Slow Cooker Beer Pulled Pork is fall apart, melt in your mouth tender and loaded with savory flavors. This recipe makes perfect BBQ sandwiches!
Last week I spent an afternoon at a local brewery watching the World Cup with a friend visiting from Germany. She happens to be a bonafide beer expert, a title that could never apply to me. I rarely drink beer and the only knowledge I have about the stuff comes from Jared. Yet at the brewery I sampled over three beers and enjoyed each one, to my surprise. I was inspired to incorporate beer into a recipe for July and that’s how this Slow Cooker Beer Pulled Pork came into existence in my kitchen!
If you’ve ever been to Phoenix during July then you know that some days it’s just too freakin’ hot to even stand outside near the grill. I love summer food, but want to stay cool while making it. This Slow Cooker Beer Pulled Pork is the perfect hot summer weeknight meal OR the perfect meal to serve at your next get-together. It won’t heat up your whole house like the oven will, and you don’t have to sweat over a flaming grill. It’s kind of perfect!
The best thing is that you don’t have to use this recipe to make BBQ sandwiches. You can use the pork on pizza, in tacos, burritos, empanadas, or enchiladas. To get more creative use the stuff inside queso dip, over mac & cheese, inside a baked potato, inside stuffed peppers, in a shepherd’s pie, or just about any way you like! If you do use this recipe for BBQ sandwiches, try pairing with my Homemade Hawaiian Bread Rolls as slider buns as pictured here, or my Pretzel Buns. You’ll thank me!
Recipe Rundown:
Taste: So savory and the beer works so well in this recipe.
Texture: Hands-down the best part. Ridiculously fork-tender yet meaty and satisfying.
Ease: Super easy, this can be in the slow cooker in five minutes. Perfect weeknight recipe OR food for company.
Pros: Easy, simple, scrumptious. Makes fantastic leftovers.
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? Yes.
You Might Also Like:
Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
-
1
(3.5 pound) boneless pork butt roast
-
1
large onion, sliced
-
12
ounces
beer, such as a dark ale
-
1
tablespoon
soy sauce
-
1 1/2
teaspoons
smoked paprika
-
1
teaspoon
kosher salt
-
3/4
teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
For BBQ Sandwiches:
-
2
cups
barbecue sauce, plus more for serving
-
Sandwich or slider buns
-
Toppings of your choice such as onions, pickles
-
Place the roast and onion in a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker. Pour in the beer. Add the soy sauce, paprika, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours, or until fork tender. Time will vary by slow cooker.
-
Transfer the meat to a cutting board. Using two forks, pull the meat apart into shreds, discarding any fat. Strain the onions, reserving 1 cup of the liquid. Return the shredded pork, onions, and reserved liquid to the slow cooker. Serve or make BBQ sandwiches.
For BBQ Sandwiches:
-
Stir in the barbecue sauce. Cover and cook on low for 15 minutes, or until heated through.
-
Serve on sandwiches between buns with toppings of your choice.
making this today. currently in the crock-pot as I type. adding pepper at the half way mark. no salt, because hey the soy sauce is salty enough. may salt after done for taste purpose only. as for BBQ sauce I think I will use a wet Carolina sauce. I will rate after taste test tonight. Am going to use a regular burger bun toasted.
Great!!
Tessa,
I searched pulled pork & beer after a colleague at work mentioned this as a way of cooking pork. I found your recipe yesterday & tried it today. I had previously done pulled pork in the slow cooker with a BBQ sauce base to cook the pork. Since I am a big fan of beer & always use it in chili & have cooked with it before in other dishes, I decided to give it a try. WOW it turned out perfect. My slow cooker on low took 6 hrs which is a normal time for most things I cook in it. I added my favorite BBQ sauce (Jack Daniels Bold & Spicy) to the portion I used to make pulled pork sandwiches with.
I reserved the rest to use in other meals. Maybe pork tacos or fajitas. This is now going to be my recipe when making pulled pork. Thank You. I only have one complaint – that is every time I walked into the kitchen while it was cooking, it smelled soooooo good it was all I could do not to tear the lid off the slow cooker & attack it with a fork in each hand.
Making this pulled pork a second time. It’s so amazing. Beer is a natural tenderizer so no question it would be delicious. Adding green peppers along with the onions. The aroma is intoxicating. Looking forward to partaking in this yummy recipe.
I do not have a slow cooker so I simmered this on low in my Le Creuset Dutch Oven on the stovetop until tender. Delicious!!! We used the meat to make soft tacos the first night and for BBQ sandwiches the next. Fantastic either way.
Is it possible to use pork ribeye roast instead?
I really think the instructions should read – Cook for about 6 hours on HIGH, rather than Low. I cooked my 3 lb boneless pork butt for 4 hours on Low. It was not even close to being tender. A recipe in the crock pot’s cookbook for a 3-4 lb beef brisket, rump roast or pot roast called for a cook time of 10-12 hours on Low or 5-6 hours on High. Pork chops in a sauce called for 7-9 hours on Low. A 3-4 lb. corned beef brisket called for 8-10 hours on Low or 5-6 hours on High. So…I turned my pot to High and cooked my pork butt for another two hours. Now, it IS fork tender and easy to shred and it is so-o-o good. Can’t wait to eat tonight!!! (I’m using Rival Crock Pot Model 3040, 4 quart)
Just found your recipe and I’ve got it in the crockpot today. Thank you!
I am intrigued by the addition of beer, so I am going to make this for dinner tonight. I don’t have dark ale, only Sam Adams and regular paprika. I hope it still turns out! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I enjoyed this recipe. It was flavorful, and tender as advertised. But, I would like to make a comment about food safety. After two and a half hours, my ancient Rival Crock Pot had only gotten the internal temperature of the pork up to 90 degrees. This is an ideal environment for pathogens. I then turned it up to high for a hour, and got the meat up to 160 degrees. I suggest that, regardless of your cooker, at the start run it on high long enough to get the pork up to at least 150 degrees for half an hour, and then turn it down to low.
can a pork tenderloin be used instead of the roast?
I wouldn’t use a pork tenderloin, it’s too lean and will likely dry out.
Hi
If not having a slow cooker, they are not very common in Denmark, is it possible to make in a römertopf ?
http://www.roemertopf.de/english/roemertopf_klassik/klassik.htm
The best
JP
Quick tip: instead of using 2 forks to pull apart the pork, throw the meat into your stand mixer bowl while it’s still hot. Attach your flat beater and turn on high. It’ll shred the meat in minutes 😉 Works great with chicken as well!
I think your Pulled Pork recipe has got to be our next Friday office lunch get together – YUM!
Awesome!! 🙂
I like this take on pulled pork! My slow cooker died a couple of weeks ago and we’re waiting until we finish moving before getting a new one, but I can’t wait to make this!! We have some Guinness laying around, and I think it would work very well with this.
Guinness would be perfect!! Sorry to hear about your slow-cooker – what a bummer.
All meat is better with beer, right? Yum!
I love pulled pork, trying this soon!
Perfection! Definitely on board with the staying cool part of cooking 🙂
I make a slow cooker pulled pork too (http://twoforksonelove.com/slow-cooker-pulled-pork/) but I’ve always used water as my liquid — I’ll definitely try substituting beer next time (especially for football season)!
Living in FL, I get the the no grilling than. No way that I want to go outside EVER right now.
So, this slow cooker dealio? I am alllll ova it. Especially when there is pork and beer….you can never go wrong there! Pinned!