The slow cooker strikes again in the recipe for melt in your mouth tender brown sugar pulled pork!
Pork has always been a little bit of a challenge for me. I seem to have this magical ability to take a perfectly lovely piece of pork and cook it so that it is, well, DRY.
And so pork and I tend to avoid each other until the Southern husband reminds me that he does love pork for supper every once in a while, and then I give the old college try one more time.
And just to prove that the whole if at first you don’t succeed thing is actually sometimes true, please meet a plate of tender, sweet, I can’t believe I finally did it slow cooker brown sugar pulled pork. Oh Happy Day!
I’m guessing the low and slow heat of my beloved slow cooker had more than a little bit to do with the juicy tender wonderfulness of this pork.
As with the slow cooker pot roast recipe I posted a couple of weeks ago that inspired this one, it cooks all day in that gentle moist heat.
And, ALSO like the pot roast recipe, it gets shredded and tossed with a sweet and savory sauce – in this case a mixture of brown sugar and vinegar and oh my my. Tender bits of pork, sweet and tangy sauce, and not a dry bite anywhere to be found.
We had ours with cheese grits on the side and roasted asparagus, but of course this would make the world’s best pulled pork sandwich.
And best of all, pork and I are now best friends. The Southern husband is one happy guy. And we are all living happily ever after.
The end.
PrintSlow Cooker Brown Sugar Pulled Pork
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker and Stovetop
- Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork loin roast
- ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Place pork tenderloin in slow cooker. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top, and pour 1/2 cup chicken broth around it. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
- About 15 minutes before pork is done, combine all remaining ingredients, including the remaining 1/2 cup of the chicken broth, in a small heavy saucepan, whisk to combine and simmer over medium heat until slightly thickened.
- Remove pork from slow cooker and shred, using two forks. Place in mixing bowl and pour sauce over the top. Mix with tongs until the pork is coated lightly with sauce.
- Serve at once, either on rolls as a sandwich or on its own!
Natalie says
Hello Kate,
If you only had half the pork, could you cook it for half the time in the slow cooker? Would you do the full sauce or cut the ingredients into half?
Does this recipe freeze well?
Thanks so much!
Kate Morgan Jackson says
Hi Natalie! You should do half the sauce, but it will probably still need the full time in the slow cooker. You could check it after 6 hours just in case though. And yes! It freezes wonderfully – I always make extra and pop it in the freezer. :) Happy New Year!
Natalie A Sun says
Hello Kate,
If you only had half the pork, could you cook it for half the time in the slow cooker? Would you do the full sauce or cut the ingredients into half?
Does this recipe freeze well?
Thanks so much!
Kelly says
I tweaked it a little adding worthshire sauvs and ketchup but I like this recipe thank you
Kate Morgan Jackson says
Thanks Kelly, and I love your additions! :)
Mindy says
Hi, Kate!
Help! Because of a change in plans, I need to save the cooked, shredded pulled pork for tomorrow. Should I make the sauce and combine the two tonight and re-warm it gently tomorrow, or would it be better to wait until tomorrow to mix the pork with the sauce? Thank you!
Kate Morgan Jackson says
Hi Mindy! You can actually do it either way, but I would opt for waiting until tomorrow to mix the pork with the sauce – that way you can reheat the pork in the sauce more easily. Hope this helps! :)
Rebecca says
I’ve never used a tenderloin for pulled pork, only a pork butt. Does the tenderloin pull apart as nicely?
Kate says
Hi Rebecca! The tenderloin does pull apart nicely! But if you are more comfortable with a pork butt you can absolutely sub that in – this recipe is all about the brown sugar sauce. :)
Rebecca says
Thanks for replying. I trust you, so I’ll try the tenderloin.
Rebecca says
I made this last week. It was great!
Kate says
I’m so glad! Thanks for coming back and letting me know – Happy Sunday! :)
Sandy says
In step 2 you say to include the rest of the chicken broth, but the entire half cup called for in the recipe is already in the slow cooker, right? Does this mean I should drain the chicken broth out of the slow cooker? Sorry for the confusion!
Kate says
Hi Sandy! There’s a second 1/2 cup of chicken broth called for later in the ingredient list, but I see how that could be confusing so I reworded the directions! 1/2 cup in the slow cooker at the start, and then another 1/2 cup for the sauce Happy brown sugar pulled pork! :)
Alyssa says
Wow! This was delicious! Wasn’t sure how I felt about the sauce since I’m used to the Kansas City ketchup-based sauces, but it was amazing. Thanks for the recipe! You sure know how to make me look like a good cook. :)
Kate says
Aw, thanks Alyssa! I figure that we can’t ever go wrong with brown sugar. :)
Mary Eman says
I love pork (not just once in a while!) and this recipe has me drooling. I am going to give it a go on Monday, with polenta and some broccoli rabe go alongs.
Kate says
Sounds like the perfect Monday – love the polenta part!
armymum says
You need to make a Puerto Rican Pernil…..
There is also a slow cooker method I found recently on Serious Eats….
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/09/puerto-rican-pernil-slow-cooker-recipe.html
cant wait to try it!!!!!
Kate says
Now that looks like a whole lot of heaven. Pinning!
shelly says
Call it crazy, but my late mother-in-law always cooked a pork roast and a beef roast together in the same pot, for hours and it produced another sort of wonderfulness. This pulled pork post has my mouth watering :-)
Kate says
Wow! My head is spinning at the delicious possibilities of that one!