Make Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork to use in many main dishes (5 minutes prep)! Great for BBQ sandwiches, tacos, enchiladas, burritos, etc.
Looking for a simple way to cook a lot of meat to use in various recipes? This recipe for easy slow cooker pulled pork may be just the recipe you’re looking for!
With as little as 5 minutes of hands-on prep time and a few common spices, you can have a large pork shoulder seasoned and cooking away in a slow cooker.
After it cooks all day, you will be left with tender pork, that can be EASILY shredded, to use in a variety of dishes. Here’s how to make easy slow cooker pulled pork.
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Season The Pork
The ingredients I use to season the pork are salt, pepper, liquid smoke, garlic powder and onion powder. Mix the salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder in a small bowl. Do NOT add the liquid smoke or water at this point.
I use these very basic spices to season the pork, because once the meat is done cooking and shredded, it can be used for a variety of main dishes with different flavor combinations.
Before seasoning, pat the pork shoulder dry by blotting it on all sides with paper towels. Sprinkle this seasoning mix over the entire surface of the pork shoulder, then place the pork shoulder into a large slow cooker.
For this recipe I used a 7 pound pork butt, also known as pork shoulder or Boston pork butt. All these types of pork come from the SHOULDER of the pig.
Combine the liquid smoke and water in a small container, then pour it around the outside edges of the pork, onto the bottom of the slow cooker.
The liquid smoke will help flavor the meat with a semi-smoked flavor, which is helpful since we will not be cooking the pork on a smoker grill or BBQ. Liquid smoke can usually be found in most grocery stores, on the aisle with the BBQ sauces or condiments.
Time To Slow Cook The Seasoned Pork
Put the lid on the slow cooker, and then cook the pork for about 8 hours on LOW setting. Let it cook away while you got to work or do other things during the day.
After several hours you will begin to smell “good aromas” coming out of your slow cooker. No need to do anything else to the meat until it has finished slow cooking!
For this recipe, you will want the finished pork to have an internal temperature of 200°F (or 93.33°C) This higher internal temperature will ensure the pork becomes VERY tender, which is what you want for easily shredding the meat.
NOTE: If using a slightly smaller or larger pork shoulder, you may need to adjust the cooking time slightly.
What To Do When It Is Finished Cooking
Once the pork has cooked the full time, and reaches an internal temperature of 200°F. (or 93.33°C), unplug or turn off the slow cooker.
Let the pork rest (still covered in the slow cooker) for about 30 minutes. After it has rested, transfer the pork to a large bowl for shredding.
Remove the bone from the pork. It should come off easily, with no problem at all. Don’t forget to also save the juice that remains in the slow cooker, okay? Okay.
Shredding The Tender Cooked Pork
The easiest way I have found to shred the meat is to use two forks. The meat should be so tender that you can EASILY pull the meat off using them.
Continue shredding until all of the easy slow cooker pulled pork has been shredded. You should end up with a large pile of pulled pork.
After the bone is removed (and accounting for shrinkage while cooking, I usually will end up with somewhere between 5-6 pounds of pulled pork.
The next thing I do is to ladle some of the juices from the slow cooker into the shredded pork. Pour it through a strainer to help filter out any pieces of fat, etc. that might be hanging out in the juices.
By adding some (not all!) of the liquid back into the pulled pork, it ensures the meat will absorb some of the liquid and not be dry. The juices also adds back in some more flavor, too!
Toss the pulled pork with the liquids to combine, adding more juices as you feel are necessary for “juicy pork”. Once the easy slow cooker shredded pork has cooled, it can be divided into freezer bags and stored for future meals.
What Can Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Be Used For?
There are a LOT of uses for this delicious pulled pork. Some of our favorite ways to use shredded pork is in burritos, tacos, enchiladas and tamales, adding additional Mexican seasonings, as desired.
Another of our favorite ways to use pulled pork is to add BBQ sauce and make BBQ pork sandwiches. There are many ways available to enjoy it. YUM!
Storing The Pulled Pork For Other Meals
I always save enough easy slow cooker pulled pork for a meal I make the same night as I cook the pork. All the extra shredded pork is divided into freezer storage bags, with about a pound of meat in each one.
This is really convenient, because the next time I want to use pulled pork for another meal, all I have to do is thaw the package out, then use as I wish!
It is a real timesaver to do this, and the pulled pork will store safely for several months in our freezer. Since it is not difficult to prepare the shredded pork, it comes in handy a month or two later when I want to use pulled pork again for a meal. WIN-WIN!
Looking For More PORK Recipes?
You can find ALL of my recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have some truly delicious recipes featuring pork to choose from, including:
- Awesome Grilled Pork Chops
- Shredded Pork Smothered Burritos
- Brown Sugar Pork Chops
- Ham and Cheddar Gnocchi
- Grilled Pork Tenderloin Sandwich With Mozzarella and Caramelized Onions
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↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
Make Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork to use in many main dishes (5 minutes prep)! Great for BBQ sandwiches, tacos, enchiladas, burritos, etc.
- 7 pounds pork shoulder (or Boston butt roast) bone-in
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1½ teaspoons onion powder
- 1½ Tablespoons liquid smoke
- ½ cup water
Pat the pork shoulder dry by blotting it on all sides with paper towels.
Combine salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder in a small bowl. Sprinkle the spices over entire surface of the meat. Put seasoned pork in a large slow cooker. Combine liquid smoke and water in a small container, then pour it around outside edges of the pork, onto the bottom of the slow cooker.
Cook on LOW heat for 8 hours. The finished pork should reach an internal temperature of 200°F. (or 93.33℃) for easiest shredding. Turn off slow cooker; let pork rest for 30 minutes (still covered in slow cooker). NOTE: If using a slightly smaller or larger pork shoulder, you may need to adjust cooking time slightly.
Remove bone from pork. It should come off easily. Transfer pork to a large bowl (reserving juice left in slow cooker). Shred the meat using two forks. The meat should be so tender you can EASILY shred it. Continue shredding until all pork has been shredded.
Ladle some of the juices from slow cooker into the shredded pork. Pour it through a strainer to filter out any pieces of fat, etc that might be present By adding some (not all!) of the liquid back into the pulled pork, it ensures the meat will absorb some of liquid and not be dry. Juices also adds more flavor, too!Toss the pulled pork with the liquids to combine, Use in your favorite dishes. Enjoy!
To store in freezer: let meat fully cool. Divide into freezer storage bags, and freeze up to several months. To use, thaw fully; add to favorite main dish recipes
Caloric estimate/calculation was made using 6 pounds of cooked, shredded pork, because the 7 pound pork used will reduce in volume when cooked, and also weigh less after the bone has been removed.
Here’s one more to pin on you Pinterest boards!