Crock Pot Pulled Pork

It’s barbeque season.  Now I am seriously opinionated about barbeque (most folks are when it comes to barbeque).  I’m from Mississippi where pulled pork rules the day, but I’ve got Texas family, so I was raised on brisket.  Sadly, the latter is not cheap.  Pork shoulder, however, goes on special regularly at my local grocery store, so when hubs mentioned that barbeque sounded good last week, I picked one up.  Our smoker is in storage, so I had to come up with some other means of getting that smoky flavor.  Starting it on the grill and finishing low and slow in the crock pot was the way to go.  Hubby’s verdict: “This is one of the best pulled pork sandwiches I’ve ever had.”  Success.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbs kosher salt
  • 1 tbs ancho chili powder (you can use regular chili powder, but I prefer ancho)
  • 1 tbs cumin
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbs garlic powder
  • 1 package apricot Jello
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • pork shoulder or picnic roast

Directions:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients and whisk together.

2. Cut any excess fat or skin off the pork shoulder (sometimes they have it, sometimes they don’t).

3. Massage the dry rub into the pork shoulder.

4. Wrap the pork shoulder tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least overnight, preferably for 24 hours.

5. Preheat your grill to about 350 degrees.

6. Cook the pork shoulder for approximately 15 minutes per side.  We’re just getting a little caramelization and smoky flavor here.

7. Remove the pork shoulder to your crock pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until the meat falls off the bone.

8. Remove the bone and discard.

9. Use a pair of forks to shred the meat, then let it hang out in the juice for a while, so that they reabsorb into the meat.

10. Serve on buns, in quesedillas, in fried rice, or however you wish.

 

 

Crock Pot Pulled Pork
 
It's barbeque season.  Now I am seriously opinionated about barbeque (most folks are when it comes to barbeque).  I'm from Mississippi where pulled pork rules the day, but I've got Texas family, so I was raised on brisket.  Sadly, the latter is not cheap.  Pork shoulder, however, goes on special regularly at my local grocery store, so when hubs mentioned that barbeque sounded good last week, I picked one up.  Our smoker is in storage, so I had to come up with some other means of getting that smoky flavor.  Starting it on the grill and finishing low and slow in the crock pot was the way to go.  Hubby's verdict: "This is one of the best pulled pork sandwiches I've ever had."  Success.
Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Gluten and Dairy Free
Ingredients
  • 1 tbs kosher salt
  • 1 tbs ancho chili powder (you can use regular chili powder, but I prefer ancho)
  • 1 tbs cumin
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbs garlic powder
  • 1 package apricot Jello
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • pork shoulder or picnic roast
Instructions
  1. Mix all the dry ingredients and whisk together.
  2. Cut any excess fat or skin off the pork shoulder (sometimes they have it, sometimes they don't).
  3. Massage the dry rub into the pork shoulder.
  4. Wrap the pork shoulder tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least overnight, preferably for 24 hours.
  5. Preheat your grill to about 350 degrees.
  6. Cook the pork shoulder for approximately 15 minutes per side.  We're just getting a little caramelization and smoky flavor here.
  7. Remove the pork shoulder to your crock pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until the meat falls off the bone.
  8. Remove the bone and discard.
  9. Use a pair of forks to shred the meat, then let it hang out in the juice for a while, so that they reabsorb into the meat.
  10. Serve on buns, in quesedillas, in fried rice, or however you wish.

14 thoughts on “Crock Pot Pulled Pork

  1. I love using my crock pot for pork shoulder. (Ideally, I love to do it low and slow in the oven, but the crock pot works much better than I expected)

    I’ll have to give yours a try – apricot jello, eh? 🙂

    1. I know. It’s weird. But I love fruity flavors with pork and I wanted something that would work in a dry rub, otherwise I’d use apricot preserves.

  2. Oh, yummy. Is the pork shoulder pretty lean after trimming off the excess fat? I don’t like fat in the meat. Bleh. If it’s too fatty, is there a leaner cut I should try?

    1. I had actually intended to just add a little liquid smoke to the crock pot, but I couldn’t find any, so starting it on the grill seemed the way to go!

    1. Only once. It did not go well… It’s on the list of things to try again at some point. I keep looking for a replacement for ketchup as an ingredient.

  3. We love bbq, so this looks right up our alley. Hmmm. . .I have never seen apricot jello. Is that a Southern thing?

    For sauce, usually make my own. My fav does have ketchup in it, but I have one that doesn’t–only uses tom paste. It is a sweeter style sauce. Both recipes come from Totally Hot! The Ultimate Hot Pepper Cookbook (and is probably out of print–mine is 1986)

    1. Well, having never shopped for Jello outside the South, I can’t say for sure, but it is a flavor of the actual Jello brand, so I would presume it would be everywhere.

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