Pulled pork is such a comforting and extremely versatile dish. Like any, this BBQ pulled pork, with it’s combination of tender, juicy meat and big flavours, will feed a crowd with very little effort, making it a great party food. It can even be made ahead.
It’s starts with a simple pork rub. Browning the meat, though optional, adds flavour, then it goes into a slow cooker with onion and cider until it’s cooked to perfection. And while you could use your favourite store-bought barbecue sauce, it never quite gets the full flavour of the homemade BBQ sauce in this recipe.
I regularly use this in pulled pork burgers, these pulled pork tacos and even on this pizza. You should also try this pulled beef too.
This recipe was first published here on March 17th, 2019. It has been updated with a simplified, more delicious recipe and new images.
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What is pulled pork
Pulled pork is a cut of pork that is cooked slowly until the meat can be easily pulled apart with barely any pressure. I like to use the pork shoulder – in the US, this cut is called the Boston butt or pork butt.
Slow cooking pork shoulder yields a wonderfully fall apart and melty kind of meat due to it’s perfect ratios of meat to fat. I use a boneless piece of meat for convenience but some people swear by using a cut with the bone in for more flavour. You can cook the meat a number of ways – oven, slow cooker / crock pot or barbecue for instance – but just be sure to cook it slowly over a long period.
Ingredients notes
The ingredients in this recipe are very simple. Pork, onion, cider some spices then a bunch of ingredients to turn the pan juices into the most amazing and quick homemade BBQ sauce.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
- Pork shoulder / pork butt: Boneless pork shoulder is what you want for this recipe. It’s got a good amount of fat and turns out succulent after a slow cook. A very similar cut from around the same area is called pork butt or boston butt so depending on where you live, choose the one you can get. I use a rolled pork shoulder that I can get from the supermarket to keep things convenient. I buy the bigger one around 2.6kg (5 ¾lb) and cut the skin off myself. You can use bone-in pork, however make sure it fits into your slow cooker. I prefer the boneless variety so that it can be cut into pieces which all get browned in a pan before slow cooking.
- Apple cider (not apple cider vinegar but the the actual beverage) helps to tenderise the meat but also imparts flavour and acidity which is great with this rich meat. You can swap the apple cider for beer or even for Cola or Dr Pepper.
- Spices: The pork rub seasoning is made up of brown sugar, salt, mild or smoked paprika, ground cumin, onion powder, garlic powder and dried oregano. The brown sugar helps with great caramelisation on the meat. You can make a big batch of the spice rub, place it in a labelled airtight container and have it ready to go next time you feel the urge for a delicious slow cooked dinner.
The pulled pork sauce
The pulled pork sauce is made up of the cooking juices, plus tomato ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar (which you can swap for apple cider vinegar), Dijon mustard, garlic powder, dark soy sauce (adds a lovely umami and colour) and hot sauce (which you could swap for cayenne pepper or chilli powder).
How to make BBQ pulled pork
This pork is cooked in a slow cooker / crockpot on the high setting making it quick for a slow cooked meal. It results in the most fall-apart tender meat. You can cook it on low too for around 8 hours.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Prepare the pork
Start by mixing together the pork rub ingredients. Cut the pork shoulder into about 4-5 big chunks and massage the spice rub into every nook and cranny. Don’t leave any of that spice behind.
2. Brown the pork
In a pan over medium heat, brown the pork all over, turning as needed so that the sugar doesn’t catch and burn. This step, while technically optional, adds so much flavour that I wouldn’t suggest skipping it.
3. Slow cook the pork
Add sliced onion and a cup of apple cider to a slow cooker bowl, then place the pieces of pork on top. Cook for 3-3 ½ hours on high (or you can do 7-8 hours on low). It’s done when you can easily pull the pork apart with a fork.
4. Make the BBQ sauce
Transfer the cooked pork to a chopping board while you get the sauce started. It takes very little effort. Just transfer all the cooking liquid to a large saucepan and add the remaining sauce ingredients. Give it a good mix then let it boil rapidly for 7-10 minutes until reduced by half or to around about 2 cups of sauce. You can see in an image further down how thickly it coats the pan.
5. Shred the pork
Shred the meat using 2 forks, pushing and pulling until you have a big bowl full of pulled pork.
6. Turn it into BBQ pulled pork
Pour the BBQ sauce over the pulled pork and mix well until fully coated. Now it’s ready to serve.
What to do with leftover pulled pork
One of the best parts of making this BBQ pulled pork is there is often the opportunity for leftovers, aka another easy dinner later in the week or freeze it for another time.
- Turn it into tacos or burritos.
- Turn it into pork nachos using tortilla chips, topping it with pickled jalapeno and sour cream. Yum!
- Wrap it up in these homemade 3 ingredient flatbreads with some mayo and salad.
- Try it as a pizza topping. Start with this easy pizza dough.
- Pulled pork burger / pulled pork sandwich. Try it in a burger bun like these pulled beef burgers.
- Turn it into easy fried rice. It’s not so far in sweetness from the Chinese style barbecued pork so actually works well.
- Add it to this pear and walnut salad to turn a salad into a full meal.
- It’s delicious alongside potato salad.
- Stuff it into empanadas or calzone.
- Or just eat it on it’s own with this amazing apple coleslaw.
Can pulled pork be frozen and can it be reheated?
Leftover shredded pork can also be stored in the freezer, ready for another time. I use silicone freezer storage cubes to portion and freeze the meat, then transfer it to an airtight container or ziplock bags once solid, knowing that I can take just as much as I want and I know the exact quantity easily.
Souper cubes (avail on Amazon) are great for freezing in portions but I actually own the Smash brand (if you’re in Australia, these are available in Woolies). They start around $20 but you use them over and over again so well worth the investment.
Thaw it in the fridge overnight or in the microwave on the defrost setting, then reheat it in a pan with a dash of water.
Substitutions
- Spices – try to use all the spices in the recipe for the best flavour but you can certainly experiment with flavours. If you like it spicy, add some chili powder or cayenne powder to the mix. Make it a little unique by adding some ground or whole fennel seeds.
- Brown sugar gives a slight caramelly edge but you can use regular white granulated sugar.
- This style of cooking is not reserved for pork. I’ve used this exact same recipe but used beef instead. It would also work well on chicken thighs, however being a less fatty meat, I would not recommend using chicken breast. Chicken will only take around 2-2 ½ hours on high to cook or 5 hours on low.
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Ingredients
- 1 medium brown onion roughly sliced
- 1 cup apple cider (actual cider, not vinegar) (250ml)
- 1.8 kg skinless boneless pork shoulder / pork butt (4lb) (notes 2&3)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar (notes 1)
- 1 tablespoon paprika mild or smoked (notes 1)
- 1 tablespoon cooking salt / kosher salt (notes 1)
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon sunflower or vegetable oil (notes 1)
FOR THE BBQ SAUCE
- 1 cup tomato sauce (tomato ketchup)
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (notes 1)
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (notes 1)
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce optional
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2-3 teaspoons hot sauce to taste or cayenne/chili powder to taste
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- Large skillet / frying pan
- Slow cooker / crock pot
Instructions
- Place the roughly cut onion and cider into the base of a slow cooker.
- Trim the pork of excess fat leaving just a thin layer over the top – don’t remove it all. If there is skin on the pork, you’ll need to remove that first.
- Cut the pork into 3-4 large chunks.
- Mix together the brown sugar, paprika, salt, onion powder, oregano, cumin and garlic powder in a small bowl, then massage them into the pork all over, making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies and use it all up.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet / frying pan over medium heat then add the pork, letting each side get a crust and a bit of char before turning. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn. The meat does not need to be cooked through but getting a crust adds lots of flavour.
- Transfer the pork to the slow cooker on top of the onions. Cook for about 3-4 hours on high.
- At around the 3 hour mark, check the pork for doneness – if it is already easily tearing apart when you poke a fork in, it is done. If not, continue to cook it for another 30-60 minutes until tender and easy to pull apart with forks.
- Set the pork aside on a large chopping board. Pour or ladle the cooking juices into a large, heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining sauce ingredients. Stir to dissolve the sugar and bring the sauce to a boil. Cook stirring regularly for 10-15 minutes until reduced by half and thickened. You want to have about 500ml / 2 cups of sauce to coat the meat well.
- Use two forks to push and pull at the meat to shred it then return it to the slow cooker bowl, along with as much of the sauce as you like (I just add it all). Toss to combine.
- It’s ready to serve and great in buns with with coleslaw or in tacos to name two options. The list is endless – check the post above for more ideas.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- You’re looking for pork shoulder / square cut pork shoulder / pork butt / boston butt (which is actually from the neck, not the butt) and you want one that is boneless and skinless. If you can only get a pork shoulder with the skin on, try to get a piece at least 2.5kg and remove the skin and some excess fat before spicing.
- Pork skin: If your pork has skin, you’ll need to remove that. You can discard this or roast it until crackled to serve with the pulled pork.
- Tomato ketchup in the US is known as tomato sauce in Australia.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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