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Carolina BBQ Pulled Pork

Landscape photo of Carolina BBQ pulled pork on a small sheet pan with a ramekin of BBQ sauce next to the pork.
Prepare to have your mouth water with this easy Carolina BBQ Pulled Pork recipe that delivers smoky, tangy, finger-licking perfection. Featuring dry rubbed pork butt slowly braised to perfection in the slow cooker, and doused in tangy NC barbecue sauce. Learn all the real deal secrets to juicy, unbelievably flavorful BBQ and get ready to sink your teeth into the juiciest, most succulently flavorful meat - all with minimal effort required.
Author: Cheyanne Holzworth
Total Time: 8 hours 20 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours 5 minutes
Optional Inactive time: 8 hours
Servings: 6 serving

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch Oven OR Large Cast Iron Skillet (OPTIONAL) (for browning the pork butt)
  • 1 Slow Cooker or Crock Pot (for slow cooking the pork)

Ingredients

  • 1 Prepared Recipe BBQ Dry Rub (Click for Recipe) (See Notes)
  • 1 whole Pork Butt (3 - 3 1/2 pounds if boneless) (3 1/2 - 4 pounds if bone-in)
  • 1 TBS Vegetable or Canola Oil
  • 1 (12 Oz.) Bottle Beer - or you can substitute unsalted chicken or beef stock if desired (I used a lager)
  • 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 TBS Liquid Smoke
  • 1 Prepared Recipe Carolina BBQ Sauce (Click for Recipe)

Instructions

  • Rub the Pork Butt: Place the pork butt on a clean surface and use paper towels to pat the pork thoroughly dry.
    Remove 2 tablespoons of the dry rub and set it aside to use later. Then, sprinkle HALF of the dry rub all over the top of the pork butt. Use your hands to massage the seasoning thoroughly into pork. Flip the pork butt over and repeat with remaining half of dry rub.
    OPTIONAL for most flavor: Wrap the pork butt tightly in plastic wrap and place on a roasting pan, baking dish, or a half sheet pan. Transfer the wrapped and rubbed pork to the fridge and allow to marinate in the dry rub for at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight. (Note: If you refrigerate the pork as suggested, please remove the pork from the fridge and let sit on the counter at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes to remove the chill.)
  • Sear the Pork Butt:  Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the pork and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, about 5-10 minutes total.  (The pork will brown fast because of the sugar in the dry rub.  Watch it carefully and do not let it burn.) Remove the pork and transfer it to the slow cooker, fat cap facing UP.
  • Slow Cook:  Add the beer, vinegar and liquid smoke to the slow cooker.  Cover and cook on LOW, flipping the pork over once or twice during cooking, for 8-10 hours or until the pork is fork tender and an internal temperature of 195 degrees.
    Rest Pork: When pork is done cooking, remove it from the slow cooker and transfer it to a clean work surface.  Loosely tent with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 30 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.
  • Pull Pork: Once the pork is cool enough to handle, use two forks to shred and “pull” the pork. Then, sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of dry rub all over the pulled carolina pork and toss to coat.
  • Serve: There are three ways you can "dress" this pulled pork - tossed with cooking liquid, barbecue sauce, or both. Both always gets my vote if you're looking for smokehouse pulled pork experience.
    If using BBQ Sauce:  Add half of the BBQ sauce (or sauce to taste) to the pork and toss to coat.  Serve with the remaining BBQ sauce on the side.  Enjoy!
    Or, If NOT using BBQ Sauce:  Strain the cooking liquid through a fine-mesh strainer.  Skim off as much fat as possible from the surface and discard.  Add enough cooking liquid to the pork so that it is moistened.  Toss to coat.  Enjoy!
    For Epic Pulled Pork: Strain the cooking liquid in the crock pot through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl or liquid measure. Then, skim as much fat as possible from the surface and discard the fat. Drizzle a few tablespoons of cooking liquid over the pulled pork and toss. Then, add the desired amount of carolilna barbecue sauce and toss to coat. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

  1. Dry Rub: If you're making my dry bbq rub, use dark brown sugar instead of light.
  2. Pork Butt: I recommend cutting the pork butt or shoulder in half or into thirds to make it easier to to fit into the skillet when browning. 
  3. Chilling and Browning Pork: Wrapping the rubbed pork butt in plastic wrap and allowing it to rest in the refrigerator overnight isn't strictly required, but it is recommended for the most flavorful pulled pork.  As well, step 2, browning the pork before adding it to the slow cooker is not required, but it is recommended as it adds a great amount of flavor!
  4. BBQ Sauce: If you don't like a lot of tang in your BBQ sauce, reduce the apple cider vinegar in my BBQ sauce recipe to 2/3 of a cup.
  5. Cooking Liquid: For the most flavor and to ensure moist, juicy pulled pork, I highly recommend straining the cooking liquid and using it AS WELL AS the BBQ sauce in the final step of the recipe.  I.E. Toss the pork with dry rub, toss again with a couple tablespoons of the strained cooking liquid, and then toss one last time with the BBQ sauce. 
  6. Need to Scale the Recipe? Hover your mouse over the number of servings in the recipe card. You'll see a sliding scale pop up, you can use that to scale the recipe up or down as needed.
  7. Got questions? I've got answers! If you ever run into an issue, have a question, or need any clarification - please feel free to drop them in the comments section. I'm happy to help when I can! 
  8.  Recipe Serves 6-8
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and the nutrition facts are an estimate based upon 6 servings. Exact information will depend upon the brands of ingredients and precise measurements used.

Nutrition

Calories: 156kcal    Carbohydrates: 7g    Protein: 15g    Fat: 7g    Saturated Fat: 3g    Cholesterol: 45mg    Sodium: 2401mg    Potassium: 366mg    Fiber: 1g    Sugar: 4g    Vitamin A: 975IU    Vitamin C: 1mg    Calcium: 42mg    Iron: 3mg
Course: entree
Cuisine: American