Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Recipe At-A-Glance

It’s easy to get slow roasted flavor by using the slow cooker to make this pulled pork recipe. An overnight dry rub adds tons of flavor without a lot of work.

Slow Cooker

Ready in 16 hours

My wedding day was really low-pressure. Part of it was because of the locationโ€”we held our wedding between two trees in my parents’ backyard (which is now my backyard). Part of it was because we only invited our closest friends and familyโ€”we had about 40 people there total. But probably the biggest reason why it was so stress-free was because we were already married when we stood up in front of our loved onesย and said our vows. Because of a tight immigration deadline, six months before, on a super chilly St. Patrick’s Day, Craig and I went to City Hall and wereย married by the Assistant City Clerk (who was wearing jeans and an orange hoodie). It was intimate, sweet, and incredibly romantic if you can ignore the fact that we got hitched in a hallway outside of the parks andย recreation department (how very Leslie Knope of me).

And even though March 17th is the day that we officially celebrate as our anniversary each year, we also look back fondly to September 22ndโ€”the day of our second wedding. It was the day that all of our friends and family got together and drank good beer, ate good food, and danced until the wee hours of the morning. It was one heck of a party.

wedding

To this day, people still talk about the food we served at our wedding (well, that, and the fact that it was a 94ยฐ that dayโ€”the Canadians were melting). Since we were having a backyard wedding, we knew we wanted to keep the food casual and comfortable. We tossed around a lot of ideas, but eventually landed on serving barbecue for our guests.

It was a ton of fun visiting all the different barbecue joints in our area and figuring out who we wanted to cater our wedding. We went withย on one local place because not only was their food delicious, but we also loved their presentation. They served their “platters” of barbecue on metal trash can lids right at the tableโ€”we thought it was just quirky and weird enough to be perfect for our wedding! Everyone got a huge kick when these giant trash can lids to came to each table and everyone was encouraged to dig into the heaping piles of pulled pork, brisket, barbecue ribs, roasted chicken, baked beans, and corn on the cob. Now, every time I have barbecue, I get all kinds of warm and fuzzy thinking about our wedding day.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

The slow cooker is absolutely madeย for doing barbecue. It’s the perfect way to get slow-cooked flavor without babysitting the meat. If you’ve never slow-cooked ribs, I highly recommend trying it. They’re fall-off-the-bone perfect (especially after a quick trip under the broiler to get the sauce all caramelized and delicious). I also use the slow cooker all the time to make pulled beef, chicken and pork barbecue. The slow cooking adds so much rich flavor.ย It does require a bit of pre-planningโ€”the dry rub on the pork the night before is the key to a super delicious sandwich.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I served up these pulled pork sandwiches topped with Cuban Slaw. And I also served it with extra barbecue sauce to make the sandwiches extra sloppy and delicious. Some folks prefer their pulled pork sandwiches more dry, so my recommendation is to put the barbecue sauce out and everyone can customize their own sandwich. I tend to make my own barbecue sauce, but whatever bottle is your favorite would work well, too.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Yield: 10 servings
Cook Time: 8 hours
Additional Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 16 hours

It's easy to get slow roasted flavor by using the slow cooker to make this pulled pork recipe. An overnight dry rub adds tons of flavor without a lot of work.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons dry mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 2-3 pound pork shoulder roast, extra fat trimmed off
  • Potato buns, coleslaw and barbecue sauce for serving

Instructions

  1. Combine the brown sugar, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt in a small bowl. Rub the mixture liberally over the pork shoulder. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, preferably overnight.
  2. Cook pork shoulder in slow cooker on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours. At the end of cooking time, take two forks and shred the pork. Serve on potato buns topped with barbecue sauce and coleslaw, if desired.

Notes

The pulled pork recipe is naturally gluten-free. To use it in a gluten-free sandwich, grab a gluten-free bun and gluten-free barbecue sauce and you're good to go!

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 520Total Fat: 31gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 123mgSodium: 494mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 1gSugar: 21gProtein: 33g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

 

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6 Comments

  1. It must be the weather, because everyone is making pulled pork today, including me. I love making it in the slow cooker too, but those last couple hours always have me drooling.

  2. We’re on the same wavelength, I just posted a pulled pork roll last week!! Ha ha! Must be that time of the year! Mine was Mexican though. This is a great classic recipe, pinning so I don’t lose it!!

  3. Never had pulled pork on a sandwich before.. definitely something that I need to make. These sandwiches look delicious!

  4. Cassie, what size slow cooker do you use? I have a 3-quart because I “cook for one”, and I wouldn’t have the first clue how to adjust a recipe for it. I’d appreciate any tips or suggestions!!!

  5. We served BBQ, brisket, cole slaw, Mac and cheese, green beans and cornbread at our wedding; one of the best decisions we made! Wedding food should be good and we also wanted comfortable, something people want to eat with cold beer over Memorial Day weekend.

    Sorry for the tangent, should of just said can’t wait to try this bbq!