Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork
This melt-in-your-mouth pulled pork is the ultimate comfort food for BBQ lovers. It cooks low and slow in tangy Eastern-North Carolina BBQ sauce for hours until it falls apart.. Perfect for sandwiches, or so I'm told. I have a turkey version of this recipe, too!
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 12 hr
- Yield
- 12 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1/2 C Pulled Pork Dry Rub (to taste)
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil (as needed)
- 5 Lb bone-in pork butt
- 2 C Eastern-North Carolina BBQ Sauce (*)
- 1 Tsp liquid smoke
Instructions
- 1
Coat the pork butt generously with the dry rub—use more than you think you’ll need, making sure every inch is covered. No bare spots! Set the seasoned pork aside while you heat the oil.
- 2
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the pork butt and let it sear undisturbed for about 2 minutes. Flip it over and sear the other side for 2-3 minutes until you’ve got a nice brown crust.
- 3
Transfer the seared pork butt to your slow-cooker and pour the BBQ sauce all over the top. It should come about 1/2 way up the sides of the meat. Cover with a lid and cook on low for 10 hours, flipping the pork butt over halfway through.
- 4
After 11 hours remove the lid and use tongs to remove the bone and shred the meat into large chunks. We're not pulling it yet, so don't worry about that. Cover and continue cooking for another hour.
- 5
Now, use a strainer or slotted spoon to remove the meat from the slow-cooker, leaving behind the liquid. Add the meat to a large bowl, and use forks or a serrated food chopper to shred the pork into small pieces.
- 6
Pour the liquid through a fat separator. We're only after the juice so discard the fat. Or, if you have the patience, pour the liquid from the slow cooker into a separate container. Cover and place it in the fridge or freezer for about an hour to let the fat rise to the top and solidify. Once the fat is solid, scrape it off and discard it. Once the fat is removed, pour the de-fatted liquid back into the bowl of pulled pork and mix everything together.
- 7
Serve, or allow to come to room temperature and then transfer to an air tight container and place that in the fridge. Reheat and eat as desired for up to 5 days.