t tested it another way, but I’m guessing apple juice would work well also.
A few of my favorite sides to serve up alongside this pulled pork are:
Make sure to save the leftovers for Easy Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese.
The Best Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 4 pound pork shoulder
- 2 tablespoons paprika (try smoked paprika for more of that smoked flavor)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup water
Instructions
- Mix together all of the dried spices and rub into all sides of the pork
- Place vinegar and water in bottom of slow cooker
- Carefully add pork (so you don't wash off spices)
- Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours
- Remove pork and shred (remove any large fatty pieces and discard)
- Add juices from slow cooker as desired
Notes
- Add extra kick: save a bit (don't overdo it) of seasoning and toss it with cooked pulled pork.
- For brown, crispy ends, put shredded meat on foil lined baking sheet and broil for a couple of minutes in the oven (watch carefully!)
- Shred meat with 2 forks, potato masher, shredder claws, or electric mixer.
- If meat is difficult to shred, it's not done yet. Put it back in the slow cooker for a bit longer.
Nutrition
Click here to convert to Instant Pot. Amazing Instant Pot Pulled Pork is everything it claims to be! Amazing!
Useful tools for making this pulled pork include:
- pulled pork shredder claws
- meat thermometer (a great investment if you cook any types of meat, I use mine almost every day)
Hi, Cna i do this with the meat from frozen?
Hi Anna! No, you will need to thaw the meat first before slow cooking.
The pork came out very tender but it was a little too spicy for me. I think next time I will only use 1/4 tsp. of black pepper and maybe 1/4 tsp. or no cayenne pepper at all. Thanks for the recipe. I now have the courage to cook pulled pork.
Thanks for the feedback Fran!
Hi! I’ve made this twice now, and really enjoyed it. It’s super quick and easy. My variations (small) – I use white pepper instead of pepper, half smoked paprika and half sweet, and chipotle instead of cayenne (more flavour, not as hot). We also found we can take the pork out at the end and reduce the sauce to make a nice barbecue sauce to drizzle over the meat. Thank you for sharing this one!
Sounds like you’ve made some delicious alterations, Suzy! So glad you are enjoying this recipe, it’s one of my favorites, too!
Can I make like a carolina sauce from the juice in the crock pot? If so, how do I do that? thank you!
Hi Jennifer! I actually don’t really know, I’ve never made anything like that before! Hopefully someone else will jump in here with an idea!
I have made this twice!! It is soooo delish! Making again this weekend!!
Yay! I’m so glad you like it, Becky!
I have an 8 lb pork shoulder should I still cook it 8 hrs or should I go longer with it?
Hi Maureen,
I would cook it 8-10 hours. In my experience with cooking pulled pork, the longer it can cook the more tender it is so since you are using a larger cut of meat, I would cook it a minimum of 8 hours and see if it is as tender as you would like it. If you want it more tender allow it to cook longer.
Most of all, hope you enjoy it!
So many crappy pop-up ads on your page that I didn’t even want to wait for the recipe, yet was so annoyed I made sure to wait over a minute for this portion to load, then dodge more ads so that I could comment
I apologize for the trouble you experienced. I checked with Jennifer and she said there are actually no pop up ads on her site so I would suggest making sure you don’t have a virus on your computer. Sorry for the trouble but hope you’ll come back and try a recipe sometime!
Hi Jennifer!
Recipe sounds amazing!
It’s the first time I’m going to prepared pulled pork, so I’m a bit lost.
Do I understand it correctly that you put the pork in the crockpot without roasting it first?
That is correct, Ivanna. Hope you enjoy it!
Can I reduce time to 4 hours on high then switch to low temp. Trying to make this tonight but dont have 8 hours? Would 6 work? Only making about 2.5 lbs
yes, you could do a couple of hours on high and then switch to low. Also, cut pork into smaller pieces and it will cook faster. To shred, pork needs to reach internal temp of 205 degrees. Let me know how it turns out!
OMG, I just made 22lbs of pork butt with this recipe for a sweet 16 party this weekend. My house smells amazing and the pork was pull apart prefect! I have a go to recipe that I’ve been using for years and I had to throw it away since this is my new one. Thank you so much! Also, i made a bbq sauce to go with this using the core ingredients of the rub for a perfect match I flavor…. can’t wait to wow my guests.
That’s awesome!! Thanks so much for letting me know!!