This is one you just can’t mess up.
I mean it—you can’t screw this up. This dish is practically designed for success. Toss a pork shoulder in the slow cooker, leave it alone for 8–12 hours, and come back to meat that falls apart so beautifully it practically pulls itself. Its pig with benefits: no smoky smoker needed, no chef-grade technique—just time, a bit of seasoning, and the slow cooker doing its thing.
Sure, if you want to toss it in frozen, cook it a day ahead, tweak the spice rub, or finish with maple BBQ sauce—go for it. This is easy, versatile, and stupid-good whether you load it on buns, tacos, or straight into your mouth.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe
Recipe Card
| Recipe Name | Slow Cooker Pulled Pork |
|---|---|
| Summary | Low-and-slow pork shoulder that shreds itself into tender, juicy strands—perfect for sandwiches, tacos, or straight-out-of-the-bowl snacking. |
| Servings | 6–8 |
| Prep Time | 10 min |
| Cook Time | 8–12 hr |
| Additional Time | 10 min shredding |
| Total Time | ~8 hr 20 min |
| Course | Main |
| Cuisine | American / BBQ |
| Method | Slow Cooker |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Keywords | pulled pork, slow cooker, BBQ, easy recipe, party food |
| Equipment | Slow cooker, mixing bowl, measuring spoons, tongs/forks, skillet (optional) |
Ingredients
- 3–6 lb pork shoulder (bone-in or boneless)
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt (like Redmond Real Salt)
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup chicken or beef stock
- 1 onion, cut in chunks
Optional add-ins / toppings:
- BBQ sauce (maple, tomato, or vinegar-based)
- Buns, tortillas, coleslaw, pickles, cheese—as needed
Instructions
- Rub the pork: Mix paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Rub liberally into the pork shoulder until it’s wearing that spice coat like a champion.
- Load it up: Toss the chunked onion into the slow cooker. Nestle the seasoned pork on top. Pour in the stock. Done. Seriously.
- Cook low and forget: Set on LOW for 8–12 hours. Go farm, go wild—don’t hassle it. The pork will simmer into tender oblivion.
- Shred the meat: Remove pork, let it cool a few minutes. Shred using forks or, if you’re lazy like me, the paddle attachment on a mixer—30 seconds, done.
- Finish two ways: Classic – strain and skim the cooking liquid, then return meat + juice to the cooker on warm. Saucy – dump meat into a skillet and smother with maple BBQ sauce. Warm through for sticky, saucy glory.
- Serve it: Heaps of meat through buns. Pulled taco style. Napkin-ready chaos at the table. This is messy, indulgent, addictive.
Your Pulled Pork Options:
- Use the cooking liquid to keep meat moist.
- Smother with your favorite BBQ sauce instead of jus.
- Cook it ahead, shred, then serve warm later—slow cooker stays alive.
- Stretch it: use leftover pork in tacos, pizza, nachos, baked potatoes.
- Double the batch, freeze half—genius move.
Kitchen Notes:
- Pork shoulder is key. Marbled, forgiving, and renders down beautifully.
- Bone-in vs boneless? Either works, but bone-in = flavor jackpot.
- Seasoning freedom. The rub is your canvas—add cumin, chile powder, brown sugar, or keep it apocalyptic-simple.
- Don’t overheat. Low heat lets fat render and gelatin do its thing. High risks dryness.
- Maple BBQ sauce? Consider it mandatory. Ties everything together like a cozy, sticky hug.
- Shred hacks. Mixer lumps? No thanks. You want strands. Punishment: two forks AND a mixer if you want speed and chaos.
- Reheat tip. Add broth or sauce when warming—dry pulled pork is a crime.
- Leftover innovation. Tacos, quesadillas, pizza—this isn’t just dinner, it’s ingredient entropy at its finest.
Final Dig
Dude, this is pulled pork you earnively earn. You dump, wait, shred, and win. It’s smoky-rubbed, tender, juicy, and versatile. It’s BBQ without babying, kitchen without anxiety, crowd feeding without drama.
So fire up that slow cooker, grab a crusty bun, and brace for applause. And once your readers are slobbery and hooked? I’ve got more rustic, no-fuss recipes where this came from. Shoot me an email at [email protected] and tell me what you’re craving next. I’m already cooking it up.
