Crock Pot Pulled Pork Roast
Next time you buy a big Boston Butt pork roast make this Crock Pot Pulled Pork Roast recipe for dinner. My family loves pulled pork. I make pulled pork a number of different ways depending on what cut of pork is on sale. Sometimes it is in the oven sometimes I make this Crock Pot Pulled Pork Roast recipe in my slow cooker.
I like to save money in the kitchen so this week when I saw that the Boston Butts were on sale I knew I had to make this Crock Pot Pulled Pork Roast.
This is the first time I've ever cooked a big pork shoulder roast in the crock pot. I had a different crock pot recipe that I planned to make this week for Crock Pot Recipe # 10 in the 52 Crock Pot Recipes of 2015 series. Since I found this beautiful pork roast on sale this week I decided on the fly to make a Crock Pot Pulled Pork Roast instead of my planned Crock Pot Jerk Chicken Recipe. I'll save the Crock Pot Jerk Chicken recipe for a another week.
It's funny how cuts of meat can be called by different names depending on the part of the country you live in. To me this is a pork Boston Butt roast. But it is also known as a pork roast, a pork shoulder roast and a Boston Butt Roast. When you shop for one look for one that is meaty.
Crock Pot Pulled Pork is one of my favorite pork recipes to make in a crock pot. I have a couple of different favorite recipes. One of the most popular recipes on my site is my Easy Crock Pot Pulled Pork Sandwich recipe.
My next favorite pulled pork recipe is for these Crock Pot Mexican Pulled Pork Tacos. I love the Mexican flavors of this recipe.
Now you might be wondering what is so special about this Crock Pot Pulled Pork Roast recipe? Well have you ever tasted a really good smoked pork roast? You know the one that has been rubbed with a dry pork rub.
The kind where the meat is so moist and fall apart tender. The one that has those charred pieces on the ends that give you that burst of sweet, smoky, and spicy flavor in your mouth?
Is your mouth watering yet? Bet you didn't know you could get that same smoked pork flavor from a crock pot. Now you can't really get the exact charred flavor but by cooking a nice big Pork Roast in the crock pot then throwing it under the broiler for a few minutes you can get as close to that same flavor as you can without babysitting a smoker for 12-15 hours.
Are you on the way to the grocery store yet?
How to make Crock Pot Pulled Pork Roast
My Crock Pot Pulled Pork Roast recipe takes a bit longer to make than most of the crock pot recipes I have shared. I started out with a big pork roast. The pork roast I cooked was a little over 8 pounds. If you are making a smaller pork roast than that the cooking time will be shorter.
The first thing you will need to do is mix up the pork rub. Pork rubs are fun to cook with. You can customize it to your own taste. If you like a spicier flavor you could use my large batch Sweet and Spicy Pork Rub recipe. It is spicier that the one I used here for this recipe.
For this recipe I wanted a tamer spicy flavor and adjusted the recipe for this pulled pork recipe. If your kids shy away from spicy foods this one is a good one to start with.
If this is your first time making and cooking with a dry pork rub I suggest you use the tamer pork rub recipe than the next time you plan to use it you can adjust the spices.
You will need dark brown sugar and garlic powder, smoked paprika, sea salt, black pepper, ground red pepper, dry mustard, red pepper flakes, and liquid apple wood smoke.
Lay a piece of wax , parchment paper or aluminum foil on the counter. This will make cleanup easier.
Remove the plastic packaging from the pork roast. Rinse the roast under cool water , place on the paper of choice on the counter.
Pat dry with paper towels. Mix the pork rub ingredients (amounts below) together well. Rub the pork rub all over the outside of the pork roast coating it well.
Place the pork roast into a 6 quart crock pot. Cook for 8-12 hours on low. Cooking time will depend on the size of pork roast you are cooking.
Once the pork roast is fall apart tender carefully remove it from the crock pot. It will probably come out in pieces.
Place the crock pot pork roast on a cookie sheet and broil for 15 minutes, turning the pieces halfway through the broiling time. This with give you those charred end pieces.
Remove from oven and let rest about 15 minutes. Pull the pork apart and enjoy!
Slather your favorite barbecue sauce on a sandwich, make pulled pork tacos, pulled pork nachos or just enjoy it the way it is straight out of the crock pot. I probably ate about a pound of it while I was taking these photos!
How to make a Crock Pot Pork Roast
Ingredients
- 1 eight pound Boston Butt Pork Roast
- Homemade Pork Rub
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon seas salt
- 1 tablespoon ground red pepper
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon liquid apple wood smoke
Directions
- Place all the dry rub ingredients into a zip lock bag.
- Mix together well by massaging the ingredients together.
- Rub over all surfaces of the pork roast.
- Place roast in a 6 quart or larger crock pot.
- Cook on low for 8 hours. Then high for 4 hours.
- Carefully remove the roast from the crock pot to a large cookie sheet.
- Brown under the broiler for 10-15 minutes turning to brown all sides.
- Pull the fall apart tender pork apart.
Crock Pot Pulled Pork Roast
Ingredients
- 8 lb. Boston Butt Pork Roast
- Pork Rub
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon seas salt
- 1 tablespoon ground red pepper
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon liquid apple wood smoke
Instructions
- Place all the dry rub ingredients into a zip lock bag. Mix together well by massaging the ingredients together.
- Rub over all surfaces of the pork roast.
- Place roast into a 6 quart crock pot.
- Cook on low for 8 hours. Then high for 4 hours.
- Carefully remove the roast from the crock pot to a large cookie sheet. Brown under the broiler for 10-15 minutes turning to brown all sides.
- Pull the fall apart tender pork apart.
- Serve on buns.
Nutrition
Jan
when do you use the liquid smoke?
Arlene Mobley
Mix the liquid smoke into the dry rub ingredients.