My brother has a habit of giving out remarkably vague “recipes.” For example: “Put some pig or cow in the slow cooker with some liquid. Use a spice rub if you want. Cook until you get home from work, then give the fat to the dog and shred the meat.”
Um. Right.
I needed more information. Does the size of the roast matter? Whether it has a bone? I used pork shoulder, and Cooks Illustrated has a recipe for barbecue pulled pork, so I adapted some of their instructions – the ingredients and method for the spice rub – for this slow cooker version. I was reluctant to add liquid to the slow cooker liner with the meat, because I had some idea that it would dilute the flavor in the meat, so I added just a bit of water and some liquid smoke. I cooked it for about 10 hours, added some barbecue sauce, then cooked it for 1 hour longer.
Oh my gosh, it’s so good. I almost didn’t want to add barbecue sauce, because the meat tastes so good without it, but of course it was that much better once I added it. And it makes a ton of food. I’m going to guess that the pork shoulder I used, which was probably the smallest I could find, was about twenty servings. I froze most of it, and it reheats really well.
I learned a few things from this. For one, there’s no need to worry about liquid diluting the flavor of the meat – the meat exudes a surprising amount of liquid anyway. It’s best to add just a bit of water to help the slow cooker get the cooking started. Also, as far as cooking times go, longer seems to be better. So, as my brother said, start dinner cooking before you go to work, and when you get home 9 or 10 hours later, you’ll be just in time to shred the meat, add the barbecue sauce, and let that all cook together for a bit.
Overall, served with coleslaw, this makes for a fantastic meal. I know that crockpot pulled pork recipes are a dime a dozen, but trust me that this spice rub adds far more flavor than root beer ever could. Plus, it’s not much work at all, so with minimal effort you can stock your freezer with multiple nights’ worth of easy and tasty meals.
Update 9.21.08: Last time I made this, I used a pork shoulder that just barely fit in my crockpot; I think it was in the 7.5 pound range. After 8.5 hours, the pork wasn’t tender enough to be pulled, at least on the inside. So I recommend erring on the longer side of this cooking range, especially if you’re using a large roast.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork (spice rub from Cooks Illustrated)
Spice Rub:
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons table salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground white pepper
1 (6-8 pound) bone-in pork shoulder
½ teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
2 cups barbecue sauce
1. Mix all spice rub ingredients in small bowl.
2. Massage spice rub into meat. Wrap tightly in double layer of plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (For stronger flavor, the roast can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
3. Unwrap roast and place it in slow cooker liner. Add liquid smoke, if using, and ¼ cup water. Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 8-10 hours, until meat is fork-tender.
4. Transfer roast to cutting board; discard liquid in liner. “Pull” by tearing meat into thin shreds with two forks or your fingers. Discard fat.
5. Place shredded meat back in slow cooker liner; toss with 1 cup barbecue sauce, and heat on low for 30-60 minutes, until hot. Serve with additional barbecue sauce.
Bridget, this looks awesome. seriously, I’ve NEVER seen a crockpot recipe I’ve actually wanted to try until this one. We are soooo trying this. Thanks!
I am going to detour to the butcher on the way home and grab the shoulder I thought about getting last night. This would make a fabulous lunch for tomorrow with some fresh baked buns and maybe beans. Yummy!
It looks mouth watering good. I will have to try this recipe, I’ve been craving pulled pork lately!
OMG, that looks amazing! I love the photo of all the spices – I”m stealing that idea and trying this recipe sometime!
That looks so good! I agree with Jess the spices photo is very nice !
Bridget…I tagged you! Check out my blog for details.
This looks so good right now!
look at all those yummy spices! mmmmm!
[...] you have never had pulled pork before you are in for a treat. It is easy to make int he crockpot and it is SO good with some cole [...]
I got a crockpot for a wedding gift, and have managed to make a few disgusting mushy meals in it. I refuse to give it away, though, because i hoped that I could find a pulled pork recipe that would make it worth owning the stupid thing. I think you just saved my crockpot!
Now this looks like a recipe that is completely worthy of having in the files. Everyone needs a good, easy pulled pork recipe
Looks great!!
Hi Bridget — Great blog and recipes. We loved the szechuan beans with pork. What do you use for BBQ sauce?
This sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing.
Michele – I use Dinosaur BBQ sauce. I’m not sure if it’s available nation-wide.
Thanks Bridget. I ended up making my own BBQ (from one of Ina Garten’s books). It was great with this pork, although I think you could easily get by with just using it as a condiment. This meat has fantastic flavor from the rub.
Is this spicy with that much cayenne and chili powder? My husband had cancer and now he can’t handle spicy stuff. It really sounds yummy!!!!
Jessi – It’s not spicy. Really, the only spice I noticed was from the black pepper. It might depend on your chili powder? The stuff I use (sorry that I don’t know the brand) isn’t spicy at all.
[...] club. I knew I had a saved a few recipes for the pork, so when I found this blog about pulled pork, I knew I had to try it. Go look at her pictures, they are WAY better than mine. (Plus she’s [...]
This looks incredible. We will definitely be trying this.
Tried this yesterday–YUMMY!! I put Sweet Baby Ray’s bbq sauce on it and added extra liquid smoke. The hamburger buns were a bit stale so I grilled them, and served the pork sandwiches with grilled sweet corn. Thanks so much for the recipe!
This is a great recipe, as everyone who tries it will find. I usually roast the pork in an oven set to about 150 degrees. This requires a heavy covered pot, either aluminum or iron, and you should sear the meat on the stove before putting it in the oven. For one reason or other I searched for a Crock Pot recipe and found this one. Try it – you’ll like it.
To Jessi asking about the heat —
1. Reduce the amount of black pepper and white pepper, or omit them completely. Peppercorns have a fair amount of heat.
2. Omit the cayenne altogether.
3. Make sure you have MILD chili powder. You can get this blend from Penzy’s Spices, it has good flavor but is not hot.
Cheers,
Dotcrow
[...] from The Way the Cookie Crumbles Tags: dinner, lunch, main courses, pork, [...]
I am making this for Thanksgiving instead of turkey (plus a roast leg of lamb)! It looks soooo good.
@dotcrow:
If you do it in the oven, should be at least 220. Should be slow but food safe. This is about what most southern pit cookers will heat to as well.
Anyone know how many this would serve? I’m having a football party on Friday–Go Utes!
I made this recipe over the weekend and it was delicious. Thank you so much!
I made this the other night and it turned out fabulous. I used a 4 lb. boston butt and just halfed all of the spices. The 4 lb. made about 5 large sandwiches. Mine cooked for about 8 hours and was kept warm for 2. It literally slid off the bone.
I can’t believe people spend $5.00 or more on PP sandwiches when they are so easily made at home and frozen!
Thanks for such a perfect recipe!
I prepared this recipe using 7 lb boneless pork sirloin roast (that is what was on sale last week, and it made tender, tasty pulled pork). I made mini buns using frozen roll dough (I flattened the dough balls when they were mostly thawed). It was part of a potluck for 90 people. My mini pulled pork sandwiches disappeared quickly, and got rave reviews! I will definitely use this as my go-to pulled pork recipe, and I have already shared it with several others. Yummy!
THIS IS THE FIRST RECIPE I HAVE EVER USED IN A CROCKPOT!! I MADE IT FOR OUR FRIENDS AT SKIING. THEY WENT CRAZY OVER IT!! THIS IS AN AWESOME RECIPE AND SO EASY!!! THIS RECIPE IS A MUST HAVE. WILL FEED ALOT OF PEOPLE FOR A LITTLE PRICE, WITH A GREAT TASTE! THANKS FOR SHARING!!
Excellent recipe!! pork was tender, FLAVORFUL, and TASTY!! I used a whole bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s Sweet Vidalia Onion BBQ Sauce instead of the 2 cups recommended.
[...] from The Way The Cookie Crumbles (go there for amazing pictures!) In the slow [...]
Thanks for sharing the recipe – my husband agreed that it was by far the best thing to ever come out of my crockpot… you know, besides queso
Thanks for the great recipe! I made it yesterday for our Super Bowl party and it was a big hit. I think I need to buy a bigger crock pot before I make it again, though. About halfway through when the meat started to plump up we had to tape down the lid to keep it on!
Ridiculously amazing recipe. I haven’t even gotten to eat supper yet, but I’ve sampled the meat and it is fantastic.
Thanx for blogging about it. The spice rub is also something I”m saving for the next boring piece of meat that wanders my way.
Wow, this looks fabulous! Great pictures! We’re making it tonight for my daughter’s first birthday party (for the adults) tomorrow…I cannot wait to try it
Hi Bridget,
Thanks so much for this recipe. I’ve had my crockpot for years, and this was the first recipe I saw that persuaded me to pull it out and actually use it. And I’m so glad I did–the pork is wonderful.
I’m looking forward to serving it to guests next weekend, and I’m wondering what the best way to reheat it it? You mentioned that it freezes well, so I was planning on storing it there, and then possibly reheating it in the slow cooker. Should I skip the 30-60 minute reheat today w/bbq sauce today and do that as the reheat? Would love to hear your thoughts.
Thank you!
Amanda – I think you could go either way on the 30-60 minute reheat at the end. I guess I’d probably do it today, just to give yourself one less thing to think about when you have guests next week.
I think reheating it in the crockpot would be a great idea for guests. It’s low maintenance and the meat will stay warm while people arrive, get settled, and go back for seconds. I usually just defrost it overnight and then heat it in a covered pot on the stove, but that’s just for my husband and myself for dinner.
Bridget-
I stumbled across this recipe in my efforts to find a decent pulled pork. I made this for 40 people a couple months ago (took 4 crockpots) and we served at a shelter nearby. My husband was so bummed that he didn’t get any that I’m making it again for him tonight. He was literally obsessed with it. Thanks so much for the amazing rub! Yummy!!
[...] The Way The Cookie Crumbles and Cook’s [...]
Made this for dinner tonight and OMG was it the best pulled pork I’ve ever had. My husband even loved it. I did not have cayenne pepper so I replaced it with 1 1/2t of red pepper flakes.
Thank you!!! Love your blog!!
[...] when I saw this recipe for pulled pork in the crock pot. I got pretty excited. The deal with this recipe was to put [...]
I just made this tonight and it came out amazing! I didn’t even bother with the barbecue sauce because the spice rub ended up making a delicious sauce in and of itself. This is one of my favorite new recipes!
I blogged this yesterday after seeing it on your site. Absolutely DELISH! I was short on time so put it straight in the crockpot after the rub and it still was so so good!
I want to try this so much I’m going out to purchase a crock pot. What would be the ideal size?
This is a great recipe. I’ve made it twice and each time it has been gone over well. The first time I made it 10 hours did not seem like enough. The second time I cooked it about 15 and the meat fell right off the bone. I added my secret BBQ sauce and it was perfect. Thanks for posting this.
Well, I don’t know what I did wrong. I followed the recipe to the letter and after 9 hours on low, the meat is still tough! I pulled some off of the bottom (the juices went about 1/2 way up) and have enough for a handful – it does taste great but I’ve got a houseful coming in an hour so I may have to order pizza! Any suggestions for next time?
Laura – Just cook it longer. The cooking time depends a lot on the size of the roast, the heat of your particular crockpot, the size of your crockpot, the temperature of the crockpot liner. (If you refrigerate the liner with the roast in it overnight, that adds about an hour to the cooking time.) And you can just put the rest of the roast you just cooked back on the heat and let it keep cooking, although it sounds like it’ll need another few hours. You could skip the “reheat with the BBQ sauce” step at the end, but it still doesn’t sound like it’ll be ready by the time you need to feed your guests. I’m so sorry about that – I know that I would be disappointed if I was in your situation.
This was absolutely delicious! My husband even said that it was as good as, if not better, than the local guy with the BBQ setup in town. And we live in NC, so that’s saying something! Next time I need to buy a larger shoulder though because my husband went to town and I was expecting some leftovers! Overall, great recipe!! Thanks!
I finally tried it over the weekend and I must say it was fantastic. The only trouble I had was the dry rub did not permeate the meat (I marinated it overnight) but I had some left over and used it to season the meat after I shredded it. My family loved it.
Nina – I’ve noticed that I get more flavor from the rub when I give it a day or two, although even an overnight rest makes for tasty meat.
[...] April 30, 2009 @ 2:19 am } · { Uncategorized } I found this recipe quite a while ago on The Way the Cookie Crumbles, and I had it starred in Google Reader for months. It’s hard to find an occasion for which to [...]
Great spice dry rub recipe. I substituted all brown sugar and hawaiian red clay salt, reduced the chile powder by half and used 2 tbl jerk spice, 1/2 tsp grnd cloves, and 1 tbl garlic powder just to be different. Gave it a little more earthy island flavor. C’est magnifique, Bridget!
Oh my, this was excellent. I’ve never made pulled pork before. I was 1 Tbsp. short in chili powder so I used 1 Tbsp. of homemade Chinese 5-spice powder. I had a 3.5 pound roast and made the full amount of rub, and I let it sit overnight, and it was incredible. Thank you for the very useful post!
This was absolutely delicious. Thank you for the recipe. I thought the dry was the best I have ever used. It made the pork taste wonderful.
This is the most amazing recipe for pulled pork. I have made it at least 6-8 times, and it tastes better each time!
Love this recipe. Tried splitting a pork loin and did half in the oven and half in the crock pot. The crock pot wins hands down as it is much more moist and I actually had trouble keeping enough water in the oven recipe. I usually just rub the meat well with the seasoning recipe and have about half left for the next time which I find is a bonus. Maybe my meat is less spicy without the entire rub recipe mixed in, but everyone has raved about it anyway.
I am going to make this for a gathering I am estimating 20-30 people, I am curious as to just how much this makes? I have two 7lb pork shoulder roast and trying to decide if it will be enough?
Sarah – Two 7-pound roasts should be enough (although I think you’ll need two crockpots, because one 7-pound roast is actually a little too big for my standard-sized crockpot). Of course it depends on how much other food you have, but I think it’s safe to say that one 7-pound roast makes 10-15 servings.
I just made that recipe this weekend and it was fantastic! We really enjoyed that tasty dish! Thanks for sharing and keep up with the great work!
Cheers,
Rosa
I wanted to serve something yummy for a large crowd (over 20) and wanted to spend time visiting with my guests instead of cooking. So, this recipe was definitely a good choice!! Everyone brought a salad, I made desserts!! I would definitely do this again- we also had barbecue sauce on the side for those wanting more of the smokey flavor!!
amazing. i love it. i make this for parties or just for family dinners. every time i make it, everybody wants “my” recipe. thank you so very much for sharing!
Just wanted to say we’ve made this twice, and it is now our go-to recipe whenever we want pulled pork. I’m on my way to the store to get what I need to make it again tomorrow.
A suggestion to the person who said it was too tough after nine hours: We do ours overnight. Just put it in the crock pot and turn it on right before you go to bed. Leave it for a few more hours in the morning, then take it out and shred it, and add the bbq per directions around noonish…I really don’t think you can cook it too long. Using this method this is one of the easiest things I know how to make, and also one of the best. Thanks!
I wanted to let you know that this was my first experience making pulled pork for a party of about 20 people…and I got compliments from people that it was the best pulled pork they ever had! I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out delicious!!!! Thanks
It’s the easiest and by far the most delicious pull pork I’ve ever made, I have done it a few times and it always turns out perfectly! Thanks again
Made this last night, very good
Although I think you nailed it on the prep/rub for this recipe, I need to clear up some errors. Not that I’m biased, but I’m in North Carolina – and we make the best pulled pork on the planet. First off, If you are going to cheat (using a crockpot instead of a pit/smoker), I’d recommend started on a grill for a better end result – put it on a gas grill/ or small amount of charcoal (do not forget hickory chips/ pear wood etc.. ) and smoke it at low heat for an hour or two. Then transfer it into the crock pot (use beer instead of water) , cook at low for about 6 more hours or until center of roast hits over 190 degrees & looks like it’s about to fall apart. Pull roast and set in colander to let drippings drain off as you let it rest for 30 minutes – shred pork into strands and use a small amount of East N.C barbecue sauce to remoisten the meat a bit – DO NOT ADD ANY SAUCE AND RE-ADD IT TO COOK LONGER IN THE CROCKPOT – unless you want to destroy the natural texture and flavor of all the effort you just put in – this is especially important if you are intent on making a tomato based pulled pork sauce – the sauce is supposed to accentuate the flavor and be added to fresh meat not be smothered in it — fail to follow these warnings and you can soon congratulate yourself for spending 8+ hours to make an Arby-Q
This is an awesome recipe! I used a 5lb Boston Butt and it barely fit in my 3.5 quart crock pot. I had the same problem as Mary, I had to put a big book on top of the lid and tape it down because the meat expanded. It eventually cooked down and it wasn’t a problem after that. I cooked it for 9.5 hours and had turned it up to high for the last 2.5 hours. Next time I think I will start it out on high for an hour or so to get it started and then turn it on low. If you like pulled pork this one is easy and taste great! So Tender!