This incredibly easy Crock Pot Pulled Pork recipe is made with pork butt (a.k.a. Boston butt). My method uses no liquid or searing—just a pork butt and a simple BBQ dry rub—add some liquid smoke if you want. A few minutes of prep time, then cook low and slow in your slow cooker for wonderfully moist and tender pulled pork.
🐖Ingredients
Pork butt—raka Boston butt
Liquid smoke—optional but suggested
BBQ dry rub—your own OR mine: brown sugar, kosher salt, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper
Jump To (scroll for more)
- 🐖Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to Cook Crock Pot Pulled Pork from Pork Butt (aka Boston Butt)—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
- 👍Make it right every time
- 📋Related recipes you will love
- 🍽️Serving Pulled Pork
- ❓What BBQ sauce is best for pulled pork?
- ❄️How to store pulled pork.
- ♨️How to reheat pulled pork
- ❓FAQs
- 🐖What are Boston butt, pork butt, and pork shoulder
- 📖 Recipe
- Crock Pot Pulled Pork
Featured Comment by LK:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"This is the best recipe I have ever used for pork in the crock-pot and I have tried many through the years adding liquids of all sorts. Using dry rub seasoning and the aluminum foil balls cooked the pork perfectly."
The best-pulled pork is made from a pork butt cooked low and slow to melt all the delicious connective tissue for a moist and tender result. Use it for BBQ sandwiches, sliders, or great Mexican tacos, burritos, and nachos.
I like to cook pork butt in dryer heat like grills, ovens, or smokers. Not braised in cola, broth, or other liquids. It is not cooked in the drained liquid fat, so my foil balls will elevate the pork roast.
Perfect for game-day parties and family gatherings. Or cook a smaller pork butt and freeze some for later.
👨🍳How to Cook Crock Pot Pulled Pork from Pork Butt (aka Boston Butt)—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Prepare a large crock pot with six aluminum foil balls to keep the pork from draining.
2. Use the dry rub of your choice or make the suggested rub.
3. Pat dry the pork butt and then coat it with about 2 tablespoons of good-quality liquid smoke.
4. Generously apply the BBQ dry rub.
5. Place on the foil balls and cook covered on low undisturbed for 8-10 hours.
6. Cook until internal temp of 195° minimum—but 200°-205° is preferred—usually 8 to 10 hours.
7. Wrap tight with aluminum foil, then wrap with several towels. Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes, but 2-3 hours is fine if wrapped well. Shred with forks. It will fall apart.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
👍Make it right every time
Use a 3-4 pound pork butt, with or without bone. Bone-in may take a bit longer to cook.
Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours until you reach 195°+ (200°-205° preferred). 190° is the absolute minimum, but it will not be as good. You can also cook on high, decreasing the cooking time.
Elevate to pork butt out of the drainage with a small rack or crumpled aluminum foil. The fat pad may go up or down; it does not matter.
You will get 3-4 servings per pound. Large butts will take longer to cook, but it will work if it fits without touching the sides.
Optionally, wet the pork with liquid smoke or mustard and then apply a pork rub of your choice—a suggested rub is in the recipe card if you don't have one.
Wrap tightly in heavy foil for 15 minutes or more before shredding. The pork will stay hot for 2 to 3 hours if well-wrapped, which will help in timing.
📋Related recipes you will love
Oven Baked Pulled Pork Butt
Oven Pulled Pork from pork butt is cooked in the oven low and slow. Our best-pulled pork recipe is tender and moist with delicious bark. Super easy, with almost no work—you rub, bake at 250° for 8 to 9 hours, shred, and eat.
Smoked Pulled Pork on a Gas Grill
Cooking smoked pulled pork butt low and slow on your backyard gas grill is easier than you think. With just a pork butt roast (AKA Boston butt), a dry rub, and wood chips, you can make juicy BBQ pulled pork with fantastic crusty bark and smoky flavor.
Check out other pork butt recipes, like Oven Baked Pork Carnitas and Crock Pot Carnitas. Also, check out my other dry rubs like Chipotle BBQ Dry Rub, Memphis Dry Rub Recipe, and BBQ Dry Rub for Ribs, Pork, Beef, and More.
See the Pulled Pork Recipe Roundup for recipes using pork tenderloin and loin for shredded pulled pork.
🍽️Serving Pulled Pork
The most common serving method is pulled pork sandwiches with buns or slices of bread but a pile of pork with some sauce on a plate if you want to skip the bread. Other options are casseroles, pork tacos, or pork enchiladas. But serve your pulled pork any way you want.
Side dishes: The usual coleslaw, potato chips, and potato salad are the standards. Hot sides like potato casseroles, convection oven French fries, stovetop mac & cheese, and baked beans are favorites.
❓What BBQ sauce is best for pulled pork?
Barbecue sauce is a lot about personal taste. A sweeter BBQ sauce like Kansas City or Memphis sauce is excellent. There are also Carolina vinegar-based sauces and many Texas and other BBQ sauces. Use your favorite.
Try my homemade Memphis Barbecue Sauce. This sauce always disappears first at parties, and others are left untouched. I commonly use Gate's Kansas City sauce and Cooks Illustrated like Bull's-eye Original or Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce.
One quick reminder: do not reheat pork butt in BBQ sauce. The acid in it will destroy the texture of the pulled pork. Always add any sauce at the time of serving.
❄️How to store pulled pork.
Pulled pork is good refrigerated for 3-4 days, but two days is preferred since the texture suffers.
Leftovers can be sealed airtight in the freezer and frozen for 4 months. Many people freeze the pork in reheatable sealed bags and then reheat those in boiling water.
♨️How to reheat pulled pork
Reheat pulled pork on a sheet pan in an oven. Sprinkle with water, apple juice, or chicken broth (don’t overdo it). Cover tightly with foil and put it into the oven at 250° to 300° until hot. The time varies by how you shredded it and the amount on the tray—usually about 45 minutes in the oven.
You can then turn the oven down (keep it covered) or transfer it to a crock pot on low to keep warm. I know that is not very exact, but you get the idea.
Never reheat pulled pork in or with sauce applied—the acid in the sauce will destroy the texture.
❓FAQs
No, but good-quality liquid smoke enhances the results. You could also coat it with mustard if you want. Or use the dry rub alone.
If you use liquid smoke, please only use one with water and smoke listed as ingredients and nothing else. Cheap liquid will ruin this. I use Wright's.
No liquid is needed to cook pulled pork in the slow cooker. Liquid will change the texture of the "bark" you get with the dry rub.
There must be some time for the fluid and melted connective tissue to reabsorb into the meat cells.
Wrap with foil and a couple of towels, then let the fluid absorb for at least 15 minutes, but 1 to 2 hours is better.
To help timing, you can delay shedding time by up to 3 hours by wrapping the foil-sealed butt in multiple towels and a small cooler.
It's not a good idea—it will not shred well. It is better to shred correctly while hot.
Some crock pots won't do it. Do not try to shred pork butt that did not reach at least 190° because the connective tissue is not fully melted and will not be good. Get to 195°, but 200° to 205° is better.
You can move the pork butt to a 250°-300° oven on a tray and finish cooking uncovered in the oven if your crock pot can not get to the suggested internal temperature.
🐖What are Boston butt, pork butt, and pork shoulder
Pork butt and Boston butt are the same thing and are the best cut of pork to make great pulled pork due to the fat, marbling, and connective tissue content. The clear plate (a thin muscle above the butt) is occasionally included with the pork butt and is prized for its moisture and tenderness.
Boston butt and pork shoulder are not the same things, although many people use the terms interchangeably. To add to the confusion, the name "pork shoulder" also refers to a primal cut with two major subprimal parts, the Boston butt and the picnic shoulder (AKA pork shoulder.)
The pork butt is above the picnic shoulder in the pork shoulder primal cut. While the whole primal cut is well-marbled and tough meat, the butt area has more connective tissue to melt and is the cut of choice for pulled pork and carnitas.
📖 Recipe
Crock Pot Pulled Pork
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Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds Pork Butt, aka Boston Butt - boneless or bone-in
- 2 tablespoons liquid smoke - good quality
- 1 cup BBQ dry rub
My BBQ dry rub if you don't have one
- ½ cup dark brown sugar - light will do
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt - I tend to decrease this some
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Start with a 3-4 pounds boneless or bone-in pork butt.
- Prep a large crock pot with six balls of aluminum foil. Make about 2-inch balls of foil, then squish to 1 inch high and arrange in the bottom of the crock pot.
- You can use the dry rub of your choice or make the suggested rub: ½ cup dark brown sugar, 3 tablespoons kosher salt, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Stir together in a small bowl.
- Optional but recommended—pat dry the pork butt and then coat with about 2 tablespoons of good-quality liquid smoke.
- Generously apply the rub. At this point, you could wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight or cook it right away.
- Place on the foil balls and cook on low undisturbed for 8-10 hours.
- Bake until the internal temperature is 195° (190 ° at a minimum)—about 8-10 hours, but this will vary slightly with the thickness of the meat and the crock pot. If you can reach 200°-205°, the results will be better. Remove the meat from the crock pot onto a large sheet of heavy-duty foil.
- Wrap tight with aluminum foil, then wrap with several towels. Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes, but 2-3 hours is fine if wrapped well. Shred with forks. It will fall apart.
- Serve as pulled pork sandwiches or any way you wish, like tacos or nachos.
Recipe Notes
Pro Notes:
- This is an all-day recipe.
- This is for about a 3-4 pound pork butt, but if it fits in the crock pot without touching the sides, it will work. But the time will be much longer.
- Bone-in or boneless does not matter. And fat pad up or down does not matter.
- I suggest a good-quality liquid smoke, but you can skip it if you prefer. You can also use mustard.
- Use a rub of your choice. I provided a suggested rub. You may decrease the salt if you want.
- Done is really 200°-205°, but some crock pots just can't reach that temperature. Don't settle for under 190°; try for at least 195°, but higher is better.
- If your crock pot does not reach the correct temperature, move it to a 250° oven on a tray with sides to finish.
- Do not shred immediately. Wrap with foil and let the fluid absorb for at least 15 minutes, but 1-2 hours is better.
- You can delay shedding time by 2-3 hours by wrapping the foil-sealed butt in multiple towels and a small cooler if you have one.
- It would be good if refrigerated for up to 4 days, but I would prefer 2 days since the texture seems to suffer. It will freeze well for 4 months.
- Reheating instructions are in the recipe post above.
- Never reheat with sauce applied; the acid will destroy the texture.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Editor's Note: Originally Published April 9, 2016. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Zach Arellano says
Delicious for the 2nd time. I love starting this around midnight and smelling it when I wake up numerous times. Perfect at lunch tume. Thanks!
Marie DeMartino says
If I use an 8.5 lb pork butt and double the recipe how long does it need to cook?
DrDan says
Hi Marie,
I suspect the time for 8.5 lb in a crock pot would be... a long time. That is a lot of mass for the crock pot to handle. Can it be done? Probable. I would suggest looking at my oven recipe at https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/oven-pulled-pork-from-pork-butt/ Cut the butt in half and separate on the rack.
Hope that helps.
Dan
Aimee W says
Greeting from a "neighbor" to the (Rothbury) and I must say I LOVE this recipe. I made it for a family meal (bigger size- worked great) but I neglected to save the recipe. I remembered that you posted with a picture of the pork from Leppink's and pulled it up. I will be making this wonderfully delicious recipe for our family tomorrow and cannot wait! My only recommendation is DO NOT cook this overnight, 'cause if you wake up it is IMPOSSIBLE to go back to sleep. Last time I made it had to be ready for the noon meal after church on Sunday (my hubby's family all gathers together for Sunday supper together, each of us taking turns for the main meal.) It was well liked!
DrDan says
Now that is odd, tracked down by a Leppink's label. I'm in Spring Lake and practiced in Muskegon.
I'm so use to using the oven version, I rarely do this crock pot version but it is just a logical use of the crock pot and always works well.
I will wave next time I pass through Rothbury.
Thanks for the note neighbor.
Dan
Katie says
Aloha
This sounds awesome and can’t wait to try next time! Wish I would have seen this about 45 ago before I committed most of the cardinal sins you mentioned... 😆
I started cooking similar to a beef roast that my mom used to make ... lol I then realized hubby bought pork butt 6.5 bone in
My question for next time is do you trim the fatty pad on bottom? Omg I wish I could start over now...
DrDan says
Hi Katie,
It will probably be fine but I have my preferences.
Now about that fat pad, the experts (the smokers) cannot agree. Some are fat pad up, some are fat pad down, and some trim it off. I don't think it matters since the fat you are melting in internal mixed in the meat. The fat pad does not drip down into the meat. I have done it all ways and I'm convinced it just does not matter. Anymore if I can trim it easily, I do so I have more area for the rub.
Check the oven recipe https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/oven-pulled-pork-from-pork-butt/ which has become my go-to method. I believe the crust is better due to the drier environment.
Have a great holiday season.
Dan
Pam says
I want to try your recipe. I have an 8lb bone in pork butt. Any idea how long I would cook that on low for this recipe?; Thanks
DrDan says
I have no confidence you can do an 8 pounder in a crock pot. I would thing 4-5 pounds max.
I suggest the oven method https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/oven-pulled-pork-from-pork-butt/. Read the comments and you will have an idea about how long. Of course, the grill is alway possible also.
Dan
Lindy says
I just did a 7 pounder with bone in and it might be the most amazing thing I’ve ever eaten! If you can fit in the crockpot I say go for it.
Marla says
I just did an 8 lb bone-in butt in the crock pot. I let it cook on low for about 11 hours. It turned out fabulous.
Rebecca says
Do I put any liquid in the bottom of the crock pot?
DrDan says
No, it is a "dry roasting" similar to a smoker or grill.
Adylure says
I made this today for me and my boyfriend. We liked it a lot. I haven't had very many pulled porks since my mother is Puerto Rican, therefore we would get Puerto Rican dishes growing up, so I was pleasantly pleased that I didn't have to deal with a sloppy mess like most pulled porks that I have had. So thank you! ;D
Walter says
Wow. All I can say is wow, I wasn't suprised just amazed.
DrDan says
Hi Walter,
It is surprising that that came out of a crock pot.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Jake says
What about searing it first before putting it in the crockpot? I want to mimic the grill as much as possible. Thanks!
DrDan says
Nope, The rub will crust up like the grill.
DrDan says
Assuming that "half butt boneless roast" is what your store calls a boneless pork butt then it is fine. I have used both bone-in and boneless.
Check the oven recipe also https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/oven-pulled-pork-from-pork-butt/ which is the oven version which this recipe is based on.
debi says
My husband accidentally bought a "half butt boneless roast" didn't realize it was pork he thought he was picking out a roast for crock pot Italian Beef. So do you think I can use that for this recipe? It sounds yummy.
Thanks,
debi
Janet says
I honestly thought this was going to be like a dry sock. But WOW! I did everything the same except skipped the liquid smoke. What I lifted carefully out of the crock pot was a moist, yummy ball of pork goodness. When my husband got home he thought we were having aluminum balls for dinner. Then I shared and he was in a pork butt coma as well. And SO easy. It is a 5 for me because I was not disappointed one iota.
DrDan says
Hi Janet
The liquid smoke does add a little but not a lot. Give it a try sometime.
I have almost stopped doing pork butt on the grill (not quite). I either do the oven recipe or the slow cooker for my pulled pork.
Glad it worked well for you and thanks for the note.
Dan
Ruby Townsend says
Do you use the high or low setting on the crock pot??
DrDan says
Low. Implied but not stated. Fixed. If you have a very old pot, low is too low. So if the pot never has any boiling on low, you should use high and cut the time some.
Susan says
This will be my second time making your recipe. It turned out so good that I couldn't wait to make it again. I hope you won't be mad, but I omitted the liquid smoke. It was still great! Also, leftovers froze very well. I grew up on NC BBQ & I love your method! Give it a 4.9999 out of 5!
DrDan says
I just got back from NC and had some really good pork. I will take a 4.9999 any day.
About the liquid smoke, recipes are always just guidelines. So change what you want. I would say all liquid smoke is not the same. I only use Wright's now since I have had some brands that were very poor.
Thanks for the note
Dan
Leslie says
Made yesterday, delicous we ate way too much, however I was still able to freeze some for another meal. Thanks for the recipe.
DrDan says
Thanks Leslie, I wanted an all day, put it on in the morning and eat that evening recipe. I always said I wasn't going to do pulled pork in a crock pot but this is worthy. I don't like leaving an oven or grill on if I'm not home.
Dan
Leslie says
Can you freeze this after it is made, since it serves 10? Recipe sounds great can't wait to try. Thank you
DrDan says
Yep it should freeze great.
Dan