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Crockpot Pulled Pork

Here’s my crockpot pulled pork recipe, and it comes out tender enough to shred with a fork every single time. Pile it onto rolls and it feeds a crowd without you standing over a stove all afternoon.

Most pulled pork that comes out tough was not undercooked in the way people think. It was cooked and simply not finished, and the gap is about fifty degrees that nobody mentions. That is why this recipe gives you a temperature instead of just a number of hours.

The cut matters more than anything else

Use pork shoulder. You will see it sold as Boston butt or pork butt, and despite the name it comes from the shoulder, not the back end.

Do not use pork loin or tenderloin here. They are lean cuts, and lean is exactly wrong for this. What makes pulled pork tender is collagen and fat slowly melting into gelatin over hours, and a loin has almost none of it to give. It will cook through and then go stringy and dry.

Boneless is easier to shred. Bone-in has a little more flavor and comes with a built-in doneness check, because when the pork is genuinely ready the bone slides straight out with no resistance at all.

How long it actually takes

Low for 8 to 10 hours. You can run it on high in 5 to 6, and it will be cooked, but it does not break down the same way and you can taste the difference.

The clock is not really the thing to watch. Temperature is. Pork shoulder wants to reach about 200F to 205F inside before it will shred properly.

This trips up more people than any other part of the recipe. Pork is safe to eat at 145F, so a shoulder sitting at 175F is fully cooked and perfectly safe, and it will still absolutely refuse to fall apart. Collagen does not finish converting until around 200F. If your pulled pork has ever come out tough, this is almost certainly why: it was done, but it was not finished.

A few things that make it better

• Cook it fat side up so it bastes itself the whole time.
• Pour the liquid around the pork rather than over it, so the rub stays where you put it.
• Resist adding extra liquid. A shoulder throws off a surprising amount on its own, and too much turns it into soup.
• Let it rest 15 minutes before you shred it.
• Save the cooking liquid. Skim the fat off and spoon some back over the shredded meat. This is the whole difference between moist pulled pork and dry pulled pork, and it costs nothing.
• Add the barbecue sauce after shredding, not before.

Questions people ask

Do I have to sear it first?
No. It adds some color and a bit of flavor and it is worth ten minutes if you have them, but searing is not what makes this work. Skipping it costs you very little.

Can I put it in frozen?
No, thaw it fully first. A frozen roast spends far too long climbing through the low temperature range before it gets going.

Mine will not shred. What happened?
It is not done yet. Put the lid back on and give it another hour, then check again. This is almost always the answer.

How much do I need per person?
About a third of a pound of raw pork each. A 5 pound shoulder comfortably feeds ten, and it loses roughly a third of its weight as it cooks.

Can I make it ahead?
Yes, and it reheats better than most things. Store it in its own cooking liquid and it will not dry out.

More recipes you’ll love: Slow Cooker Ham and Cheese Soup, Slow Cooker Bean and Bacon Soup, Crock Pot Chili Cheese and Beef Dip, and our full Easy Crockpot Dinner Recipes roundup.

Crockpot Pulled Pork

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• Author: Fluffy
• Total Time: 8 hours 20 minutes
• Yield: 10 servings 1x

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Ingredients

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• 4 to 5 lb boneless pork shoulder, also sold as Boston butt
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce, plus more for serving

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Instructions

1. Pat the pork dry and trim any thick surface fat, leaving a thin layer.
2. Mix the brown sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, dry mustard and cayenne in a small bowl.
3. Rub the mixture over the whole surface of the pork, pressing it in.
4. Scatter the sliced onion across the bottom of the slow cooker.
5. Set the pork on top of the onions, fat side up.
6. Pour the broth and vinegar around the pork rather than over it, so the rub stays put.
7. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, until the meat gives way under light fork pressure.
8. Move the pork to a bowl or board and rest it 15 minutes.
9. Shred with two forks, discarding large pieces of fat.
10. Skim the fat off the cooking liquid, then spoon about 1/2 cup of it back over the shredded pork.
11. Stir in the barbecue sauce and serve.

Notes

• The pork is done at about 200F to 205F inside, not at a set hour. Below that it slices instead of shredding.
• Low beats high. On high it is cooked in 5 to 6 hours but it does not break down the same way.
• Do not add extra liquid. The shoulder releases plenty on its own.
• Leftovers keep 4 days refrigerated and 3 months frozen. Freeze it in its cooking liquid.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 8 hours
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Slow Cooker
• Cuisine: American