By Margaux Laskey
- Total Time
- 8 to 10 hours, plus refrigeration
- Rating
- 4(3,187)
- Notes
- Read community notes
If you’ve spent any time on Pinterest or food blogs, you’ve likely come across a recipe for three-ingredient barbecue pulled pork that can be made in the slow cooker. Methods and ingredients vary, but the recipe almost always calls for boneless pork shoulder, some sort of dark cola (usually Dr Pepper or root beer) and barbecue sauce. Dubious? We were too, so we asked the members of our NYT Cooking Community Facebook page if anyone had ever made it and if they liked it. We received more than 150 very opinionated responses. Many readers have come up with their own clever twists, like using coffee or beer in place of cola, adding onions or chipotles, rubbing the meat with a spice blend and searing the meat before cooking. We tried cooking it a few different ways and found we liked this adaptation best. It calls for a few more ingredients and an extra step or two, but it’s got layers of flavor and it’s still mostly fuss-free. (You can find the pressure-cooker version of this recipe here.)
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 1tablespoon garlic powder
- 1tablespoon onion powder
- 2teaspoons hot or sweet smoked paprika
- 2teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
- 1teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
- 3 to 4pound boneless pork shoulder or pork butt, trimmed of most of its excess fat
- 2tablespoons vegetable oil, plus additional for greasing
- 1yellow onion, chopped (optional)
- 1(12-ounce) can dark soda, like Dr Pepper, root beer, cola or birch beer
- ½ to 1½cups homemade or store-bought barbecue sauce
- Hot sauce (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
595 calories; 40 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 18 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 13 grams sugars; 35 grams protein; 695 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In a small bowl, combine the garlic and onion powders, smoked paprika, salt and black pepper. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork. If you have time, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to overnight. If you don’t, no worries; proceed to Step 2.
Step
2
Lightly grease the crock of a slow cooker. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Sear the pork until golden brown on all sides, about 2 minutes each side. Add onion, if using, to the slow cooker. Add the pork on top of the onion. Pour soda over the pork and set the slow cooker to low for 6 to 8 hours, until the meat has collapsed and shreds easily.
Step
3
Drain most of the liquid from the slow cooker and shred the meat directly in the pot. Add about ½ cup of the barbecue sauce and stir to combine. (At this point, if you like crisp bits in your pulled pork, you can spread the shredded pork on a sheet pan and place under a broiler for a couple minutes then return to the slow cooker.) Taste and add more barbecue sauce, hot sauce, salt or pepper, if desired. Serve with soft rolls and extra sauce on the side.
Ratings
4
out of 5
3,187
user ratings
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Cooking Notes
John
Can you use a Dutch oven for this? And if so, how long and at what tempature would you cook it at?
marianna
I used a Dutch oven for this and cooked it for 6 hours at 250. It was absolutely delicious. The only change I made was to add a Tablespoon of liquid smoke while it was cooking because I love a smoky flavor. If you think you will reheat during the week I would suggest not putting the full amount of BBQ sauce and saving a little of the left over liquids to use for reheating. This is a keeper recipe! Can’t wait to make again!
Madeline
I slow-cook my pork shoulder 8-10 hours on low with no searing and no rub--just the pork shoulder and water. The reason I am writing though, is to say that I freeze the pulled cooked pork in portions in zip-lok bags. Then when I need a quick meal, I grab a bag from the freezer, heat it up in some chicken broth, put the pork on a bun, and add some BBQ sauce. Instant meal and so good. Tastes like I just pulled it out of the slow cooker.
Rebecca
I used a bottle of Octoberfest ale instead of soda - fantastic! Great spice mixture - I refrigerated overnight, skimmed off the fat, and kept the rest of the juices with the shredded meat, served with hot gardiniera on toasted buns. Great Sunday night dinner...
Marie Alsbergas
A word of caution: Use sodas with natural sugars!!! Some of the artificial sweeteners do not react well to heating and may give an unpleasant bitter taste to your meat. You don't have to limit yourself to only dark colas for the liquid in this recipe. We found that Mountain Dew gives a light, fruity tang.
Matthew
A tasty and forgiving recipe. Cooking in the slow cooker on high for 4-5 hours works as wells as low for 8-9 hours. Any rub you would normally use is fine, though the one in the recipe is easy and delicious. My family can't tell the difference when I brown it first versus not browning it. So I now skip that step. I've used a variety of fatty pork roasts and the all have come out fine.
Mary
I’d suggest a cabbage slaw
suZq
Save some of the pork before adding the barbecue sauce. Sauté in olive oil for delicious carnitas.
Popszsz
Made this with chicken breasts instead of pork and it was a huge hit. Already asking me to make it again...
Alex
John: I have made this for the first time with 4 pounds of trimmed pork shoulder in a dutch oven. 6 hours at 325° gives a nice result. Breaking apart the pork (around 3 hours let's say) to allow it to cook in its own fat seems to result in a moister meat.
Jane
John: you can use a Dutch oven. I would cook it for 3 hours at 250-300 degrees. Use a bit more liquid-water, maybe. Check every once in a while.
Emily
This recipe tasted amazing and truly took NO effort whatsoever. I did the dry rub the night before and then just threw everything into the crock pot around noon to have the meal ready for dinner. Took about 6 hours for mine to achieve that perfect, tender texture. The flavor is so good we didn’t even use the barbecue sauce! I did break up the meat about 3 hours in to make sure that the whole thing was submerged in the liquid — but not sure if that was necessary or not!
RosebudTX
Will definitely make this again but next time I think I will not add the barbecue sauce to all the meat, but rather let people add it per individual serving. I felt the meat was more flavorful before being mixed with sauce and the sauce would be better as a topping. I did make the homemade sauce recipe and it was easy and good.
Luke the Kook
Dr. Pepper as a marinade? I have lived in North Carolina and Virginia, my godparents were from Kansas City and my godmother made ribs 3 nights a week. I know good BBQ. I have heard about the technique, but remained skeptical until the first bite. I wouldn't have tried it, but quarantine made me do it.Magical.... I used a bone-in shoulder roast - it was firmer and harder to pull apart so ixnay on that, still amazing though.As they say, "Go on and git you sum."
Murph
Made this today. Used the rub from the recipe but didn’t refrigerate or sear. Just threw it in the slow cooker with some Mexican co*ke and the onions. Used a bone-in 9# pork shoulder and cooked it on low for 8.5 hours. Shredded up beautifully. Added some local sourced bbq sauce and it turned out wonderful. Easy peasy.
Katie
What do you do with all the lovely juices that come out of the cooking? I hate to throw it out but I don’t know what I can make with it?
Mel
I have made this recipe previously and was concerned about cooking the whole pork shoulder intact. I cut it into fourths just to be safe and it was a good idea because I had no idea how much fat was in the middle. I trimmed the heck out of it and proceeded with the recipe as written and it was perfect.
Uh Oh
This was a $25 disaster for me. I followed the recipe, for 9.5 hours. Still chunky. Added another bottle of organic rootbeer. At 5 am, I took off the heat. The meat is very dry unless you douse it in KC bbq sauce. I will not use this recipe again. Gross.
Uh Oh
After 9.5 hours in my Crockpot with this recipe on lòw, the pork was still firm. It's currently 8:15 pm. I started at 10 a.m. Now I'm starting over with the same pork and a new bottle of organic rootbeer. So, how awesome for me, I'm setting my alarm for the middle of the night.
Vicki
Has anyone made this with pork loin? And if so, any suggestions or edits to this recipe?
Margo
This was a hit and will definetly make it again. So good to see when your friends go for 2nds and 3rds - young and old!
Lee Radford
This was a fabulous perfect alfresco option to serve with friends on the weekend. Served a deconstructed salad option for my guests to choose their preference. Loved and surprised by all.
kindbat
My first time ever making pulled pork. This recipe was easy to follow and turned out perfectly. I’m not a BBQ snob, being from the North, but this recipe gave me everything I was looking for in a homemade pork sandwich.
John
So for the instant pot users - I tested a crockpot (cuisinart) and instant pot simultaneously with two 6lb butts. The crockpot is best. Both set at 8 hours. Instant pot on “less” (setting is “less, normal, more”). At 4 hrs the crock pot was coming along fine, instant pot was not progressing the same so switched to “normal.” At 8 hrs, the crock pot pork was perfect. Instant pot pork was tough and would not shred well. Pressure cooked for 20min on high to match tenderness.
Nicole
So simple and so delicious! I skipped the browning part and didn't miss it.
melissa K
This recipe is super easy and comes out terrific. I serve it with the NYT pickle back slaw.
Christine VB
Pork butt on sale, and the smallest one they had was 5 1/2 pounds. I used Sweet Baby Ray’s and A&W root beer and added extra of each. I didn’t use the rub but threw in chopped onion and garlic. Used the oven method in a Dutch oven at 250 and it took 7 hours. It came out great and made enough for an army. One thing I would have done differently, I would have kept more of the juice and added it to the meat.
SaraDR
I just love this recipe for my Southern husband and son. Sure, we can get the real deal from more than one restaurant in our town, but this works just fine for quick, weeknight, BBQ. Serve with coleslaw and the sauce of your choice, grill some corn and or bake a few sweet potatoes and dinner is served!
Maggie
Before I even finish reading the recipe I know it will be good , as there is Crystal hot sauce shown in photo. The best every day hot sauce!
Flora
I was out of garlic powder so I used 2 tablespoons onion powder + 2 large cloves of garlic, minced. Did not refrigerate or sear. My soda was store-brand cola and my BBQ sauce was a less sweet one. The result did not taste sweet to me. I poured off the liquid and refrigerated it, then removed the fat from the top and added the jellied juices back in with the meat.
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