Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork BBQ

This is a fabulous Southern pulled pork slow cooker recipe that's so easy and quick to put together.

You don't need a pressure cooker, and you don't need a smoker to pull off a delicious pulled pork recipe that will please your family and friends.

All you need is a bit of time and slow cooking, and you will be rewarded with tender, fall-apart pork that you will add a zesty barbecue finishing sauce to.

Top the resulting barbecue pulled pork with one of my coleslaw recipes on a sesame seed bun, like my Green Apple Coleslaw or Southern Coleslaw, and you're all set for family or friends.

Pairs well with my Cream Style Corn and Potato Salad with Bacon.

💖 Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Easy Ingredients: Just a pork roast and other simple ingredients that are readily available, such as tomato paste, molasses, minced garlic, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and apple cider vinegar.
• Quick to Assemble: After the meat cooks for hours, you will pull it apart into small portions, removing any excess fat, and add in the rest of the ingredients.
• Everybody Loves It: No weird ingredients or chunky bits to deter finicky eaters. This pulled pork is kid and picky-eater friendly, yet flavorful enough for those who love all kinds of foods!
• Food For a Crowd: This recipe easily makes 8-10 large sandwiches, so a family of four will be eating their fill with plenty left over for another meal (even with hungry teenage boys). Easily double for a crowd or party.

🥘 Ingredients

What You'll Need For Pulled Pork BBQ:

📖 Ingredient Notes

• Pork: Pick a pork roast that doesn't contain a lot of fat. This could be pork butt or shoulder. It may simply say "pork roast" on the packaging. Any pork roast that is fairly lean is a good choice.
• Seasonings: I used onion powder, minced garlic, and dry marjoram. You can substitute for any of these if needed. For example, feel free to use garlic powder instead of minced. You can also substitute oregano or an Italian seasoning blend (without salt) for the dry marjoram, and it will have similar taste. You could use dry onion or onion soup mix for the onion powder. Just make sure you keep an eye on the salt content of what you add so your pulled pork doesn't end up too salty.
• Mustard: I used plain yellow mustard (the cheap kind), but you could use spicy or brown mustard if you wish. It should add a nice spicy kick to the flavors.

(See recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full recipe instructions)

🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions

How to Make BBQ Pulled Pork in the Slow Cooker:

Step 1: Add pork to slow cooker and turn heat to high (or low). Drizzle with the oil and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low (or until it's fall-apart tender or falling off the bone if using bone in pork).

Step 2: Remove meat from slow cooker and separate out any fat or bone, pulling it into bite-sized pieces as you go. (I like to use a fork to break it up initially, then use my hands to get the smaller pieces.)

Step 3: Add shredded pork back to slow cooker (and liquid left behind).

Step 4: Add all the sauce ingredients to the pork in the slow cooker and stir together until the meat is well covered in the sauce. Turn heat to low, and heat for another 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Step 5: Serve warm by itself or on buns or rolls with coleslaw.

(Scroll down for full recipe and print capabilities)

💭 Expert Cooking Tips

• I used a pork roast for this pulled pork recipe. The label didn't specify pork butt, but you can certainly use this cut. The tricks for cooking pork butt for pulled pork are simply cooking low and slow, which the slow cooker takes care of in the above recipe.
• You can use pork from the shoulder or butt, but I simply use a pork roast that doesn't have a ton of fat. You can also look specifically for pork butt or pork shoulder for the cut of meat that's best for pulled pork. You want a bit of fat for flavor. Actually, the more fat the more flavorful your pulled pork will be. However, you may not want all the fat in the end product (like me - not because of being fat averse, but I just don't like the mouth feel of a bunch of fat in my pulled pork).
• Do not discard the liquid broth left behind in the slow cooker, as this liquid has lots of flavor and will help your pork be nice and juicy once returning it to the cooker.
• You want small pieces, and it's ideal to "pull" the meat apart with your fingers or with a fork or two. The meat should be very tender, so this process should be simple and not take very long.

🧐 Recipe FAQs