Recipe At-A-Glance
It’s easy to get slow roasted flavor by using the slow cooker to make this pulled pork recipe. An overnight dry rub adds tons of flavor without a lot of work.
My wedding day was really low-pressure. Part of it was because of the location—we held our wedding between two trees in my parents’ backyard (which is now my backyard). Part of it was because we only invited our closest friends and family—we had about 40 people there total. But probably the biggest reason why it was so stress-free was because we were already married when we stood up in front of our loved ones and said our vows. Because of a tight immigration deadline, six months before, on a super chilly St. Patrick’s Day, Craig and I went to City Hall and were married by the Assistant City Clerk (who was wearing jeans and an orange hoodie). It was intimate, sweet, and incredibly romantic if you can ignore the fact that we got hitched in a hallway outside of the parks and recreation department (how very Leslie Knope of me).
And even though March 17th is the day that we officially celebrate as our anniversary each year, we also look back fondly to September 22nd—the day of our second wedding. It was the day that all of our friends and family got together and drank good beer, ate good food, and danced until the wee hours of the morning. It was one heck of a party.
To this day, people still talk about the food we served at our wedding (well, that, and the fact that it was a 94° that day—the Canadians were melting). Since we were having a backyard wedding, we knew we wanted to keep the food casual and comfortable. We tossed around a lot of ideas, but eventually landed on serving barbecue for our guests.
It was a ton of fun visiting all the different barbecue joints in our area and figuring out who we wanted to cater our wedding. We went with on one local place because not only was their food delicious, but we also loved their presentation. They served their “platters” of barbecue on metal trash can lids right at the table—we thought it was just quirky and weird enough to be perfect for our wedding! Everyone got a huge kick when these giant trash can lids to came to each table and everyone was encouraged to dig into the heaping piles of pulled pork, brisket, barbecue ribs, roasted chicken, baked beans, and corn on the cob. Now, every time I have barbecue, I get all kinds of warm and fuzzy thinking about our wedding day.
The slow cooker is absolutely made for doing barbecue. It’s the perfect way to get slow-cooked flavor without babysitting the meat. If you’ve never slow-cooked ribs, I highly recommend trying it. They’re fall-off-the-bone perfect (especially after a quick trip under the broiler to get the sauce all caramelized and delicious). I also use the slow cooker all the time to make pulled beef, chicken and pork barbecue. The slow cooking adds so much rich flavor. It does require a bit of pre-planning—the dry rub on the pork the night before is the key to a super delicious sandwich.
I served up these pulled pork sandwiches topped with Cuban Slaw. And I also served it with extra barbecue sauce to make the sandwiches extra sloppy and delicious. Some folks prefer their pulled pork sandwiches more dry, so my recommendation is to put the barbecue sauce out and everyone can customize their own sandwich. I tend to make my own barbecue sauce, but whatever bottle is your favorite would work well, too.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches
It's easy to get slow roasted flavor by using the slow cooker to make this pulled pork recipe. An overnight dry rub adds tons of flavor without a lot of work.
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons dry mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 2-3 pound pork shoulder roast, extra fat trimmed off
- Potato buns, coleslaw and barbecue sauce for serving
Instructions
- Combine the brown sugar, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt in a small bowl. Rub the mixture liberally over the pork shoulder. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, preferably overnight.
- Cook pork shoulder in slow cooker on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours. At the end of cooking time, take two forks and shred the pork. Serve on potato buns topped with barbecue sauce and coleslaw, if desired.
Notes
The pulled pork recipe is naturally gluten-free. To use it in a gluten-free sandwich, grab a gluten-free bun and gluten-free barbecue sauce and you're good to go!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 520Total Fat: 31gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 123mgSodium: 494mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 1gSugar: 21gProtein: 33g
At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.
