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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’ve been making this recipe for at least 7 years and it’s always amazing!! We also make the creamy coleslaw linked in this post and we love that too. Needed to leave a comment bc I realized I’ve probably made this 10+ times and it’s a staple!
So happy to hear you love this recipe, Chelsea! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
This recipe is dynamite!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the pulled pork, Kim! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
I’m a big fan of your recipes and tried quite a few of your dessert recipes and I’m excited to give this a try. I recently got an Instant Pot and I’m on the hunt for recipes – any idea if this would work in that and the cooking time? Thanks!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Andrea! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Keep an eye on the blog this week and I’ll have an Instant Pot method for you. ;-) Happy Baking!
-Jamie
can is use white vinegar instead of cider
Kathy-
I haven’t tried this recipe using white vinegar. Personally, I prefer the taste of cider vinegar. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jmaie
Hi,
I’m looking into buying a slow cooker and want to try this recipe! What size cooler would you recommend for the amount of meat in this recipe?
Thanks!
Anna-Rose-
I would think a 4 1/2 quart or larger would work. I hope this helps.
-Jamie
Cooked the pork for Melbourne cup day I used 2 x 2.5 kg of pork shoulder with the same amount of spice rub and liquid, it fed 25 people with left overs and I passed out 4 copies of the recipe HUGE success :)
Served with sweet rays BBQ sauce bread rolls and coleslaw
Wendy-
I’m so glad the recipe worked out so well for you. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
Can I cook on high for hours instead?
Felicia-
Sure! I have done this before – it took around 5-6 hours. I hope this helps.
-Jamie
Just loaded my crockpot; should be ready at 6:30 AM! I, too, was surprised at the small amount of liquid the pork is cooked in. Trusting all the positive feedback. Only changes I made were a reduction in the amount of crushed red pepper, added a dash of cumin, added a dash of coriander and a little more sugar with the cider vinegar. Will report the results. Thanks for the great website!
Dean-
Thanks so much for stopping by! We would love to know how the pork turned out! Have a great day and thank you for following MBA!
-Jamie
Can u use white vinegar instead of cider?
Michele-
I have never attempted this recipe without the Cider Vinegar, so I cannot attest to the results with white vinegar. Personally, I find white vinegar to be a lot more sour, so my initial thought is that using it will change the flavor quite a bit. Thanks for stopping by!
-Jamie
What size pork shoulder would you recommend using if hosting 12 people? I look forward to trying this reciepe.
Mike, I’d go with at least 8 lbs for 12 people.
– Jamie