Crockpot Pulled Pork

Have you ever craved pull pork but do not own a grill or smoker to cook it? With this recipe, you won't need either of these appliances. These simple instructions will allow you to enjoy your favorite pulled pork dish from the convenience of a Crockpot.

Supplies

In order to make this pulled pork recipe you will need,

• Supply 1 (Boston Butt, 3lbs.)
• Supply 2 (Salt , to taste)
• Supply 3 (Pepper, to taste)
• Supply 4 (Garlic Powder to taste)
• Supply 5 (Garlic, 4 Cloves)
• Supply 6 (Oil, 1/4 Cup)
• Supply 7 (Worcestershire Sauce, 1/4 Cup )
• Supply 8 (Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 Cup)
• Supply 9 (Barbecue Sauce, 1 Bottle)
• Supply 10 (Skillet)
• Supply 11 (Tongs)
• Supply 12 (CrockPot)

Step 1: Prepare the Pork

WARNING: leave the pork on its tray to avoid cross contamination on your kitchen surfaces.

The boston butt should be about three pounds without a lot of fat on the edges. It is okay to use another cut of pork, however the boston butt is the best cut to use when making pulled pork in the Crockpot.

Step 2: Season the Pork

Season the pork with salt, pepper, and garlic powder on both sides. This is a large cut of meat, so it is important to be liberal with your seasonings. You want to make sure that they fully covered both sides of the boston butt with all three seasonings.

The pork should look fully covered in seasoning. You want to see minimal amounts of the meat and need to feel the seasonings on your hands when you pick up the cut of meat prior to the next step.

Step 3: Sear the Pork

WARNING: this step involves using a very hot skillet and oil. Be careful to avoid getting burned during the process.

Grab your iron skillet and put it on the burner before setting it on high heat. Then add your oil onto the pan. After the pan has heated, place your boston butt on the skillet in order to let it sear. After about 3 minutes, turn the pork over in order to sear the opposite side of the butt. Once you have completed the sear, take the pork off the skillet and let it rest while you prepare the next step.

The pork should have a nice crust on both sides. If you are worried about burning the pork, don't be. The pork needs to have a nice sear on both sides to lock in the flavor while it cooks in the Crockpot.

Step 4: Chop the Garlic

WARNING: this step can be dangerous if you are using a knife to chop the garlic. A safe and efficient alternative would be to use a garlic press as this eliminates the need for a knife.

Peel your garlic until the outer layer is gone, and you are left with four cloves. Next, take the cloves and insert them into your garlic press. Once you press the garlic through, leave it on a clean surface to use in a later step.

The garlic should be chopped or pressed into small pieces, which enables it to be spread thoroughly across the pork's surface. I have provided a picture for reference.

Step 5: Oil the Crockpot

Grab your Crockpot and position it on the counter in the spot that you are planning to leave it while it cooks. Next, use the rest of the oil that you set aside and pour it into the bottom of the Crockpot.

The oil should not be deep. A thin layer at the bottom of the pot will ensure the pork does not stick to the appliance.

Step 6: Season Pork With Garlic

Insert the pork into the Crockpot and ensure that it is laying flat on the bottom of the pan. Next, take half of the garlic you pressed out and thoroughly rub it on the top side of the pork. Repeat the process on the other side of the pork with the remaining garlic. There isn't a safety concern involved in this step as you have not turned on the Crockpot yet.

The pork should be covered with two cloves of garlic on either side of the meat. Your pulled pork should look fully seasoned on all sides of the cut of meat.

Step 7: Plug in the Crockpot

WARNING: be sure to place the pot in a safe space where it cannot be knocked off the counter by a small child or a mischievous pet. After some time, the pot will be very hot so it is important that the contents of the dish do not spill from a careless mistake.

The Crockpot should be placed into the corner of your kitchen counter, where it doesn't present a fire or safety hazard in your home.

Step 8: Add Apple Cider Vinegar

Open your apple cider vinegar and measure our 1 cup. Pour the cup of apple cider vinegar into your Crockpot. It is okay to pour it directly over your cut of meat, as this will not affect the recipe.

The pork should be in the bottom of the Crockpot with just the bottom of it submerged in the vinegar.

Step 9: Add Worcestershire Sauce

Open the bottle of Worcestershire sauce and measure out 1/4 a cup. Pour this sauce into the pot the same way you did in step 8. Again, the placement does not matter as it is all going to commingle in the pot over time.

The pork should be slightly more submerged than it was after you completed step 8.

Step 10: Add Barbecue Sauce

Open your favorite barbecue sauce and pour it into the Crockpot the same way you did with the sauces in the prior steps. You can use any type of sauce you enjoy, but my favorite is kraft sweet and spicy barbecue sauce.

The pork should be fully covered with barbecue sauce on top with the other two sauces submerging the cut at the bottom. It will look messy, but that is okay. As I said earlier, all the ingredients will cook together over time.

Step 11: Turn Crockpot on to High

Position your Crockpot into its assigned cooking spot on your counter and turn the heat to high. After doing so, close the pot by placing the lid on top.

This step is rather straightforward. You essentially are beginning the cooking process by turning the Crockpot on. The beauty of the Crockpot is you don't have to actually cook the dish for hours. Instead, you leave it there and simply monitor the process as time goes on.

Step 12: Cooking Time 1

WARNING: the contents of the Crockpot will be hot and it is important to use caution when monitoring the dish.

Following the last step, you simply want to let the pork cook on high for two hours. There isn't a need to monitor the dish at this time, however it is okay to check the pork occasionally if you feel the need to do so.

The pork should begin to bubble as the contents heat up. You may also notice steam coming from the pot. Both are normal and mean that you have followed the process correctly.

Step 13: Cooking Time 2

WARNING: the contents of the Crockpot will be extremely hot at this point in time. Use caution when completing this step to avoid burns.

Once two hours have passed, open up your Crockpot. The pork should look cooked on the outside, however it still has a long time to go before it becomes tender enough to enjoy pleasantly. Grab your tongs and flip the pork so that the side that was on top is now on the bottom. Then close the lid to the pot and turn the temperature setting to low. Leave the pulled pork on this temperature for four hours. During this time, it is okay to monitor the dish occasionally to ensure that the cooking process has not been disturbed.

The pork should be visually cooked, and the majority will be submerged in a mixture of your sauces. Your house will smell like barbecue, which is a good sign that you have completed all the steps correctly.

Step 14: Serving

WARNING: the contents of the pot will be very hot, so it is important to use caution when serving the dish.

Open the lid to the Crockpot and use the tongs to check the tenderness of the pork. The meat should be very malleable and considered "fall off the bone". Grab a container and then use your tongs to place the meat into it. During this step, you want to avoid grabbing any of the fatty pieces that were originally on the meat. After you have successfully harvested all the pork from the pot; take your tongs and shred the meat. This will leave you will a bowl of pulled pork that is ready to be used for any pulled pork dish you desire.

The pork will be fully cooked and easy to shred at this stage. If your pork is still tough, you may need to reinsert the cut of meat to continue the cooking process.

Step 15: Enjoy

Begin assembling your dish with your shredded pulled pork. Personally, I like to eat pulled pork as a sandwich and opted to use white bread as my bun. However, you can use it on any dish you like, including tacos, burritos, salads and much more.

The pork should be moist and taste savory. If there is not enough flavor, you can add more salt and pepper at this stage.

Enjoy!