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Easy to make Slow Cooker Pulled Pork! No smoker needed. Tender, flavorful and smoky pulled pork straight from your own slow cooker! Perfect for enjoying as a BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich, or loaded up on nachos, tacos, or even as a pizza topping. The possibilities are endless!
Perfectly juicy, tender, smoky, sweet, spicy, crispy pulled pork. All made easy with the use of a slow cooker.
Pulled pork is amazing when done right. There’s nothing better than tender, smoky pulled pork with a flavorful bark. But what do you do when you don’t have a smoker?
This slow cooker pulled pork is SO easy to make and you can enjoy it as a weeknight family dinner. And can I get an amen from my fellow Texans…there is NO BBQ SAUCE involved in the making of this pulled pork.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Pork Shoulder: Use a bone in or boneless pork shoulder or pork butt.
- Oil: Use oil to hold the dry rub to the meat. You can use avocado or olive oil. You could also use mustard if you like which is a common binder for Texas BBQ.
- Liquid Smoke: Use liquid smoke to obtain a smoky flavoring to the meat without having to use actual smoke. If you would prefer to not use this ensure that you are using a smoked paprika in the seasoning and you can also substitute the salt for a smoked salt for additional smoke flavoring.
- Pork Dry Rub: Our Texas Sweet BBQ Dry Rub is included in the recipe card below. This dry rub has a nice balance of sweet and spice making it the best rub for Texas BBQ pulled pork in a slow cooker.
Best Cut of Pork for Pulled Pork
The best cut that you can usually find at the market is the Pork Shoulder. Which might also be labeled as Pork Butt. They’re the same thing. You could also go with a Boston Butt or a Picnic Roast. These are both smaller cuts that come from the shoulder. And you can do either a bone in, or a boneless that has been tied up with the bone removed.
Find the complete recipe card below with measurements and full instructions.
How To Make Slow Cooker Pulled Pork:
The flavor of the meat is going to come down to the seasoning that we use and the liquid that we use to cook the pork in. The texture of the pork is going to come from the temperature and length of time that we cook the meat.
To get the perfect juicy, tender, easily shredded pulled pork we want to cook it low and slow over the course of several hours. You can’t rush it. Setting the slow cooker to low and letting it cook throughout the day is the best method.
First, coat the pork with the oil then evenly sprinkle with a Texas Style Dry Rub. The dry rub is the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. It’s my favorite for using on pork.
Next, cook the pork for 8 hours in the slow cooker in a mixture of worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, and liquid smoke.
Broiling the meat briefly is a trick I do with my Slow Cooker Carnitas, and it gives just the perfect little crispy bits of pork. If you would prefer not to have the crispy bits you can absolutely skip that step, although it really only takes 5 minutes to do.
Pulled Pork Temperature Guide
Pork is considered safe to eat at a temperature of 145 degrees F.
Technically you will see that pulled pork will be done at 190-195 degrees F. However, I find that the meat just falls apart once it gets to a temperature of 200 degrees F.
You will know when it’s done, when you stick a fork in it, the meat will just separate and shred basically all on it’s own.
Recipes that Use Leftover Pulled Pork
- Pulled pork Sliders/Sandwiches: Pile on the pulled pork, slather it down in some Texas BBQ Sauce. Add some Coleslaw if desired, or just go with the pork if you wish. Again, there is no BBQ sauce used in making the pork, so if you want to add some sauce to your sandwich, that is up to you!
- Pulled Pork Pizza: this quick and easy pizza uses a no yeast pizza dough, meaning you can toss this pizza together in minutes, top it with tons of pulled pork, cheese, and some red onion.
- King Ranch Pulled Pork Casserole. This casserole is a play on a classic Texas King Ranch Casserole, typically made with chicken, but dressed up with some leftover pulled pork. Layers of tortillas, cheese, and pulled pork.
Storage
- Leftovers: My favorite way to save this pulled pork is to save the meat in one container, then I get all of the juices from cooking and save that in another container. Store both in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Store the meat in a freezer-safe airtight sealed container. Can be stored in the freezer for 2-3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
- Reheating: Add the meat to a large skillet over medium heat, and spoon in the juices. The fats will have separated from the juices, so it’s up to you how much of the fats you want to add back into the meat, I typically just scoop out the juice from beneath the layer of fat.
What to Serve with Pulled Pork
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Perfect Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Ingredients
Pork Dry Rub
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground cayenne
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 tsp granulated onion
- 1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
Pulled Pork
- 4 pound pork shoulder
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp liquid smoke (optional)
Instructions
- Mix together the ingredients for the Dry Rub in a small bowl.
- Trim off any large, hard fat pieces from the pork roast. Rub the pork shoulder with the dry rub on all sides. Place into the slow cooker.
- Stir together the apple cider vinegar, worcestshire sauce, and liquid smoke in a small bowl, then pour over the pork roast in the slow cooker.
- Cook on Low heat for 8-10 hours, or until tender.
- Carefully remove the pork to a large baking sheet. Keeping it as intact as possible.
- Broil on high heat in the oven for 5 minutes to get the crispy pieces of pork.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool briefly. Using two forks, shred the meat.
- Serve warm on hamburger buns.
Video
Equipment
Notes
- Pork Shoulder: Use a bone in or boneless pork shoulder or pork butt.
- Oil: Use oil to hold the dry rub to the meat. You can use avocado or olive oil. You could also use mustard if you like which is a common binder for Texas BBQ.
- Liquid Smoke: Use liquid smoke to obtain a smoky flavoring to the meat without having to use actual smoke. If you would prefer to not use this ensure that you are using a smoked paprika in the seasoning and you can also substitute the salt for a smoked salt for additional smoke flavoring.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by KJandCompany.co
Recipe first published March 19, 2019. Updated February 26, 2024 with new images.
Trying this tomorrow, looks delicious and not sweet.
Great recipe. Easy and good. Just one question, how many pounds of pork butt will I need to feed 25 people? Please advise.
Thanks.
Amazing!!!! Did 8lb butt, increased dry rub accordingly, in crockpot for 12hrs.
Received compliments all the next day, even from my friend that had spent a whole day at his smoker ??. Thank you for an amazing recipe.
That is a true compliment!! So glad y’all enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Serene, I have a 8 lb. pork roast. Should I increase the vinegar, Worcestershire and liquid smoke?
Hi Reva! Actually, you wouldn’t need to. These ingredients are used to infuse flavor into the moist steam that will form in the slow cooker. The most important part would be to make sure you have enough rub to put on the meat.
I have an 8 pound roast. How long should I cook it in slow cooker? Longer than 8 hours?
It will most likely be over the 8 hours mark. The important thing is to get the roast to the right temperature to ensure that it shreds easily. I would definitely allow longer than the 8 hours to cook this size though.
Made this without the vinegar, worcestershire sauce, or liquid smoke-we’re moving so didn’t want to buy those ingredients. Instead I put a cup of water with 1 tsp of Beef Better Than Bouillon in the bottom of the crock pot, added the 2.5# Costco pork sirloin roast slathered with your Texas Dry Rub-YUM. Cooked on low 8 hours. Absolutely delicious! Thanks, Serene!
Why all the sugar? In fact, why sugar at all? What can I substitute to get the appropriate volume without all the sweetness?
Just omit the sugar.
Where do you use the liquid smoke? I am from the uk but love to visit texas xx loving the recipes xx Sarah x
I forgot to add that to the instructions! Just put the liquid smoke with the other ingredients in the slow cooker. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes 🙂
I am making pulled pork in a roaster oven but it doesn’t have a setting for low heat what temperature should I cook at. I am currently cooking at a temp just below 200.
Drool. This looks like absolute perfection, and automatically puts me in the summer mood. Love it!
Thanks so much Karly!
you had me at nachos! This recipe looks unbelievable. Such great ideas for using the meat…I love pizza and I’m not sure why I never think to use it on pizza!
Nachos are the way to my heart Heather!! And pizza. And pulled pork. Haha. xo