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Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork spends the day slow cooking in a tangy cider vinegar sauce for pulled pork that is not only tender and flavorful, it’s as easy as can be.
So here’s the thing: if you invite me to a Super Bowl party, I’ll probably show up. But I’m not there for the football.
I’m 100% there for the snacks, okay?
Most of the time I am not even completely sure what teams are playing. I may or may not be aware of who is performing at the halftime show. But the snacks?
Those I will have planned for well in advance.
At my house, it’s all about the Sausage Cheese Balls, Sweet & Spicy Snack Mix, French Onion Dip, and Cinnamon Sugar Soft Pretzel Bites. You gotta get that perfect mix of sweet, spicy and cheesy.
And Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork is always the star of the show. Or perhaps in this case, the quarterback of the game.
EASY PULLED PORK: SLOW COOKER RECIPE
I have been making this easy pulled pork recipe for years. Randomly, I found the recipe on a makeup (yes, as in blushes and eyeshadows) related message board that I used to frequent.
Little known fact: I’m not just a baking addict, I also have a serious thing for makeup. I’ve got enough eyeshadows and blushes in my arsenal to paint up my face for the next 30 years.
It’s a sickness, I tell ya.
Anyway, this Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork circulated through this message board like wildfire. Everyone was making it and raving about its results, although no one was really sure where it originated.
It really is the best simple pulled pork recipe I have ever found.
The pork gets a glorious rub-down of brown sugar, paprika and other spices before being cooked in a tangy cider vinegar sauce.
Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork is simple, delicious, and most importantly can be slow cooked all day in the crock pot, which requires very little effort.
HOW TO MAKE PULLED PORK IN A CROCK POT
This Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork requires almost no hands-on time, meaning you can throw it into the slow cooker in the morning and forget about it until it’s almost time to eat.
Start by adding sliced Vidalia onions to the bottom of the slow cooker. The onions will cook down into the pork, and the sweetness of the Vidalias is the perfect match for the tangy vinegar sauce.
The pork goes in next after getting a rub of brown sugar and spices, followed by a drizzle of a quick vinegar sauce.
Because you are mixing together your own sauce, you can easily make your Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork as mild or spicy as you like by adjusting the amount of crushed red pepper flakes and cayenne in the sauce.
After about 10 hours in the crock pot, you’re left with incredibly tender, succulent, and flavorful pork. I typically shred it up and serve on slider buns with a side of homemade coleslaw or vinegar slaw.
If you want to get really fancy, you could serve it on homemade Pretzel Rolls.
Honestly, it doesn’t get much easier than Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork and it feeds a crowd, so there’s always leftovers – which, by the way, are incredible!
Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large Vidalia onion sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4-6 pounds boneless pork butt or shoulder
- ¾ cup cider vinegar
- 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoons dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Rinse pork roast under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
- Place onions in crock-pot. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, kosher salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. Rub mixture all over roast and place the roast on top of the onions.
- In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, Worcestershire, red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic salt and cayenne pepper; whisk to combine. Drizzle about 1/3 of vinegar mixture over roast. Cover and refrigerate remaining vinegar mixture.
- Cover crockpot; cook on low for 10-12 hours. Drizzle about 1/3 of reserved vinegar mixture over roast during last ½ hour of cooking.
- Remove meat and onions; drain. Chop or shred meat and onions. Serve with remaining vinegar mixture or your favorite barbeque sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I just put this together in the crock pot. My husband brought home a pork butt, and the last time I cooked one, it made my house smell horrible!! I look forward to seeing if this one smells better…thanks for the recipe…I’ll let you know what happens!!!
Hi Jamie! I know you posted this recipe two years ago but I just wanted to let you know that my husband and I adore this recipe! It’s the only pulled pork recipe we use and it’s our go-to meal for company! Thank you for sharing it with us!
Emily,
That’s great to hear! Thanks so much for stopping in. Have a great day and thank you for following MBA!
Jamie
I made this and it’s super easy and delicious! Definitely a keeper recipe. :)
Corinne-
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for reporting back – have a great day.
-Jamie
I just finished putting the pork in the crockpot. It was so easy and my house smells wonderful. I can’t wait to try it tonight. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I even had all of the ingredients. So, no special shopping trip. Thanks again.
This turned out great. The apple cider vinegar seemed to bring out the flavor of the pork. This is way better than trying to mask the flavor of the meat with barbeque suce like 90%of the recipes out there. Plus now I have a clean slate to use the pork in all different recipes.
I was a little worried about the vinegar at first (made a different recipe using same vinegar and it was too strong)… but man was THIS recipe amazing! I wouldn’t change a thing! I made it yesterday and it is tender, ultra flavorful, with just the right amount of kick. I paired it with Sweet Baby Rays orginal BBQ sauce… Soooooooooo good! Thank you thank you for this perfect pulled pork!
OMG… I must make this!
This is a terrific recipe and my favorite pulled pork recipe. I made it this fall and I just put on a crockpot now with this yummy goodness. Thanks for an awesome recipe. Oh yeah, it freezes great too.
Sorry, but I didn’t care for the pulled pork as many others did. I believe the fault lay in the use of cider vinegar, as it overwhelmed the flavor of all of the other spices, IMO. I think if I try this again I will use straight apple juice in lieu of the vinegar. Being from Texas, I like any kind of BBQ type meat in its natural state without drowning it in BBQ sauce. On the positive side, the pork did turn out moist and tender, which is a big plus. Thank you so much for your recipe Ideas.
I’ve been looking for a good slow cooker rubbed pulled pork! Pinning this recipe! Can’t wait to try it!!