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)
Have you rubbed the pork the night before to let it marinate?
I haven’t but I would think that would be even that much better!
Hi Jennifer
Excellent recipe – my whole family love it. The minor changes I made were:
– I chopped 2 onions and added them to the crockpot before adding the pork. The onions really absorb the flavour of the spice rub, so once the pork is shredded, I add the onions with the liquid to the meat (step 6).
– I changed the cider/water ratio to 50/50 (half a cup each) for a little extra sweetness.
For my family of 4, we get at least 3 dinners and one lunch from a 4.5 lb shoulder – great value.
Thanks Charlie! The onions sound delicious!
This really is the best pulled pork in a slow cooker I have ever had.
I had a 3 lb pork butt I’d gotten on sale and decided to do this with it. I used all the seasoning/liquid because I was far too lazy to try and figure out the math. This cooked almost 12 hours while I was at work. When I got home I shut the cooker off. While I made the rest of my meal I strained, removed the fat and cooked down the liquid leftover some (probably could have gone further but I was hungry!) I then used that liquid to moisten the servings of it.
I ended up with six 4-oz servings of pork from my 3lb roast but it had a pretty thick layer of fat on it.
Thank you for a great recipe. This has been saved and I will definitely make it again.
That’s awesome!! Thanks so much Stephanie!!
Can you cook this in an instant pot? I don’t have a regular crockpot.
Yes! You can follow the instructions in this pulled pork recipe: https://slowcookergourmet.net/slow-cooker-pressure-cooker-caribbean-jerk-pulled-pork/
Thank you so much for the information, I’ll be making this for my jobs potluck tomorrow. Looking forward to hearing everyone’s opinions on it.
Hi! Just wanted to say I enjoyed reading your method. I was looking for a recipe that didn’t add liquid, since meat dishes in the slow cooker often, to me, taste a little watery and blown-out. So I used a similar dry rub to yours, but happen to have some alderwood smoked salt and smoked peppercorns, so I used those, and added some cumin which I also love. But instead of putting any liquid in, I simply lightly oiled the bottom and sides of the crock and placed the pork in dry. I used a Boston butt shoulder roast trimmed of a little excess fat, and had cut it into three chunks to get more dry rub on more surface area. For the first hour it looked like not much was happening, but by the time I got home it was perfectly cooked, I had about a cup and a half of liquid in the bottom, and the pork shredded easily but also had a soft dark “crust” on the outsides, which gave it a little more oven-roast texture. I strained and defatted the liquid, and added it back to the shredded pork along with a little barbecue sauce. Total cook time was about 6 hours on low, and it had switched to “warm” by the time I got home. I would definitely do it this way again! – only, I was a little heavy handed on the salt perhaps. The meat was fine but the liquid came out a little salty, so when I reduced it I cooked a few potato slices in it to absorb a bit of the saltiness.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this!! I love how you made these adjustments and it really sounds delicious!!! I will be trying out your version as well!!
I just made this, its been in my slow cooker all morning and it hasn’t been 8 hrs yet and its already shredded and completely off the bone. I bought a 6 lb. Pork butt because the bone, but this has zero flavor. I folowed your instructions to a T, what do you think went wrong. (I even added a lil bit extra of all seasonings because it was so big & i like spice).
I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out like you’d hoped! I’ve been trying to think of what could have gone wrong. It could be that you just got a piece of meat that wasn’t the best, or perhaps the flavors of the spice rub are just not to your taste. You could try adding extra spice or even some BBQ sauce to the shredded meat. I get a variety of responses on this one, from it’s way to spicy to it doesn’t have enough spice, so I think a lot of it just has to do with individual taste.
My wife said it’s the best slow cooker pulled pork I’ve ever made. It was delicious. Used a 4 lb pork butt and it made 3 meals. Gonna make it again next weekend!
That’s awesome!! So glad you loved it!
Hello, was wondering if I could add liquid smoke to get a smoky flavor? How much would I add? Thanks.
Yes, I’m sure that would work too! I’ve never used liquid smoke, so I’m not sure how much to advise you to use. I would check the label and see if the specific brand has a recommendation per pound of meat?
I used a couple of squirts of Liquid Smoke to mine and it came out fine!
I cut everything in half b/c I had a smaller piece of pork. I kept the liquid as in the original, but could have cut that in half, too. I didn’t want it to dry out! Only major difference is I cut an onion into 8 wedges and rested the meat on the onions. Very, very good pulled pork!
That’s awesome news!! So glad you loved it, and that you were able to adapt it successfully to make half!!
I mixed the leftover spice rub mix to a pound of ground pork to make spicy, oven-baked meatballs…..they turned out delicious!
The pulled pork is still cooking, but based on the meatballs, I know I am going to love it!
That’s an amazing idea Stefanie!! Thanks for sharing and be sure to let me know how the pork turns out!
Hey guys thanks for this recipe, we made it today and by my surprise it came out delicious, I will be making again soon