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Crock Pot beer pulled pork is tender, juicy, and full of zesty flavor. Drizzle it with a homemade maple bbq sauce for an easy and affordable dinner any night of the week!
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Love easy slow cooker dinners as much as we do? Be sure to try this Crock Pot pot roast, this Crock Pot chicken stew, cider braised pork shoulder, and this Crockpot chicken and stuffing, too!
Crock Pot pulled pork is one of the easiest and most affordable slow cooker dinners you’ll ever make! With just a few minutes of prep, you can have a big batch of tender, juicy meat to use in tacos, sandwiches, wraps, or salads all week long.
A flavorful bbq dry rub seasons the pulled pork, which is perfect when tossed with homemade maple bbq sauce and piled high on buns! Serve it alongside coleslaw, pickles, collard greens, potato wedges, or cornbread.
Why You’ll Love this Crock Pot Pulled Pork
- Affordable. Pork shoulder or pork butt is a relatively inexpensive cut of meat. This recipe is a budget-friendly way to cook a large portion of pork that can be used in a variety of ways.
- Hands-off. The beauty of the slow cooker? Just set it and forget it! Once you season the meat, this meal cooks almost entirely on its own. Just simmer the bbq sauce for about 10 minutes on the stovetop, shred the pork, and your job is done!
- Big flavor. Between the homemade bbq dry rub and the homemade barbecue sauce, this simple, hearty meal packs a lot of flavor in every bite. It’s sweet, savory, tangy, and zesty!
- Freezer-friendly. Leftover pulled pork freezes really well, so you’ll likely get more than one meal out of a single effort. Use the extra meat for nachos, tacos, casseroles, and more.
The Best Cut of Meat for Pulled Pork
The best cut of meat for pulled pork is called a “pork butt” or a “Boston butt.” Some grocery stores often label this as a “pork shoulder” or “picnic ham.” Boston butt comes from high on the hog, above the shoulder blade. It has a lot of juicy, marbled fat, which lends itself well to juicy, slow-cooked meat.
Can I use a boneless pork butt?
Yes! Using a bone-in pork butt adds even more flavor to your meat; however, you can certainly use a boneless pork butt instead. In general, a boneless pork butt will require slightly less cooking time than a bone-in piece of meat, so keep an eye on it and adjust accordingly.
Can I use pork tenderloin for pulled pork?
Yes, you can — but it’s not ideal. Pork tenderloin is a very lean cut of meat, which does best when cooked quickly at a higher temperature (like this grilled pork tenderloin with bbq rub). It doesn’t lend itself as well to the low-and-slow cooking process, and instead has a tendency to become dry or tough when it’s cooked for too long.
That said, if you’re looking for a leaner cut of meat for pulled pork, then slow cooker pork tenderloin just might be your answer! It will have a different taste and texture than the pork shoulder (since it’s a different cut with less fat), but if you cook it in the Crock Pot for about 8 hours on LOW, it should stay fairly moist.
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for our favorite slow cooker beer pulled pork. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box below.
- Onion and Garlic: aromatics that add great flavor to the meat as it slowly cooks.
- Beer: I recommend a pale ale for this recipe. The beer adds great flavor and tenderizes the meat. You can substitute with a different cooking liquid if you prefer. For instance, try chicken broth, apple cider, Dr. Pepper, or Coca Cola.
- BBQ Dry Rub: you’ll make your own barbecue rub, which includes brown sugar, chili powder, kosher salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin, and onion powder. It’s slightly sweet and zesty, but not too spicy. You can substitute with your favorite store-bought rub if you prefer.
- Pork Butt: also called “Boston butt” or “pork shoulder,” this inexpensive cut has a lot of marbled fat, which keeps the meat juicy and tender during the long cooking process.
- Maple BBQ Sauce: a combination of ketchup, apple cider vinegar, vegetable oil, maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, chili powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. If you prefer, you can use your favorite store-bought barbecue sauce.
How to Make Pulled Pork with Beer
The Crock Pot is such a handy tool for making pulled pork, because this dish really does best when cooked at a low temperature for a long period of time. Set it in the morning and let it go all day long. Dinner will be waiting for you when you get home from work!
You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick version:
- Combine onion, garlic, and beer in a slow cooker.
- Stir together the dry rub seasoning.
- Rub the seasoning all over the pork.
- Place the pork in the Crock Pot, cover, and cook until the meat is fall apart tender.
- Shred the pork.
- Simmer the bbq sauce.
- Toss the shredded meat with the bbq sauce, and serve!
The Best Way to Shred Pulled Pork
Before shredding, allow the pork to cool enough so that you can easily touch it without burning your hands.
When you have such a big piece of meat, it can be very juicy and messy, so I like to put the pork on a rimmed baking sheet. This helps to prevent the juices from spilling all over the counter. Since the meat is so tender, it should basically just fall apart when you shred it with two forks.
Serving Suggestions
This versatile meat can be served in a variety of ways! We prefer pulled pork sandwiches with a drizzle of the homemade maple barbecue sauce, but you can also serve the pork on top of a salad, in a wrap, stuffed into baked potatoes with barbecue sauce and cheese, as pulled pork sliders, or as pulled pork tacos or carnitas. You might also like to use it in this dump-and-bake pulled pork casserole with rice, or in this pulled pork casserole with cornbread topping.
Here are some sides that go well with crockpot pulled pork:
- Hush Puppies or Hoe Cakes
- Coleslaw or Vinegar Coleslaw
- Baked Potato Wedges, Twice Baked Potatoes, 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes with Sour Cream and Chives, Skin On Mashed Red Potatoes, Baked Potatoes, or Easy Potato Salad
- Skillet Cornbread, Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn, Bakery-Style Corn Muffins, Honey Cornbread, Old-Fashioned Corn Sticks, Sweet Cornbread Muffins
- Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese, Crock Pot Mac and Cheese, Stovetop Shells and Cheese, or No-Boil Easy Mac and Cheese
- Southern Buttermilk Biscuits, Flaky Biscuits, Aunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits, Sweet Potato Biscuits, Cheese Biscuits, Easy Drop Biscuits
- Pumpkin Bread or Pumpkin Muffins
- Corn Salad, Jiffy Corn Casserole, or Fried Corn
- 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins
- Wedge Salad, Kale Apple Salad with Bacon, Classic Caesar Salad, House Salad with Candied Pecans, Mandarin Orange Salad, or a Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
- Refrigerator Dill Pickles, Cucumber Salad with Vinegar, Tomato Cucumber Onion Salad, or Cucumber Dill Salad
- Arkansas Green Beans with Bacon or Southern-Style Green Beans
- Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
- Fried Apples or Baked Apple Slices
- Southern Succotash
- Southern Collard Greens
- Fried Okra
- Broccoli and Cheese
- Easy Pasta Salad
- Homemade Baked Beans with Bacon
- Charleston Red Rice
- Okra and Tomatoes
- Southern Squash Casserole
- Cheese Grits
- Fried Cabbage with Apples and Onion, Braised Red Cabbage, or Roasted Cabbage
Preparation and Storage Tips
Leftover pulled pork will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. To extend the life of your leftovers, freeze the cooked meat in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat
If you want to reheat your cooked pulled pork in the Crock Pot, place the cooked pork in the slow cooker on the “WARM” setting for 2-4 hours. This is a great option if you need to prep a meal in advance! You can also reheat cooked meat in a saucepan or Dutch oven on the stovetop over low heat, or warm smaller portions in the microwave for about 30-60 seconds.
Recipe Variations
- Use a boneless pork shoulder or pork roast in lieu of the bone-in pork butt. The boneless roasts tend to cook slightly faster, so adjust your cooking time accordingly.
- Try a different braising liquid instead of the beer. Good options include chicken broth, apple cider, or a soda like root beer, Dr. Pepper, or Coke.
- Instead of the homemade maple barbecue sauce, try topping your pulled pork with this delicious Alabama white bbq sauce or use your favorite store-bought sauce.
- Spicy pulled pork: add some cayenne to the dry rub, or serve the pork with crushed red pepper flakes, sliced jalapeños, or hot sauce.
- To make this pulled pork recipe in the oven, follow all of the same instructions, but place the ingredients in a large Dutch oven with a lid. Roast the pork at 325°F for about 5-6 hours.
Tips for the Best Beer Pulled Pork Recipe
- You may need to adjust the cooking time, depending on how hot your slow cooker runs (and how big your pork is). The pork will be fall-apart tender when it reaches an internal temperature of 205°F on an instant-read meat thermometer.
- If your pulled pork is tough, it’s probably because you haven’t cooked it long enough. The collagen in the meat is what keeps it tough, so you need to allow plenty of time for those fibers to break down. Just extend the cooking time and make sure that there’s enough liquid to keep the pork moist as it simmers.
- Cooking for a smaller family? This meat freezes really well! I like to package leftovers in individual containers, label them, and stash them in the freezer for later meals. The pulled pork is delicious served on sandwich rolls, but it also works well on salads, in tacos, stuffed in baked potatoes, on top of nachos, in quesadillas, or on pizza! Get creative and enjoy the leftovers in a variety of ways.
- Shred the cooked meat on a rimmed sheet pan to catch any juices.
More Crock Pot Pork Recipes to Try
Crock Pot Ranch Pork Chops
6 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Crock Pot Pulled Pork with Apricot Preserves
12 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
Crock Pot Pork Chops with Bacon and Onion
2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
Crock Pot Beer Pulled Pork with Maple BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
FOR THE PULLED PORK
- 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 4 teaspoons minced fresh garlic (about 4 large cloves)
- 1 (12 ounce) bottle pale ale beer
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 (6-7 lb.) bone-in Boston Butt or pork shoulder
- Optional, for serving: maple bbq sauce (see recipe below, or use store-bought bbq sauce of choice); sandwich buns; coleslaw; pickles
FOR THE MAPLE BBQ SAUCE
- 1 cup ketchup
- ⅔ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Pinch of cayenne pepper, or more to taste
Instructions
CROCK POT BEER PULLED PORK
- Place the onion and garlic in the bottom of a large slow cooker. Pour the beer over top.
- In a small bowl, make a rub by whisking together brown sugar, chili powder, salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin, and onion powder. Pat the pork dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork.
- Place the meat on top of the onions and garlic. Cover and cook for 10-12 hours on LOW or for about 5-6 hours on HIGH. When the pork reaches an internal temperature of 205°F it will be fall-apart tender! Turn off the slow cooker and remove the pork to a cutting board. Use two forks to shred the meat, discarding any large pieces of fat. Add juices from the pot to moisten the meat, as desired. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary. Toss with bbq sauce or drizzle sauce over top.
MAPLE BBQ SAUCE
- In a small saucepan, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low and cook, whisking occasionally, for 10 minutes.
- Let the sauce cool, and then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 weeks. Spoon over the pulled pork or toss with the shredded meat before serving.
Notes
- You may need to adjust the cooking time, depending on how hot your slow cooker runs (and how big your pork is). The pork will be fall-apart tender when it reaches an internal temperature of 205°F on an instant-read meat thermometer.
- If your pulled pork is tough, it’s probably because you haven’t cooked it long enough. The collagen in the meat is what keeps it tough, so you need to allow plenty of time for those fibers to break down. Just extend the cooking time and make sure that there’s enough liquid to keep the pork moist as it simmers.
- Cooking for a smaller family? This meat freezes really well! I like to package leftovers in individual containers, label them, and stash them in the freezer for later meals. The pulled pork is delicious served on sandwich rolls, but it also works well on salads, in tacos, stuffed in baked potatoes, on top of nachos, in quesadillas, or on pizza! Get creative and enjoy the leftovers in a variety of ways.
- Shred the cooked meat on a rimmed sheet pan to catch any juices.
Oooh. YUM. For THIS, it may be worthwhile figuring out my crockpot. I may be able to find real maple syrup. I hope so. I’m sure that would be best.On the very off chance, do you think honey would work as a substitute? Or pancake syrup?
I know I’ve mentioned this before but let me thank you once again for the courtesy of always answering comments and questions. To me, it makes all the difference in the world. Of all the sites I look at, I come back to you 95 percent of the time.
Hi, Marion! I think some honey would work as a sub for the maple syrup, but it will give the sauce a slightly thicker texture and a different flavor. I wouldn’t use pancake syrup. Hope you can find some real maple syrup!