Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Welcome to the world of pulled pork! Delicious, tender, and oh-so flavorful, this slow-cooked classic is sure to please any crowd. Whether you cook it in a slow cooker or crockpot for a few hours or simmer it on the stovetop – pulled pork always delivers mouthwatering results.

One thing that I love is my slow cooker.  I love it because it helps me make this flavorful and tasty recipe. I know that it makes other delicious meals but it does an awesome job with pork. Especially with a great cut of meat and a flavorful rub

My favorite meat is, and always has been, smoked pork shoulder, especially in a boiled dinner. But why bring that up now? Only to say that this pulled pork recipe has been elevated in rank to become very close to my favorite.

One of the things that I don’t really like about some pulled pork recipes is although I like the pork, I do NOT like the sweet sauce everyone seems to want to serve with it.

So I came up with a savory sauce with my pulled pork and this recipe delivers in spades!!

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Helpful tips

• This is a savory pulled pork recipe, so I don’t use brown sugar like I do with a smoked shoulder roast.
• If you do like sweet pork and you need to add bbq sauce, wait until after the pork is done and add barbecue sauce to your dish.
• I eat this alone with vegetables or as a pork sandwich on buns, but if you haven’t tried a brioche bun slathered with this pulled pork, you are missing out.
• I also like to use the pork meat in tacos.
• I don’t use a thermometer only because I check the doneness by sticking a fork in the meat to see if it pulls apart easily.

How to make pulled pork

Pre-step

Get your crock pot (a.k.a. slow cooker.)

Step one

Gather the ingredients – bone-in pork butt (or pork shoulder), garlic cloves, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, kosher salt, and smoked paprika.

Step two

Start with the rub. In a small bowl add the herbs and spices and use a whisk to combine them.

Step three

I usually add the rub to the pork in the insert but wanted you to see it better.

I take the rub and pat it on the butt. (That didn’t sound good, but you get the drift.)

I make sure to put it on the bottom of the pork too.

Step four

Place the meat in the crock pot insert if you already haven’t. Sprinkle on extra paprika. (This is optional.)

Add cloves of garlic and a liquid like chicken broth.

Step five

Place the lid on and set the slow cooker to high and the timer for 4.5 hours.

Step six

Once the timer goes off, take the meat out of the cooker and put it on a platter and tent it with a few pieces of aluminum foil over the meat. Let it rest for at least 15 minutes before pulling it apart.

Here is the meat after it rests. Look at that steam.

Perfect!

Step seven

Take two forks and start pulling the pork apart.

I made some baked vegetables and poured the juice from the slow cooker into a pourer.

Time to plate it.

And I pour some juice/gravy over the pork on my plate.

I hope you enjoyed this slow cooker pulled pork recipe.  I certainly enjoyed eating it.

Feel free to leave me a comment do you like your pulled pork savory like I do, or sweet?

And as always, may all your dishes be delish!

If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog, I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below.  I love hearing from you!  You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST  to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!