Slow Cooker Pulled Pork — 😍🙌🎉 The EASIEST recipe for pulled pork, because your Crock-Pot does all the work for you! Set it and forget it for this AMAZING pulled pork that’s super flavorful and so tender and juicy! Great for pulled pork sandwiches and tacos!
Table of contents
- Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe
- Ingredients in Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
- How to Make Pulled Pork in a Crock-Pot
- How to Tell When Slow Cooker Pulled Pork is Done
- What Is the Best Cut of Meat for Pulled Pork?
- What to Serve with Pulled Pork
- Storage
- Pulled Pork Slow Cooker Recipe FAQs
- More Easy Slow Cooker Pork Recipes:
Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe
Pulled pork is one of everyone’s favorite recipes because it’s just so tasty!
I’ve got an incredibly easy recipe for the most tender, fall-apart, melt-in-your-mouth pulled pork and it’s virtually work-free because it’s made in the slow cooker. This is truly a set-it-and-forget-it type of recipe!
The pork cooks low and slow in your Crock-Pot which allows it to become tender while staying moist and juicy.
Whether you want to serve this as Pulled Pork Sliders on a sweet toasted bun topped with coleslaw or cheese, with tacos, stuffed in potatoes or sweet potatoes, or just about any way you can think of, this budget-friendly slow cooker pulled pork recipe is a winner.
For get-togethers like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day events, graduation parties, easy weeknight dinners that you can start before you leave for work in the morning, or summer days when you don’t want to run your oven, this simple pulled pork recipe is so versatile!
Ingredients in Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
For this extremely satisfying slow cooker recipe for juicy pulled pork, you’ll need a variety of spices to create the dry rub including the following spices and seasonings – and of course the pork itself!
- White onions
- Light brown sugar – Adds the perfect touch of sweetness to balance the spice
- Chili powder
- Garlic powder
- Ground cumin
- Achiote or Achiote Paste (also known as Annatto Seeds or Annatto Paste) – A common Mexican spice, you can find it in most grocery stores including Amazon, Target, or Walmart. If you can’t find it for some reason, you can omit it, but the dry rub crock pot pulled pork won’t be as flavorful
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
- Smoked paprika
- Onion powder
- Dried Mexican oregano
- Pork butt
Note: All ingredients amounts are listed in the recipe card section when you keep scrolling down.
How to Make Pulled Pork in a Crock-Pot
When I say this is the best slow cooker pulled pork recipe, I’m not kidding! Follow these extremely easy and straightforward instructions.
- Shred the cooked pork with two forks or just pull it apart by hand.
- Put the shredded pork back into the Crockpot. Mix it with the drippings, or pour the reserved drippings over the pork in a large bowl and serve!
- Cut the onions in half and lay them cut-side down in the slow cooker.
- Combine the brown sugar and all the spices and seasonings in a small bowl. Coat all sides of the pork with the spice rub and press it in well.
- Lay the pork over the onions, fatty side up. Cook in the slow cooker for about 4 hours on high OR 6 to 8 hours on low or until it reaches at least 170 degrees when measured with a digital thermometer. Let it rest for 15 minutes and reserve the drippings full of excess fat.
How to Tell When Slow Cooker Pulled Pork is Done
If you’re cooking a 4 to 5-pound pork butt or pork shoulder in your slow cooker, it will be done after approximately 4 hours on HIGH or 6-8 hours on LOW. But these are estimates because all slow cookers vary in their heat intensity and output, and so do all cuts of pork.
The best clue for knowing when it’s done is that if the meat starts to pull apart easily when you check it. And once you begin shredding it with just two forks, it will shred very easily with almost no resistance.
If you want to go by internal temperature as measured with a digital thermometer, the National Pork Board has a range of temps from 145 to 160F, depending on the cut of pork. However, other sources such as the Food Network suggest a temp of 190-195F. There seems to be a consensus though that 200F is the maximum temp you should go with because you can overcook the pork, at which point it’ll be chewy, stringy, dry, and simply not that tasty.
I always check my meat after 3 to 4 hours if I’m slow cooking on HIGH, and if a thermometer reads at least 170F or so, and it pulls apart easily when I insert a fork, it’s done. And I don’t cook it any longer so that it doesn’t dry out.
What Is the Best Cut of Meat for Pulled Pork?
If you’re like me, or most anyone who’s not well versed in butchering, cuts of meat and when to use which particular cut, can be a bit confusing!
For this recipe, I recommend that you use pork butt (or Boston Butt) as it’s sometimes called. It can be boneless or bone-in.
Bone-in will take slightly longer to cook than boneless, but this is a non-rushed, slow cooking type of recipe anyway. Another 30-60 minutes isn’t a big deal.
Cook’s Illustrated has an excellent graphic that shows you the difference as well as a handy chart indicating when to use either pork butt (higher up on the pig’s body) or pork shoulder (farther down).
- Pork Butt (also known as Boston Butt) – Well marbled with intramuscular fat which adds great flavor. Usually sold with the fat cap on. Use it when you are stewing, braising, or want fall-apart tender pulled pork!
- Pork Shoulder (also known as Picnic Roast or Picnic Shoulder) – Less intramuscular fat and marbling. Usually sold with the skin on. Use it when you want crispy skin. If you’re using boneless pork shoulder, it’ll likely be sold with a net which you can keep on. Bone-in pork shoulder doesn’t come with netting.
Bottom line, if a recipe calls for either pork butt or pork shoulder, go with pork butt because the extra fat = extra flavor!
What to Serve with Pulled Pork
Storage
Leftover pulled pork will keep airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Reheat leftovers gently in the microwave. Tip – Check out my Pulled Pork Sliders and my Pulled Pork Tacos recipes for great ways to use your pulled pork!
Pulled Pork Slow Cooker Recipe FAQs
I’ve tried making pulled pork both searing and not searing the meat. It’s quite a task to sear a big slab of pork butt and frankly, I don’t find the final result to taste any different. So you can go ahead and skip searing it. One less step is always nice!
You can use either depending on what’s available in your supermarket. I don’t find them to appreciably change the flavor or texture of the final pulled pork, so go with what you can find. I used bone-in for this one.
If you do use pork shoulder rather than pork butt, and it’s boneless, it’ll often have netting on it. You can add it into your slow cooker with the netting on.
This is up to you, but for this recipe and preparation, I don’t add any BBQ sauce, tomato paste, or apple cider vinegar. That’s because the combination of spices and seasonings I use in the dry rub lend enough flavor. And there’s enough fat and reserved drippings and juices that I mix back in with the pulled pork for moisture that I don’t find it needs barbecue sauce.
However, if you’d like to add your favorite barbecue sauce to some, or all, of your slow cooker pulled pork, go for it.
This is entirely up to you. If you want some extra smokey flavor, feel free to add a few drops, and if you don’t care for the flavor or don’t have it on hand, simply omit it.
They will be soft, supple, and super flavorful. My family adores onions so we eat them alongside or on top of the shredded slow cooker pork. However, you can discard them I suppose – but I wouldn’t. They’re so tasty!
Yes of course you can make pulled pork in the oven. You’ll want to use a low oven temp, about 275-300F, season the pork as I recommend for the slow cooker method, and cook it covered in a large Dutch oven in the oven for about 3 hours, or until done. However, you should research oven-cooking on your own and cook until it’s done since all ovens, and cuts of pork, vary.
I recommend a slow cooker that’s at least 6 to 7-quarts for this recipe. If you’re cooking a bigger piece of pork, you may need an even bigger slow cooker. However, the recipe is written for a 6 or 7-quart Crock-Pot.
The pork can be left in the slow cooker for up to 12 hours. It only needs to cook for 6 to 8 hours on low, but if you end up coming home late from work or forget about the pork (oops!) it’ll stay perfectly moist and tender for up to 12 hours.
If you cooked the pork for too long on too high of a heat, it can become tough and rubbery. If cooking the pulled pork on high, you need to start checking it at the 4-hour mark. There’s much less room for error when cooking on low in a Crockpot!
Your pulled pork also might be tough if you forgot to cook the pork fat-side up. The fat melts as the pork cooks, which essentially bastes the meat in its own juices and keeps it super moist.
Reheating pulled pork in a Crockpot is so easy! Just add the pork to the Crockpot, set it to high, and wait for it to heat through (it could take a while!).
I recommend using the Crockpot to reheat larger amounts of pulled pork. For individual servings, use the stove or microwave.
Yes, you can use a bigger piece of pork but and double or nearly double the recipe. Depending on how much bigger the cut of pork is that you’re using, you should increase the amount of dry spice rub accordingly.
For example, if you’re using 7.5 pounds rather than 5 pounds of pork, you’ll want to use 1 1/2 tablespoons (rather than 1 tablespoon) of spices such as cumin and 2 teaspoons rather than 1 teaspoon of spices such as dried oregano.
Cooking time will also increase. It will not likely double, but it’ll take many hour(s) longer. Possibly 6 hours on high OR 8 to 10 hours on low. Keep an eye on it so that it’s done, but not overdone!
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Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Equipment
- 1 (6-7 Quart) Slow Cooker
- 1 Small Bowl
Ingredients
Pork
- 2 medium white onions, peeled and halved vertically
- one 4 pound boneless or 5 pound bone-in pork butt, also called Boston butt**
Dry Rub
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon achiote or achiote paste, also known as annatto seeds or annatto paste*
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, or regular paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, or regular oregano
Instructions
- To a large 6 to 7-quart slow cooker, add the onions, cut side down.
- To a small bowl, add all the spices, salt, pepper, and stir to combine.
- Sprinkle the dry spice rub evenly over the pork on all sides, and use your fingers to press it in well.
- Add the pork with the fatty side up, over the top of the onions.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for about 4 hours, or on LOW for about 6 to 8 hours. Tips – Start checking for doneness about 1 hour earlier than the recommended cooking time. As mentioned in the blog post, there are a wide range of internal temperatures listed online for when pork is done, but the best clue for doneness is that when you insert a fork into the pork, that it inserts with very little resistance and you can see the pork is ready to easily just pull or fall apart. You can also insert a digital thermometer. I do this first, check to see that it's about 170F, and from there, go by the visual clues of it looking and feeling like it's ready to easily shred.
- Allow the pork to rest on a cutting board for about 15 minutes.
- Reserve the cooking juices and liquid. Tips – There will be about 2 to 3 cups, but if there is a lot more, you can potentially discard some of it (I don't) but reserve at least 2 cups. We also love the onions and serve them alongside the pulled pork, but you can discard them if you prefer.
- Shred the pork with 2 forks, or just pull it apart with your fingers.
- Pour the reserved cooking juices (as much as desired) over the shredded pork, or add the pork back into the slow cooker and mix it around with the cooking juices before serving the pulled pork as desired, such as in a pulled pork sandwich or pulled pork taco. Tips – If you want to add barbecue sauce, add it now. If adding BBQ sauce, you can add less of the reserved cooking juices, maybe about 1 cup + 1 cup of BBQ sauce, or as desired to taste.
- Leftover pulled pork will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Reheat leftovers gently in the microwave. Tip – Check out my Pulled Pork Sliders and my Pulled Pork Tacos recipes for great ways to use your pulled pork.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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