Easy slow cooker BBQ pulled pork
Make Easy slow cooker BBQ pulled pork for tender, glossy pulled pork with simple prep and slow cooking.
Ingredients
- 3.5-4.5kg/ 5-7lb pork butt / pork shoulder (, bone in, fat cap on (Note 1))
- 1 cup beer (, apple cider or apple juice (Note 2))
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp paprika powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp mustard powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar (Note 3)
- 3 cups tomato ketchup (or Aussie tomato sauce)
- 1 cup water (or use remaining beer!)
- 3 tbsp molasses (, orginal (not blackstrap, Note 4))
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 4 tsp mustard powder
- 3 tsp garlic powder
- 4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp Tabasco ( or cayenne pepper (optional, for spiciness))
Instructions
Step 1: Make and apply the rub
Combine the brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, cumin, salt and black pepper in a small mixing bowl and stir until evenly blended into a fragrant, slightly sandy spice mix. Pat the pork butt dry with paper, then press the rub all over the outside of the meat so the sugar and spices form a coarse, matte crust on the fat cap and exposed muscle — you should see the rub stick in thin ridges across the surface, the sugar granules catching the light.
Step 2: Load and start the slow cook
Place the rubbed pork into a wide, shallow rectangular roasting pan (to match the later finishing steps) and pour one cup of beer or apple cider into a small heat-safe jug beside it; slide the pan into your slow cooker or transfer into your slow-cooker insert (we won’t photograph the appliance). Cook on low for about 10 hours until the meat is visibly collapsed, the exterior is deeply browned and the connective tissue has loosened so the muscle looks wet, stringy and ready to pull apart.
Step 3: Optional oven finish to render and brown
If you’re finishing in the oven (recommended), transfer the pork from the slow cooker into the same rectangular roasting pan reserved earlier; reserve the cooking juices in a bowl. Spoon off and set aside about a third cup of the fatty juices in a small ramekin — you’ll use this to baste. Roast briefly to create a thin, glossy brown crust on the surface while keeping the interior tender and wet.
Step 4: Trim and final roast
Remove the roast from the oven, carve away the thick cap of excess fat and discard it; spoon another quarter cup of the reserved juices and fat over the meat and roast for a short final time so the exterior becomes a little more concentrated and sticky. At this point the surface should be glossy with pooled juices, and the meat should yield easily when prodded with forks.
Step 5: Shred and dress
Transfer the warm roast back to the rectangular pan and use two forks to shred the meat into long, wet ribbons and short, juicy threads — leave a few larger pieces for contrast. Toss the shredded pork gently with several ladlefuls of the finished barbecue sauce so each strand is coated with a thick, shiny, syrupy glaze that clings in strings and pools slightly in the pan.
Step 6: Make the barbecue sauce
Place the apple cider vinegar, ketchup, water (or remaining beer), molasses, brown sugar, mustard powder, garlic powder, Worcestershire, salt, pepper and Tabasco into a saucepan and simmer gently for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce becomes glossy and reduced to a syrupy consistency. Finish by stirring in three-quarters to one cup of the reserved slow-cooker juices until the sauce is thick, lacquer-like and balanced in sweet, salty and tangy notes.
Step 7: Adjust and rest
Taste and adjust the sauce for more sweetness (brown sugar or honey), salt, or sharpness with vinegar; toss a little more sauce with any remaining pan juices so the pork is moist but not soupy. Let the dressed pork rest briefly in the rectangular pan so the sauce sets into a glossy coating on the strands.
Step 8: Serve and enjoy
Pile the sauced pulled pork in the same rectangular serving pan, garnish with a small ramekin of coleslaw or a scattering of fresh parsley if you like, and serve straight from the pan with buns, cornbread or classic sides. The final image shows the hot, glossy shredded pork heaped in the rectangular pan, the sauce clinging to every strand and a pair of metal tongs resting nearby ready to serve.
Notes
- Reserve a cup of cooking juices for adjusting sauce and reheating.
- Finish briefly in a hot oven for glossy, caramelized edges.
- Taste and adjust the sauce for sweetness or tang before tossing with pork.
- Use bone-in shoulder for extra richness and slightly better texture.
- Slice off thick fat cap after roasting if servings seem too greasy.