Crock Pot Pulled Pork – Pulled Pork Recipe Without BBQ Sauce
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Crock Pot Pulled Pork (no BBQ sauce) is an easy recipe that uses three ingredients to season a pork butt – kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Using a slow cooker is an easy method to achieve perfectly tender and moist pulled pork. The prep is quick, and the result is a favorite of my family.
Crock Pot Pulled Pork Recipe (No BBQ Sauce)
For any family gathering, party, birthday, or holiday, I love serving pulled pork. It’s easy, and it serves a crowd. I typically purchase an 8 pound pork shoulder which also is known as a pork butt. This cut has a large slab of fat on top. When cooked slow, the fat renders out to make a very moist pulled pork.
The trick is to score the fat before cooking. Scoring means taking a sharp knife and cutting a diamond pattern in the fat all the way down to the meat. My caterer friend, Lori, taught me this, and she makes the absolute best pulled pork. She taught me this Oven Pulled Pork recipe.
Pulled Pork Seasoning can go in a thousand different directions, but I feel as if simple is best, and it can’t get much simpler than this three ingredient pulled pork seasoning. I’m betting there’s a good chance you already have the ingredients for my recipe for pulled pork seasoning in the pantry – kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
Our Favorite Pork Recipes
I love pork. It might be my favorite meat. Maybe it’s because I grew up on a pig farm, and we ate a lot of pork – pork chops, bacon, ham, pork steaks. You name it, we ate it growing up.
For this reason, you will find numerous pork recipes at These Old Cookbooks.
Here’s some of our favorites:
3 Ingredient Crock Pot Spiral Ham
Crock Pot Pork Roast and Gravy
Mom’s Cheesy Ham and Potato Casserole
See all of our Pork Recipes here.
How to Make Pulled Pork Using the Crock Pot
- Mix together kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder; set aside.
- Take a sharp knife and score fat on pork shoulder.
- Rub the pork all over with the seasoning blend.
- Let the pork marinate in the refrigerator overnight or for several hours if possible.
- Cook the pork in a slow cooker on low for 8 to 10 hours or until the internal temperature reads 200 degrees F.
- Shred, and add back to the juices.
For the full recipe for slow cooker moist pulled pork without BBQ, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
- For a moist pulled pork, use a fatty piece of pork like a pork shoulder (also known as a pork butt). There should be a large layer of fat on one side of the pork (called the fat cap). Leave this attached. Do not trim.
- As long as the pork has a fat cap, there is no need to add additional liquids to the crock pot.
- The fat should be facing up in the slow cooker insert for a moist pulled pork. As the pork slowly cooks, the fat will render out to keep it tender.
- For my crock pot pulled pork, I use a simple pulled pork seasoning with only three ingredients – kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
- I prefer kosher salt to iodized salt.
- Use a digital thermometer to make sure the pork gets to the desired temperature of 200 degrees F. This prevents the urge from opening the lid to check the meat which causes the pork to lose heat and take longer.
- To shred the meat, you have a couple options. If you prefer larger chunks of pulled pork, use two forks or shredding claws. If you prefer smaller chunks and a softer texture, try using the paddle attachment on your large mixer.
More Notes about Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
- After you remove the large, cooked pork butt, you have the option of separating the fat that is in the liquid. Use a fat separator just like you do for your Thanksgiving turkey. You can choose to leave the fat. As it cools, a large fat layer will form and harden at the top. I typically leave mine because fat means flavor. When you reheat the meat, the fat will re-incorporate.
- If you are looking for a recipe for pulled pork in the oven, try ours! Or, if you prefer a pulled pork with a barbecue sauce, try our Sweet Crock Pot version.
Pulled Pork Recipes
Crock Pot Pulled Pork - Pulled Pork Recipe Without BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons garlic powder
- 8 pound pork shoulder with fat cap (also known as pork butt)
Instructions
- With a sharp knife, score the fat cap in a diamond pattern.
- Mix together salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Rub pork on all sides with seasoning mix.
- If desired, let marinate in the refrigerator overnight or for several hours for additional flavor.
- Add the seasoned pork to a crock pot insert; cover with lid.
- Cook on low for 8-10 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees F.
- Shred with 2 forks or use the paddle attachment in a large mixer to shred.
- Add back to the juices and serve.
Notes
- For a moist pulled pork, use a fatty piece of pork like a pork shoulder (also known as a pork butt). There should be a large layer of fat on one side of the pork (called the fat cap). Leave this attached. Do not trim.
- As long as the pork has a fat cap, there is no need to add additional liquids to the crock pot.
- The fat should be facing up in the slow cooker insert for a moist pulled pork. As the pork slowly cooks, the fat will render out to keep it tender.
- For my crock pot pulled pork, I use a simple pulled pork seasoning with only three ingredients---kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
- I prefer kosher salt to iodized salt.
- Use a digital thermometer to make sure the pork gets to the desired temperature of 200 degrees F. This prevents the urge from opening the lid to check the meat which causes the pork to lose heat and take longer.
- To shred the meat, you have a couple options. If you prefer larger chunks of pulled pork, use two forks or shredding claws. If you prefer smaller chunks and a softer texture, try using the paddle attachment in your large mixer.
- After you remove the large, cooked pork butt, you have the option of separating the fat that is in the liquid. Use a fat separator just like you do for your Thanksgiving turkey. You can choose to leave the fat. As it cools, a large fat layer with form and harden at the top. I typically leave mine because fat means flavor. When you reheat the meat, the fat will re-incorporate.
- If you are looking for a recipe for pulled pork in the oven, try ours! Or, if you prefer a pulled pork with a barbecue sauce, try our Sweet Crock Pot version.
Nutrition
