Slow Cooker Pulled Pork (Babish Adaptation) Recipe

Name: Pulled Pork | Basics with Babish
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 10 h
Total time: 10 h 25 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 100 g light brown sugar; 100 g white sugar; 50 g paprika; 1 tbsp smoked paprika; 1 tbsp ground mustard; 1 tbsp garlic powder; 1 tbsp onion powder; 2 tsp ground ginger; 1 tbsp dried oregano; 1 tbsp fine salt; 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper; 2.5 kg bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt), excess fat trimmed; 1 tsp liquid smoke; 360 ml apple cider vinegar; 0.5 lemon lemon juice; 1 tsp cayenne pepper; 1 tbsp hot sauce; salt and pepper, to taste; 240 ml ketchup; 200 g light brown sugar, packed; 0.5 lemon lemon juice; 3 tbsp butter; 1 tbsp hot sauce; 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 0.25 onion onion, grated; 1 tbsp spice rub (from above), heaping; 120 ml water; 0.5 head white cabbage, shredded; 3 tbsp white wine vinegar; 1 tsp celery seeds

Source video by Binging with Babish on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

This recipe adapts Babish's classic pulled pork for the slow cooker. A bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt) is coated in a brown sugar and paprika rub, then cooked low and slow until it shreds easily. Finish under the grill for a proper bark, then dress with either a sharp vinegar sauce or a thick tomato-based barbecue sauce. Serve on soft buns with a simple coleslaw.

Slow cooker notes: Original recipe is sous-vide or smoked. Adapted for slow cooker by cooking the rubbed pork shoulder on low until shreddable, with liquid smoke added for smoky flavour. A brief grill or hot oven finish builds the bark that the slow cooker cannot. Sauce recipes kept as in the original. No added liquid in the cooker beyond what the pork releases, which keeps the rub concentrated.

Ingredients

Spice Rub

100 glight brown sugar
100 gwhite sugar
50 gpaprika
1 tbspsmoked paprika
1 tbspground mustard
1 tbspgarlic powder
1 tbsponion powder
2 tspground ginger
1 tbspdried oregano
1 tbspfine salt
1 tbspfreshly ground black pepper

Pork

2.5 kgbone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt), excess fat trimmed
1 tspliquid smoke

Eastern Carolina Vinegar Sauce

360 mlapple cider vinegar
0.5 lemonlemon juice
1 tspcayenne pepper
1 tbsphot sauce
to tastesalt and pepper, to taste

Western Carolina Tomato Sauce

240 mlketchup
200 glight brown sugar, packed
0.5 lemonlemon juice
3 tbspbutter
1 tbsphot sauce
1 tbspWorcestershire sauce
0.25 oniononion, grated
1 tbspspice rub (from above), heaping
120 mlwater

Coleslaw

0.5 headwhite cabbage, shredded
3 tbspwhite wine vinegar
1 tspcelery seeds
3 tbspmayonnaise

To Serve

8 bunssoft white or potato buns

Method

Combine all spice rub ingredients in a bowl and whisk by hand to break up any sugar lumps.
~5 min
Trim excess fat from the pork shoulder, then coat every surface generously with the spice rub, pressing it in. Reserve a heaping tablespoon of rub for the tomato sauce if making it.
~10 min
Sprinkle the rubbed pork all over with liquid smoke if using.
~1 min
Place the pork fat side up in the slow cooker. Do not add any liquid; the rub and pork juices are enough.
~2 min
Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours, until a fork twists easily in the meat and the bone slides out cleanly.
~600 min
While the pork cooks, make the vinegar sauce: whisk apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, cayenne, hot sauce, salt and pepper together. Decant into a squeeze bottle.
~5 min
For the tomato sauce, combine ketchup, brown sugar, lemon juice, butter, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, grated onion, the reserved tablespoon of rub, and water in a saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes until thick.
~30 min
Carefully lift the pork onto a tray. Pour off and reserve the cooking liquid; you can strain and stir some into the tomato sauce for extra porky depth.
~5 min
Pat the pork dry, dust with another generous coat of the spice rub, and place under a hot grill or in a 180C fan oven for 20 to 30 minutes until a dark, crisp bark forms on the outside.
~25 min
Remove the bone, then shred the pork with two forks. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of the strained cooking liquid.
~10 min
For the coleslaw, toss shredded cabbage with vinegar, celery seeds, mayonnaise and a pinch of salt.
~5 min
Pile the pulled pork onto soft buns, drizzle generously with your sauce of choice, and top with coleslaw.
~5 min

Frequently asked

Do I need liquid smoke?

No, but it makes a noticeable difference when you're not using a real smoker. The smoked paprika in the rub helps too. If you can finish the pork on a barbecue or under a fierce grill, you'll get more depth.

Can I skip the bark-forming oven or grill step?

You can, but the pork will taste one-dimensional. Slow cookers steam rather than roast, so all the dark, crisp, intensely seasoned crust comes from that final blast of dry heat. It's worth the extra 25 minutes.

What cut should I ask the butcher for?

Ask for a bone-in pork shoulder, sometimes labelled Boston butt. The bone adds flavour and tells you when the meat is done: it slides out cleanly when the pork is fully tender. Boneless shoulder works too but cooks slightly faster.

Which sauce should I choose?

Eastern North Carolina vinegar sauce is sharp, thin and cuts through the richness of the pork. Western North Carolina tomato sauce is sweeter, thicker and closer to what most people picture as barbecue sauce. Make both and let people choose.

Can I cook this from frozen?

No. A frozen pork shoulder spends too long in the food safety danger zone in a slow cooker. Defrost fully in the fridge overnight before rubbing and cooking.

Extraction notes (transparency): Babish does not measure several spices precisely (uses 'a tablespoon or two', 'a few gloves'). Quantities reflect his stated ranges where given. Pork shoulder weight not stated in transcript, set to a typical UK size. Slow cooker timing inferred from standard practice for pork shoulder, not from source. Coleslaw quantities approximated from his loose description.