Make This Your Go-To Recipe for Pulled Pork (2024)

Diana Rattray

Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.

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Updated on 03/7/22

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Ingredients

Gather the ingredients.
Place 1 sliced onion at the bottom of the slow cooker.
Stud the pork roast with cloves (or put them in a small cheesecloth bag or tea strainer), if using. Season with salt and pepper.
Place the pork in the slow cooker on top of the sliced onion. Cover with the second sliced onion and add 2 cups of water.
Cover and cook on low 9 to 12 hours, or until the pork is very tender and falling apart.
Remove the pork roast from the pot. Remove and discard the cloves and excess fat and liquids along with bones if the roast was not boneless. You may also discard the sliced onions, if desired.
When the pork roast is cool enough to handle, use a fork or your fingers to pull it apart until the entire roast is shredded. If you make pulled pork often, you might want to buy meat shredding claws.
Return the pulled pork to the slow cooker. Add the finely chopped onion, barbecue sauce, and optional red pepper flakes, and optional liquid smoke. Cover the pot and continue to cookon the high setting for 1 to 2 hours, or until the onions are tender.
Serve the pulled pork on large, crusty buns with your favorite barbecue sauce.Garnish with dill pickles, thinly sliced raw onion, and pickled banana peppers. Serve with crisp, homemade slaw, either piled on the pork sandwiches or on the side.

If you are in a hurry, you can cook the pork roast on high for 4 to 6 hours. Or cook it in a fraction of the time in an Instant Pot pressure cooker.

If you want to add a more depth of flavor, brown the pork on all sides in a skillet with oil over medium-high heat before you add it to the slow cooker.
If you need to hold the pulled pork for longer, after adding the barbecue sauce and onion, cook it on low for 1 to 3 hours rather than on high.
You can use your favorite bottled barbecue sauce or your own homemade sauce.
If the barbecue sauce is very thick, add a bit of water just before the pork is ready.
For a twist, try this slow cooker root beer pulled pork recipe.

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8to 10
Amount per serving
Calories	620
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 39g	50%
Saturated Fat 14g	71%
Cholesterol 163mg	54%
Sodium 650mg	28%
Total Carbohydrate 21g	8%
Dietary Fiber 1g	3%
Total Sugars 16g
Protein 43g
Vitamin C 3mg	13%
Calcium 66mg	5%
Iron 3mg	15%
Potassium 750mg	16%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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