Community recipe

Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork

Name: Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 300 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 8 Hamburger buns split; 1 Pork shoulder roast; 1 tbsp Chili powder; 1 tsp Vegetable oil; 1/4 cup Light brown sugar; 1/2 cup Chicken broth; 1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar; 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 2 Large cloves garlic; 1 cup Barbeque sauce; 2 tbsp Butter; 1 tbsp Prepared yellow mustard; 1 Extra large onion; 1 1/2 tsp Dried thyme

Shared by A WhatDo chef

8 servings / 14 ingredients

Slow CookerChickenPorkGrillSkillet

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The Backstory

A deeply personal and completely necessary journey

There I was, in the thick of a Vermont snowstorm, snowflakes pounding the windows of my grandmother's kitchen like tiny, chilly paparazzi. The slow cooker hummed its mysterious, meaty song, and Patricia—yes, my mother-in-law Patricia, who critiques the saltiness of a potato chip with the ferocity of a Food Network judge—stood silently in the corner, eyebrow raised so high I feared she’d lose it in the storm. Little did she know, that day would be the day I realigned my entire flavor compass because, spoiler alert: I’d been using the WRONG kind of salt my whole life. The horror! But I digress. You get presented with culinary calamities, and you either crumble or you feast. I chose feast.

Flashback to a frantic trip earlier that week, beyond any reasonable grocery store’s reach, where I picked up what I assumed was kosher salt only to discover much later it was Himalayan rock salt, chunky enough to look like miniature pink boulders. If you’ve never had the unnerving privilege of slicing meat and realizing your seasoning game was based on glitter, let me tell you—it’s a transformative experience. And I’m not saying that experience changed me as a person, but I did update my LinkedIn bio to include ‘garlic enthusiast,’ which honestly sounds impressively serious and vaguely mysterious. In that same vein, I decided I was going to make the ultimate slow cooker Texas pulled pork, the kind that can hush even Patricia’s critical chirps.

Oh right, you'll need:

1 Pork shoulder roast
1 tbsp Chili powder

Side note, speaking of tangents: did you know Vermont has an unofficial state dance called the “Maple Syrup Shuffle”? It involves a suspiciously clumsy mix of flapping your arms like you’re fanning a blazing barbecue pit and stomping so hard your flip-flops almost detach—that, my friend, is how serious Vermonters get when the snow’s deep and the syrup’s flowing. This information won’t help you cook pork any better, but it’s crucial for understanding the vibe of my kitchen that day. The slow cooker sat on the counter, sizzling dreams of smoky heaven into the storm-blown silence.

Step 1 (almost forgot!):

Gather the ingredients.

Back to the kitchen battle royale. After hours of cooking, the pork shoulder surrendered to tender, juicy submission. Removing it from the slow cooker, shredding it with two forks, and stirring it all back into that glorious pool of juices was the moment I realized this was no ordinary dinner. Patricia’s eyebrow twitched—was it approval? Was it confusion? The smoky barbecue sauce, the tang of cider vinegar, and the secret love-hint of dried thyme blended into a symphony that even my salt-shocked self couldn’t deny. Flip-flops kicked off, the porch door slammed, and outside the storm howled, but in that kitchen? A pulsing, meaty heart of triumph.

. . .

Ingredients

8 Hamburger buns split
1 Pork shoulder roast
1 tbsp Chili powder
1 tsp Vegetable oil
1/4 cup Light brown sugar
1/2 cup Chicken broth
1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Large cloves garlic
1 cup Barbeque sauce
2 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Prepared yellow mustard
1 Extra large onion
1 1/2 tsp Dried thyme

Steps

1
Gather the ingredients.
2
Pour vegetable oil into the bottom of a slow cooker. Place pork roast into the slow cooker; pour in barbeque sauce, vinegar, and chicken broth. Stir in brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, onion, garlic, and thyme. Cover and cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours or High for 5 to 6 hours until pork shreds easily with a fork.
3
Remove pork from the slow cooker, and shred the meat using two forks. Return shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir to combine with juices.
4
Spread the inside of both halves of hamburger buns with butter. Toast buns, butter-side down, in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown. Spoon pulled pork into toasted buns.
5
Serve and enjoy!

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