Farmhouse Pulled Pork

Our family makes Farmhouse Pulled Pork recipe at least once a month! BBQ Pork is our go to meal for a party and when having guests over because it’s so easy to make.

Four ingredients in a crock pot for the entire day make one of our favorite meals, pulled pork. This recipe is great to feed a crowd in an electric roaster or meal prep for a variety of family meals.

Easy Pulled Pork Recipe

Putting a pork shoulder roast in the crock pot is one of the most versatile meals we make. Having several pounds of cooked meat on hand gives us so many quick and easy meals for days after first making the roast.

Add a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s or some Homemade BBQ Sauce and it’s all super EASY to make at home. Really this recipe and our big batch of Sloppy Joes are some of the easiest meals we make repeatedly that everyone will eat!

Shredded pork is so tender that it’s easy for the kids to eat and we all enjoy flavorful and tender cuts of meat. Pork shoulder is also a great value because it may go on sale for as little as $1 per pound. Since there isn’t much waste you end up with a lot of meat after cooking the roast.

Pulled pork is a classic meal for picnics or get togethers when served with Twice Baked Potato Casserole and Farmhouse Baked Beans.

Ingredients Needed

• Pork Shoulder – also called a pork butt. This large pork roast will have a bone in it.
• BBQ Seasoning – we like several varieties of McCormick seasoning mixes or seasoned salt.
• Soda or Pop – a can or less of your favorite flavor – our favorite is Cherry Coke.
• BBQ Sauce – Sweet Baby Ray’s is our favorite. Have a medium sized bottle or two small bottles available.

Heating Pulled Pork In A Roaster

Due to the variability of roasters, size and amount of pork as well as several other variables we always cook the pork ahead of time. Using a crock pot to cook until tender and shred is the easiest, fuss free way to get the pork cooked.

Cooked and defrosted Pulled Pork will take 2 to 3 hours to reheat in a roaster at 300℉.

Add a foil liner and coat with non-stick spray.

Frozen pulled pork will take longer and is much more unpredictable to estimate time, so always defrost a day or two before the party.

For the best, most uniform results be sure to stir every 30 minutes while heating.

Add sauce 20 minutes before serving and stir well. I typically guess on the amount of sauce and stir it up.

If the meat looks a bit dry or you can’t tell there’s sauce on the pork I add more until it looks and tastes good.

Turn to keep warm once the meat is heated through.

Continue to rotate the meat from the corners and edges of the roaster to the center each time you stir.

Continue to stir every 20 to 30 minutes while serving to keep the meat evenly heated as some roasters tend to have hot spots in the corners. Enjoy!

Prepping Pulled Pork For A Crowd

Cook one batch or shoulder a day until all of the pork is ready. Refrigerate for up to 4 days before the party or freeze up to two months ahead of time.

Using firm, easy to seal airtight containers that can be stacked works best for us. Freeze one container at a time before stacking. Do not stack containers of hot pork in the freezer or food safety may be compromised as it can take too long to get to a safe, cold temperature.

Another way to add variety to this recipe is our Margarita Mix Pulled Pork.

So Many Ways To Use The Leftovers

Pulled pork is one of my favorite party foods and meal prep meats because the leftovers taste just as good after reheating as they do the first time.

Our first meal is typically sandwiches or Loaded Baked Potatoes.

Then we love using leftover pulled pork to make Pulled Pork Waffle Fries, BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders or BBQ Pulled Pork Crescents.

Another favorite idea for using shredded pork is these amazing Pulled Pork Quesadillas or on Loaded Nachos!

Recipe Tips and Tricks

• This pulled pork can be made plain by using water instead of soda.
• We enjoy cherry coke and are more likely to notice the cherry-flavored pop in the cooked pulled pork than the regular pop. Root beer will also leave a hint of a different flavor note.
• This is an EASY recipe, so don’t make it difficult by getting caught up in details that don’t really matter. Cooking the pork until tender in a low and slow method is what matters!
• Limit the amount of pop that you add to the crock pot because there are juices in the pork shoulder that will come out while cooking. Too much pop may cause the slow cooker to run over.
• Use at least a 6-Quart Crock Pot or larger for this recipe.
• I love my Instant Pot Pulled Pork recipe which does technically take less time. Overall I prefer making shredded pork in the slow cooker because it’s so much easier to check for doneness while cooking.

What To Do When the Pork is Tough

Pork shoulder, Boston butt, shoulder butt, picnic shoulder are all terms that you may find on a cut that is best for making pulled pork. These cuts all come from the front leg and shoulder of the pig.

Pork shoulder will taste the best when it is cooked low and slow. The size of the roast determines cooking time. If the pork should is tough and difficult to shred then keep cooking. To want to speed up the process make sure the crock pot is on turned on high.

If you need a meal quickly the bottom of the roast that’s touching the heat source should cook most quickly which means it will be some of the first pieces to shred. I’ve been known to pull enough pork to make a few sandwiches off the bottom of the roast and then keep cooking until the rest of it has cooked and become tender.

A pork shoulder has a combination of several different lighter and darker pieces of meat. The lighter pieces are leaner and the dark pieces add more flavor. When you shred them up and mix everything together with barbecue sauce the result is one of the easiest crock pot meals for your family that you’ll ever make!

Make sure it’s a pork shoulder….not all cuts get more tender as they keep cooking. Some of the cuts that only have one or two muscles or pieces of meat (like a pork loin or pork tenderloin) do better when cooking much more quickly.

The pork shoulder is ready to eat when it can easily be shredded with two forks. I have a set of meat claws that can be used to shred the pork, but I typically use forks to shred the meat into pulled pork.

How to Make Big Batches of Pulled Pork

1. Make clean up easier by using non-stick cooking spray or a disposable liner in the slow cooker. Add pork shoulder with fat side up.
2. Rub seasoned salt over pork roast and pour your favorite pop around the sides of the roast being careful not to pour directly on seasoned salt.
3. Cover and cook on low for 10 – 12 hours or high for 7 – 9 hours.
4. Remove any bones before adding sauce. I usually dip some extra liquid out of crock before shredding and adding barbecue sauce. Mix well. Turn down to keep warm and stir occasionally while serving.
5. Use multiple slow cookers or use the same method to cook 2 to 3 shoulders in an electric roaster before shredding.

Other Easy Recipes that Go Great with Pulled Pork:

• Scalloped Corn Casserole
• Arkansas Green Beans with Bacon
• Crock Pot Loaded Red Potatoes
• Loaded Cauliflower Casserole
• Farmhouse Potato Salad

Originally shared January 31, 2020 with updates made on July 9, 2024.