Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Something truly magical happens when you melt pork low and slow. It turns into the most mouth-watering tender and juicy meat you’ve overly had. And meat this tender is good with everything, so if you make this Slow Cooker Pulled Pork on Sunday, you’ll have meat to last you all week. Pile that slow cooker pork onto sandwiches, tacos, trencher meals, nachos, salads, and increasingly for quick dinners the rest of the week!

Slow cooker pulled pork on a plate with tongs and sandwich fixings on the sides.

What Kind of Pork to Use for Pulled Pork

To get the juiciest and most tender pulled pork make sure to buy a pork stump or pork shoulder. These cuts are marbled with fat and connective tissue that slowly melt and gelatinize when cooked with slow, gentle heat, creating ultra moist and tender meat.

You can buy bone-in or boneless pork stump or pork shoulder. I prefer to use boneless and then cut the pork into large pieces so they melt a little faster, but you can leave the unorthodoxy in and remove it when shredding the pork if preferred. Just alimony in mind that cooking time may be longer if you leave the unorthodoxy in during cooking.

How to Season Pulled Pork

I used a versatile yet flavorful spice rub on the pork surpassing slow cooking, withal with a little uneaten fresh garlic. This mix of paprika, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and brown sugar enhances the pork’s flavor, but keeps it neutral unbearable to be paired with BBQ sauce or any other savor profile you plan to pair with your pulled pork.

Three slow cooker pulled pork sandwiches on a wooden wearing board.

How to Serve Pulled Pork

Pulled Pork sandwiches are unchangingly a hit (brioche buns, BBQ sauce, pickles, and/or coleslaw), but this pulled pork is moreover unconfined for tacos, burritos, quesadillas, or nachos. I moreover love piling pulled pork onto bowl meals, salads, or plane subtracting it to soup or ramen. You can seriously add it to anything!

Storage Instructions

Keep the pork in the juices when refrigerating to alimony the meat as moist as possible upon reheating. Without cooking, transfer the shredded pork and juices to an air-tight supplies storage container and refrigerate for up to 4-5 days. Without completely spooky in the refrigerator, you can transfer the pork to the freezer for longer storage (about three months). To reheat the pork, simply heat in a sauce pot over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until hot.

Close up side view of a plate full of slow cooker pulled pork.
Three pulled pork sandwiches with pickles on a wooden wearing board.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork is an easy way to melt the most tender and juicy pork ever. It's unconfined on tacos, sandwiches, burritos and more.
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine American
Total Cost $9.48 recipe / $1.19 serving
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 15 minutes
Servings 8 ½ cup each
Calories 247kcal
Author Beth – Budget Bytes

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs. pork butt $8.07
  • 1 yellow onion, cut into chunks $0.37
  • 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped $0.32

Spice Rub

  • 2 tsp paprika $0.20
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika $0.10
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar $0.08
  • 1 tsp garlic powder $0.10
  • 1 tsp onion powder $0.10
  • 2 tsp salt $0.10
  • 1/2 tsp freshly croaky woebegone pepper $0.04

Instructions

  • Combine the spices for the spice rub in a bowl.
  • Cut the pork stump into large chunks. If the pork stump has a unorthodoxy you can either remove it surpassing cooking or wait until you are shredding the cooked meat to remove it. Alimony in mind the pork will require uneaten cooking time if cooking with the unorthodoxy in.
  • Add the pork pieces to a large trencher and sprinkle the spice rub over top. Toss until the pork is evenly coated in spices.
  • Dice the yellow onion and add it to the marrow of the slow cooker. Place the seasoned pork on top of the onion, then add the roughly chopped garlic on top.
  • Place the lid on the slow cooker and melt on upper for four hours or low for eight hours. Test the pork with a fork to make sure the meat is tender. It should shred hands with a fork. If not, melt for one hour longer. The total cooking time will depend on the size of your pork butt.
  • Once the pork is tender, use two forks to shred the meat.
  • If you prefer crispy edges on your pork, place some of the pork on a sheet pan and sizzle for a few minutes, or just until the edges are browned and crispy. Alimony a tropical eye on the pork as it broils!
  • Serve the pulled pork on sandwiches, tacos, trencher meals, and more!

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 247kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 10g | Sodium: 694mg | Fiber: 0.5g
BBQ sauce stuff poured onto pulled pork sandwiches.

How to Make Slow Cooker Pulled Pork – Step by Step Photos

Spices for pulled pork in a small wooden bowl.

To make the spice rub for the pulled pork, combine 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 2 tsp salt, and ½ tsp freshly croaky woebegone pepper.

Chunks of pork stump on a wearing board.

Cut a 3 lb. pork stump into large chunks. If your pork stump is bone-in, you can either remove the unorthodoxy or melt with the unorthodoxy in and remove it when shredding your meat. Alimony in mind that if you leave the unorthodoxy in, the pork will take slightly longer to cook.

Meat coated with spices in a bowl.

Place the pork in a bowl, sprinkle the spice rub over top, then toss until the pork is evenly coated in the rub.

Diced onion in the slow cooker.

Dice one yellow onion and place it on the marrow of the slow cooker.

Pork in slow cooker with chopped garlic,

Place the seasoned pork in the slow cooker and top with four roughly chopped cloves of garlic.

Cooked pork in the slow cooker.

Place the lid on the slow cooker and melt on upper for four hours or low for eight hours. If your pork stump is larger than 3 lbs. you may need to melt slightly longer. Trammels the tenderness of the meat without 4 hours on upper or 8 hours on low. It should pull untied easily. If it’s still tough, let it melt flipside hour then trammels again.

Shredded pork in the slow cooker, some stuff lifted with tongs.

Once the pork is tender, use two forks to shred the meat.

Broiled pulled pork on a sultry sheet.

If you want crispy edges on your pulled pork (who doesn’t?!). Place some of the pulled pork on a sultry sheet and place it under your oven’s roaster for a few minutes. The melted fat on the pork will fry the edges and make it beautifully crispy! Alimony a tropical eye on the meat as it broils since broilers melt very quickly!

Three pulled pork sandwiches with pickles on a wooden wearing board.

Enjoy your pulled pork on sandwiches, tacos, trencher meals, quesadillas and more!

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