Description
This tender crockpot pulled pork sandwich recipe offers an easy, hands-off comfort meal with juicy, flavorful pork slow-cooked to perfection and served on soft sandwich buns.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 to 4 pounds pork shoulder (pork butt), bone-in or boneless
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar (120 ml)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 cup chicken or beef broth (240 ml)
- Soft hamburger buns or sandwich rolls
Instructions
- Trim any large chunks of excess fat from the pork shoulder but leave some fat for tenderness. Pat dry with paper towels.
- In a small bowl, combine smoked paprika, chili powder, ground cumin, brown sugar, salt, and black pepper. Rub this spice mixture all over the pork shoulder.
- Place sliced onion and minced garlic at the bottom of the crockpot. Lay the pork shoulder on top, fat side up if present.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, and chicken broth. Pour over the pork and onions.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours until pork is fork-tender.
- Remove pork from crockpot and shred with two forks, discarding large fat chunks.
- Skim excess fat from the sauce in the crockpot, return shredded pork to the crockpot, stir to coat with sauce, and warm for 15 minutes on LOW.
- Toast sandwich buns if desired. Pile pulled pork onto buns and spoon extra sauce over the top. Add coleslaw or pickles if desired.
Notes
For extra tang, add Worcestershire sauce or Dijon mustard to the sauce. Use gluten-free buns or serve over rice or lettuce wraps for gluten-free. If sauce is too thin, reduce on stovetop before mixing back in. Keep fat cap up during cooking to baste meat. Shred pork while warm for best texture.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 to 8 hours
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pulled pork sandwi
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 8
- Sodium: 650
- Fat: 22
- Saturated Fat: 7
- Carbohydrates: 30
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 35
Keywords: pulled pork, crockpot, slow cooker, comfort food, sandwich, barbecue, easy recipe, pork shoulder