Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches (pork shoulder roast)

Yesterday while wandering around Safeway I spotted a pork shoulder roast for 50% off! I figured it would be a good time to try Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches which I’ve never made before. I couldn’t believe how easy it was. I made up a little rub, tossed it in the slow cooker around 8 a.m. and by 5 p.m. we chowed down on sandwiches.

This recipe is a combination of suggestions from readers over at the Queen Bee Coupons Facebook page. I can always count on them to share their favorite recipes and suggestions – thank you!

Disclaimer – I’m no pulled pork expert. This was my first time making it. But we thought it was delicious, so we hope you enjoy our recipe. 🙂

INGREDIENTS

Pork shoulder roast, mine was a big roast at almost 7 pounds!

Beer, any kind will do, I used a Redhook IPA

Onion, about 3-4 slices

Lime, 3-4 slices

Whole garlic cloves, 3-4, minced

Rub/seasoning
You can adjust based on size of roast. I had a 7 pound roast, so just adjust accordingly. 

2 – 3 bay leaves

Cumin, 2 teaspoons

Garlic powder, 2 teaspoons

Dried oregano, 1 teaspoon

Coriander, 1 teaspoon

Salt, 1 teaspoon

Cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon

Brown sugar, 1/4 cup

Pepper, to taste?

 DIRECTIONS

1. I rinsed the pork shoulder under cold water and patted it dry with paper towels. Set it on cutting board.
2. Mix together rub/seasoning ingredients – leaving out the bay leaves for later.
3. Rub pork shoulder with seasoning mix. You could, if you planned ahead, wrap the shoulder in plastic wrap and let the rub infuse into the meat overnight. I didn’t do that because frankly I’m not that organized this week. 🙂
4. Place the 2-3 bay leaves in the base of your slow cooker. Place the seasoned roast on top of your bay leaves inside the slow cooker.
5. Place onion slices on top of roast. Then top with your lime slices. And sprinkle your minced garlic on top.
   
6. Pour beer around roast. Don’t be tempted to add more liquid – the roast will produce a lot and you don’t want it to boil over.
7. Cook on high for about 8-10 hours. Basically until it falls apart. I turned my roast upside down about half-way through, so all the meat got a chance at a beer/seasoning bath.
8. After meat seems to be falling apart – carefully move roast to cutting board. Pull off any large pieces of fat – it should just peel off. If it’s bone-in, remove bone.
9. Attack the roast with a couple forks until it’s completely shredded. It shouldn’t be hard at all to do. If the meat does NOT pull apart easily, it probably needs to be thrown back into slow cooker.
10. Strain out any fat pieces from liquid in slow cooker. Add shredded pork back into slow cooker juices until it’s time to serve. I served with a slotted spoon, so you could strain out some of the liquid before plopping on bread.

Per Mr. Queen Bee’s suggestion we enjoyed on kaiser rolls with sliced pickle, shredded lettuce and barbecue sauce. I had no idea how to make a pulled pork sandwich – but he has had his share – so I took his advice, it was delicious! I’m also thrilled that this roast was large enough to have a ton of leftovers – so I won’t have to make dinner tonight!

(Thanks again to my Facebook fans who shared recipe ideas. I will have to give the other ideas a shot the next time I find it on sale! Special thanks to Terri H., who shared a rub recipe that I worked from!)

I also heard that the Pioneer Woman has an amazing spicy pulled pork recipe in her cookbook The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl. Have you tried that one?

What’s your favorite way to make pulled pork or use a pork shoulder roast?

If you like this recipe “pin it” for future use!