Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Tender, melt-in-your-mouth shredded pork shoulder braised in apple cider vinegar and brown sugar rub for crowd-feeding sliders.
slow-cooker Timer
Set for 480 mins @ LOW (200°F / 93°C)
Ingredients
Base recipe calibrated for 8 adults.
Get to the Point Execution
Rub a 4 lb bone-in pork shoulder with brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic, onion, and salt.
Place sliced onion and 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar in slow cooker bottom.
Add pork roast, cover, and cook on LOW for 8 hours (or HIGH for 5 hours).
Drain cooking liquid, shred pork with two forks, and toss with your favorite barbecue sauce.
Step-by-Step Guided Instructions
Mix 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1.5 tsp kosher salt, and 1 tsp black pepper. Rub all over a 4 lb bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt).
Pork butt contains generous internal marbling that breaks down into gelatin over 8 hours of slow cooking.
Scatter 1 sliced yellow onion across the bottom of the 6-quart slow cooker. Pour in 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar. Place seasoned pork shoulder fat-cap UP on top of the onions.
Cooking fat-cap up allows melting pork fat to self-baste the entire shoulder throughout the 8-hour braise.
Cover with lid and cook on LOW for 8 hours (or on HIGH for 5 hours). The meat is done when the blade bone pulls out cleanly with zero resistance.
Internal temperature reaches 200°F–205°F where tough collagen completely dissolves into silky pork juice.
Transfer pork to a rimmed baking sheet. Pull out the clean bone and discard any excess surface fat. Shred meat using two forks. Return shredded pork to slow cooker, toss with 1 cup barbecue sauce and 1/4 cup strained cooking juices, and keep on WARM.
Tossing with a splash of the strained cooking juice reintroduces savory spiced pork drippings into the barbecue glaze.
Feeds 8 to 10 people for under $15 total grocery cost. Boston butt is the highest ROI cut of meat in existence. Let it go on LOW all day while you're at work, shred it in 2 minutes, and dinner is ready.
Serve shredded pork on soft slider buns with mild barbecue sauce and potato chips.
- Crisp coleslaw
- Baked beans
- Macaroni and cheese
Reheat in microwave for 1 minute or in slow cooker on LOW.