Slow Cooker Carolina-Style Pulled Pork is a favorite at our house because 1) It’s super easy to make, 2) It’s super delicious, and 3) It makes a large quantity. Yay for leftovers! I made this pulled pork with an Eastern North Carolina-style sauce.
Yes, pulled pork is serious business in North Carolina and there are different styles depending on the part of the state.
Easterners like their pulled pork with a thin, vinegary sauce that’s very tangy and peppery. It tastes wonderful on a sandwich with a creamy, sweet coleslaw to balance out the tang.
When I don’t feel like making my own coleslaw, I swing by the drive-thru at Bojangles and pick up a large container of their coleslaw. It’s much better than the prepared coleslaw at the grocery store. If you don’t have Bojangles near you, try the coleslaw at KFC or Popeye’s.
If you want to make homemade coleslaw, I love this Buttermilk Coleslaw Recipe.
Type Of Pork To Use
You will want to use a 6 to 8-pound Boston Butt for this recipe. You can use either boneless or bone-in. If using bone-in, you can easily remove and discard the bone at the end of the cooking time.
Recipe Tips
- You will need a 6-quart slow cooker for this recipe.
- Cut as much fat as you can off of the Boston Butt.
- When I cook pulled pork in the crock pot, I pretty much make 2 sauces and the first one ends up getting discarded. You’ll want a sauce to flavor the pork while it cooks, but Boston Butt releases so much fat into the slow cooker, it’s swimming in fatty liquid by the time it’s done cooking. The best way to get rid of this fat is to dump most of the liquid out and add a new sauce to the cooked pork. Then you have fully flavored pork, that’s not too greasy. Whether you serve this pork with baked beans and corn, or on a sandwich with coleslaw, it’s a super easy and flavorful meal that will fill your families bellies.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItTry These Other Pulled Pork Recipes:
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- Slow Cooker Mississippi Pulled Pork
- Crock Pot Teriyaki Pulled Pork
- Crock Pot Root Beer Pulled Pork
- Pulled Pork Burritos with Cheesy Sour Cream Sauce
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Slow Cooker Smokey Pulled Pork
Slow Cooker Carolina-Style Pulled Pork
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 small sweet onion, chopped
- 1 (4 to 6-pound) Boston Butt,, with or without bone
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
BBQ Sauce
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place chopped onion on bottom of a slow cooker.
- Trim excess fat from Boston Butt and place in slow cooker on top of onions.
- Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour on top of pork. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours.
- Combine all ingredients for BBQ Sauce in a medium saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove pork from slow cooker (after 8-10 hours) and place in a large bowl. Use forks to shred the meat.
- Discard the majority of liquid in the slow cooker. Return meat to slow cooker and add BBQ Sauce. Cover and cook on low 30 minutes. Serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
Yummy! I can’t wait to try it!
I followed the instructions for the most part, ran out of ketchup and subbed in barbecue sauce for it on the second batch.
The whole family really liked the pulled barbecue and that goes for me too. I’m not a big fan of the heavy vinegar barbecues, but this was not overwhelming in vinegar and when I had added the coleslaw along with hot sauce this sandwich was perfect . I have never had meat so tender!!
I will say that while I was pulling the meat apart I was also paying attention to the fatty areas and removing that fat also.
This is very similar to the way I make BBQ in my crock pot. I have also used my slow cooker too for bigger amounts. And slaw is a must. My husband is from Phoenix and prefers the BBQ sauce version. I’m NC native so vinegar base is for me. I’ve never added honey before but will try it. Off to the store so will look for meat sales and hopefully can pick up a Boston butt or picnic shoulder so to make this tonight. This is a keeper.
Hope you found some meat on sale and that you liked the recipe Lisa! I am from North Carolina too so I really like a little tang in my bbq.
How about adding a dash of liquid smoke to the cooking broth to give it a hint of the smoker? I’ll try that. But I love the idea of BBQ that isn’t drowning in sweet. Of course, here in Texas EVERYTHING is either smoked or sugared up or both LOL.
I love the idea of adding liquid smoke!
Ready to this started. A little back story, my neighbor is from North Carolina and claims he cannot find good BBQ here in Virginia, I plan to prove him wrong using your recipe. Will let you know it turns out..
Hope he likes it. I think it’s really good for slow cooker BBQ, but if he’s a stickler, he might not like anything that’s not cooked in a smoker. 🙂
Putting this on my weekend menu 🙂
Hope you like it Matt!
These look terrific, Kristin! I love pulled pork, and all of the spices with that BBQ sauce and slaw sound perfect together.
We love slow cooker pulled pork, too! This looks soooo good!
Thanks Ashley. Slow Cooker Pulled Pork seems like it’s always a fav!
Mmm, this sandwich looks like a great way to finish off the summer 🙂 I really need to start using my slow cooker!
I’m sure this pulled pork would taste amazing with coleslaw… I’va always wanted too try it, too bad I don’t own a slow cooker :((
But it looks fantastic 🙂
wondering if you ever got a slow cooker?