Hearty Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork

Why This Hearty Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork Works

During the long, low cooking time, the pork shoulder slowly breaks down. All the tough parts in the meat soften, so by the end it barely needs any effort to pull apart with a fork. Because the heat is gentle and the pork sits in liquid the whole time, the meat stays moist instead of drying out on the outside.

As the hours go by, the BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar, chicken broth, and brown sugar thin out and soak into the pork. The vinegar and slow heat loosen the meat fibers, while the sugar and sauce cling to the outside and start to thicken a bit in the cooker. Onion and garlic sit under the pork and cook in all those juices, so they turn very soft and mix right into the sauce.

Once the pork is shredded and stirred back into the slow cooker, all the small pieces get coated in the cooked-down sauce. At that point, every bite has some of the juices, so the pulled pork stays saucy and tender instead of stringy or dry.

Mistakes To Avoid

Letting the pork cook on high heat instead of low often makes the outside stringy and dry while the inside stays tougher than it should. The meat never fully relaxes, so it doesn’t shred into soft pieces and ends up more like chewy chunks.

Putting the pork in the slow cooker without enough salt and seasoning at the start leaves the inside of the meat bland and flat. The sauce only coats the outside, so after shredding, some bites taste rich while the middle of the pieces stays plain.

Skipping the onion and garlic layer at the bottom can cause the pork to sit directly on the hot surface and cook unevenly. Parts of the meat can overcook and dry out where it touches the crock, while the rest sits higher in more liquid and stays softer.

Throwing the shredded pork away from its cooking juices instead of mixing it back in makes the meat dry out fast. The strands don’t soak up the liquid, so the final pulled pork turns out clumpy and pasty instead of moist and saucy.