Easy slow cooker BBQ pulled pork

Recipe video above. This may well be the juiciest, most flavourful pulled pork you ever have in your life! Homemade BBQ Sauce totally makes it. And there's no denying that using a slow cooker yields the juiciest pulled pork with very little effort. BIG BATCH recipe, 100% perfect for freezing, ideal for entertaining!Love this recipe? One day, try my ultimate Pulled Pork recipe.

Prep time: PT15M

Cook time: PT600M

Rating

4.97 stars (140 reviews)

Keywords

BBQ pulled pork, pork butt recipe, pork shoulder recipe, pulled porkl

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))

Cuisine

BBQ
Southern
Texas
Western

Steps

Mix the Rub together, then rub all over the pork.
Place in a slow cooker, pour over beer. Slow cook on low for 10 hours. Pork should be tender enough to easily shred.
Browning in oven (optional, recommended):
- Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F.
- Transfer from slow cooker into a roasting pan (reserve liquid).
- Scoop fat off surface of juices in slow cooker and drizzle over pork (about 1/3 cup), then roast pork for 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven, cut thick layer of fat off top and discard. Spoon over 1/4 cup fat from slow cooker juices, then roast 15 minutes.
Shredding:
- Shred pork using 2 forks. Pour over BBQ sauce, toss gently.
- Serve stuffed in sliders with Coleslaw, or make a Southern dinner plate with Coleslaw, Mac and Cheese, Corn bread, steamed corn & green beans tossed in butter, with Margaritas to quench your thirst!
Barbecue Sauce:
- Place all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes or until thickened.
- Add 3/4 - 1 cup of juices from slow cooker until sauce is syrup consistency.
- Adjust to taste: sweetness with brown sugar / honey, salt and sour with vinegar. Use per recipe.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 416.01 kcal
Carbohydrates: 37.65 g
Protein: 36.87 g
Fat: 11.34 g
Saturated Fat: 3.84 g
Cholesterol: 113.4 mg
Sodium: 1666.14 mg
Sugar: 31.94 g

Reviews

NaTasha Miller on 2026-04-16 (5 stars):
Delicious!!! 10 hours slow cook. 35 roasting and man oh man what a Delicious meal. I made the slaw for mine and put grillos pickles. Paired with just simple lays chips, we had almost a 10lb butt so we got plenty of meat for leftovers. I bought sweet Hawaiian rolls(made sliders) and brioche buns and it hit the spot. Beats smoking or having ur oven on alllll day. Keeping this in rotation 👌🏽
Lori M on 2026-04-15 (5 stars):
Sooooo good - tender, juicy, and flavorful! Everyone loved it.
Keri-Ann Barnard on 2026-04-05 (5 stars):
So easy and everyone loves it. I wish I had enough to freeze but it goes in one sitting!! I always use water as I generally don't have apple juice and there's never beer spare for cooking!
Bennett on 2026-04-02 (5 stars):
I never succeed at slow cooker recipes. Until this one! 10/10 so good!
J Stutzman on 2026-03-31 (5 stars):
Such a good recipe! Melts in the mouth, really great acid/sweetness balance. I made it for a crowd and everyone left full and happy.
Chantel Calderwood on 2026-02-01 (5 stars):
Seriously the best pulled pork EVER! The bbq sauce was simply perfection - yet another Nagi recipe that my kids absolutely devoured!
Heather on 2026-01-30 (4 stars):
Turned out great we had sliders with our usual colslaw. Cut fat off shoulder and discarded for health before the rub and pur back in netted bag. Found it hard to get the molasses so used golden syrup from cupboard instead. I used about half the brown sugar overall as we don't eat as much sugar anymore and half the sauce recipe too for average shoulder from supermarket and apple juice full amount instead of beer. I used 1/4 tsp cayenne for little spice in sauce could have used more but this better for non spice family. Cooked only 7.5 hrs got impatient and crisped in oven per recipe. Didn’t shred though fully due to this shorter time so sliced and chopped and turned out yummo. I wood cook longer for pulled effect if you can if dinner party etc.
Katie on 2026-01-30 (5 stars):
Absolutely yummy! Thank you Nagi 🩵
Katie on 2026-01-30 (5 stars):
Absolutely yummy! Thank you Nagi 🩵
Louise Arnold on 2026-01-26 (5 stars):
Made the pulled pork tonight. Crockpot low for 8 hours, cut roast in half so it’d cook through faster. Was fork tender, mildly seasoned, very good. Cut bbq sauce in half bc we don’t use a lot, was just right amount. Very easy, very tasty. Thank you
Tanya on 2025-12-26 (5 stars):
I have made this twice now, and it is truly a showstopper that attracts a lot of compliments. Slow-cooker juice is a must in the sauce.
Kasey on 2025-12-24 (5 stars):
Am going to use Pork Scotch, which the cooking times are in the notes, so I appreciate that. Just wondering after the slow cooker, is the oven cooking time the same for Pork Scotch? Thanks :)