Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork
Spice-rubbed Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches with a delicious sweet honey-chipotle sauce and a simple coleslaw.
Servings: 10 sandwiches
Cost: $11.12
Ingredients
Pork in the crockpot
- 2 medium yellow onions thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 cup 100% apple juice or chicken broth works
- 4.5 to 6.5 pounds bone-in pork butt shoulder roast or Boston butt, see note 1
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt and pepper
Chipotle Honey Sauce
For Serving
- Brioche buns and softened butter
- Coleslaw see note 3
Instructions
Into the Slow Cooker
- Coat a large 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Line the bottom with the thinly sliced onions. Pour in the apple juice and minced garlic.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, ground cumin, salt, and pepper (I add 1 tablespoon salt and 1 heaping teaspoon pepper). Remove pork from packaging and dab all over with a paper towel. Rub the spices into the pork—all sides.
- Place the pork on top of the onions; if there is a white layer of fat, place that facing up (the fat will render down and make the pork more tender).
- Cover and cook for 8–11 hours on low setting (a 5.5-pound pork is always done around 9 hours for me); I don’t recommend cooking on high.
- Once the meat is completely cooked through and shreds easily, drain the liquid. Pull off the layer of fat on top (it should easily pull off) and pull out the bone and discard both. (Or save the bone and the drained liquid to make homemade stock!)
- Using two forks, shred the pork.
Sauce
- In a blender, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, honey, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper (or to taste).
- Add in 2 tablespoons of the adobo sauce surrounding the chipotle chilis and 1 tablespoon of an actual chipotle chili (cut chili if needed). If concerned about heat, add chilies and sauce gradually, tasting after additions. (Add very slowly because it’s always easy to increase if you want more heat. If you are very sensitive to heat, just add the sauce around the chilies in small quantities.) Blend sauce until smooth.
- Pour the sauce over the pork (you may not use it all if using a smaller pork roast) and gently mix until pork is well coated and saucy.
Coleslaw and Buns
- Spread butter on the insides of the buns. Add to a skillet or griddle and lightly brown the buns over medium heat.
- Top the bottom bun with a generous amount of the BBQ pulled pork and a big spoonful of coleslaw (see note 2). Add top bun and serve right away.
Video
Notes
Note 1: I’ve tried all kinds of pork and different weights in my slow cooker. I’ve gotten the best results from a 5–5.5 pound bone-in pork shoulder or butt roast. (There is a difference between butt and shoulder pork roasts, but sometimes the names are confusing; check out the differences here). My favorite is a Boston Butt, but without going to a butcher, I typically only find a pork shoulder butt roast in grocery stores.
Note 2: Chipotle peppers can vary, but below is what I add depending on how spicy I’d like it to be. If not adding a lot of spice, you’ll want to reduce the honey.
- Little to no spice: Use 1–2 tablespoons adobo sauce surrounding the chipotle peppers.
- Light spice: Use 2 tablespoons adobo sauce and 1 tablespoon peppers.
- Medium spicy: Use 2 tablespoons adobo sauce and 2 tablespoon peppers.
- Spicy: Use 2 tablespoons adobo sauce and 3 tablespoons peppers.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sandwich | Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 359mg | Potassium: 626mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 573IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 2mg