Epicurious Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Carolina-Style Pork BBQ Sandwiches

August 4, 2016

Carolinastyle pork BBQ sandwiches on a white plate.

Photo by Erin Kunkel

Arguably, some of the best 'cue in the country can be found in North Carolina, where two distinct types of slow-cooked pig prevail. The first is Eastern barbecue, which is distinguished by slow-cooking a whole hog and including both the white and dark meat in chopped sandwiches and platters. Eastern 'cue boasts just a hint of vinegar and red pepper, which is added to the meat mix rather than used as a sauce. Western North Carolina 'cue (aka Lexington-style) is made from pork shoulder only. In addition to incorporating plenty of vinegar, sugar, and spices, it also mixes in a good amount of ketchup to create an actual sauce for the pork. This slow-cooker recipe falls somewhere in between. If you like, you can skip the sauce altogether and enjoy a basic roasted pork, which is not only fantastic on a bun with slaw and hot sauce, but is great for making burritos, barbecue pizza, or nachos. I recommend using a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker for this recipe in order to comfortably fit the pork shoulder. You can also cut this recipe in half and use a smaller slow cooker.

Ingredients

Serves 10 to 12 (about 8 cups of meat)

For the pork:

2 large onions, sliced

5-pound boneless pork shoulder roast

6 cloves garlic, smashed

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons dried red pepper flakes

1 cup cider vinegar

1 cup apple cider or apple juice

For the sauce:

2 cups cooking liquid (reserved from the slow-cooked pork)

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt and black pepper

For assembly:

Buns, slaw, and hot sauce

Make the pork:

Step 1

Spray the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray.

Step 2

Put the onions in the slow cooker. Make slits in the pork roast and insert the garlic cloves. Rub salt, pepper, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes into the meat. Place the pork in the slow cooker fat side up and pour in the vinegar and apple cider. Cover and cook on low for at least 10 hours and up to 12 hours, until the meat is falling-apart tender.

Step 3

Transfer the meat to a large bowl and shred it with two forks. Set aside.

Make the sauce:

Step 4

Pour 2 cups of the pan juices into a measuring cup; discard any leftover juices still in the pot. Let cool and skim off any visible fat. Pour this liquid into a saucepan. Add the water, ketchup, cider vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, paprika, dry mustard, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker and add 1 cup of the sauce mixture (more if you like it wet). Give it a stir and set the slow cooker to warm until ready to serve.

Assemble the sandwiches:

Step 5

Serve the pork straight from the slow cooker with a slotted spoon, along with buns, slaw, and hot sauce. Serve the additional sauce on the side.

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How would you rate Carolina-Style Pork BBQ Sandwiches?

Reviews (4)

The method for cooking the pork in this recipe worked well. The pork was tender and moist and had a strong garlic flavour that I enjoyed. I used a picnic roast with a bone in it. The sauce was not as great. It was water-thin and very vinegary. I ended up doubling up the brown sugar, which made it more palatable and thickening it slightly with cornstarch. Overall the sauce was okay with the adjustments, but not a good sauce. With further adjustment it could be made good, I would add maple syrup to it next time if making it again and probably a bit of oregano and cumin. Overall, worth making for the pork itself, but I would make my own sauce.
I cooked it overnight and pork came out juicy, tender and tasty.
I cooked the pork as directed (except I only had pear juice - no apple) and it came out great. I used a store bought sauce and that made this an easy dinner. The kids loved bringing the leftover sandwiches to school!
Simple, basic, and very tasty. Halving the recipe works well. I did not have any apple juice on hand so I substituted Cranapple juice, and the flavor was great. I was short on time, so served with a variety of store-bought barbecue sauces, and my guests -- all North Carolinians, thought the variety was great!