This is our favorite 2 ingredient pulled pork recipe made with bbq sauce! A cheap high protein family friendly dinner to make sliders. Similar to our Boneless Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder recipe but with Rays Hawaiian barbecue sauce.
Ok so we are obsessed with easy Crockpot recipes because I can throw everything in my pot in the morning (when I have energy) and when everyone is home we can eat together. Quick prep is my all time favorite especially when it comes out as delicious as this one is.
Cooking Pork in BBQ Sauce
This is similar to our Crockpot BBQ Beef Recipe but with pig of course. Same idea though where you literally just need a large piece of meat with a bottle of your favorite sauce. I like sweet for sure and sometimes will buy Sweet Heat that has a kick of spicy.
From there you can change out what you use so you can make all sorts of combinations. Love teriyaki sauce? Use that sometime for an Asian flare over rice once it’s shredded. In this case I like Sweet Baby Rays.
Boneless Pork Shoulder Roast Recipe
You can use bone-in if that is all you can find but boneless pork roast is easier to shred when done. What I do is make this when I find a sale I will make this for a meal that week. With the sauce it cost me under $15 to feed 4 of us with leftovers for lunch the next day. 😉
Use your favorite flavored bottle of barbecue sauce or you can make homemade bbq sauce if you like. You will need a bit of water or broth too to remove the remaining sauce from the bottle (because I hate to waste)
Can you use Coca Cola instead of barbecue sauce?
You could but it won’t be as thick. It will work, and get sweet and ready for shredding but to me it is better with a thick sauce instead. You would use the same measurements as is in the recipe card below.
Variations and Substitutions
Other optional cuts for the meat would be to use a bone-in shoulder roast or Boston butt. Ours was about 4 pounds (great for 6 of you) served as sliders. You do want a bit of fat to your piece. For something like Pork Sirloin Roast that is really lean it won’t pull apart as easily.
There are a few things you could add for a little tweak if you like. If you want it to be spicy, Sriracha, chili powder or red pepper flakes. What I like to add if I have some in the pantry are pineapple tidbits! Adds some sweetness the kids love. Sliced onions is another easy one for texture and flavor.
Frozen Pulled Pork in Slow Cooker
Yes! You can use the temperature and timing from our Frozen Roast in Slow Cooker in that case, with this sauce. There isn’t a ton of difference but a bit and it doesn’t matter whether it is a beef or frozen pork roast either. Comes out super tender and nobody will ever know the difference. 😉
How Long to Cook Pulled Pork in Barbecue Sauce
Once your meat is covered with the sauce you will want to cover and cook on low for 6 hours cooking time in a slow cooker (depending on weight) or until it will shred easily with two forks or break apart easily with tongs. For Instant Pot Hawaiian Pulled Pork it will take closer to 90 minutes (fastest). Baked like our Mississippi Pork Roast you would need 2 hours or so so take your pick.
How Many Hours do you Cook Pork on High?
I do not recommend this for slow cooker pulled pork, but if you insist I would say about 4 hours would be necessary. You don’t want to rush things. If you are in a hurry, try our Instant Pot Pork Shoulder instead which will be done in about 1.5 hours and the results are more moist.
FAQ
You can!! As long as it is a fatty cut like a roast, butt or shoulder as it cooks it will release juices to steam. I do think it is better to add some teriyaki or bbq sauce for flavor but that is not necessary to cook it to tender.
You need to give it enough time, longer it cooks the better especially if you want to shred it. Cooking at a low temperature for a long time is key as well, don’t rush it and cook in slow cooker on high because your results won’t be as moist. If you want it quickly, use a pressure cooker instead.
You want a cut with a good amount of marbling and fat like pork shoulder or butt ideally. The fat not only makes it super tender but adds flavor to the dish too.
NO, don’t do that! You can remove it when it is done (which is what we do) if you don’t want to eat that but it is needed when cooking. Leave the extra fat on until the end. Then use tongs to pull that off and discard. Fat = flavor y’all so leave that excess fat on for the entire cook time.
2 Ingredient Pulled Pork Recipe
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 3.5-4 lbs pork roast, we used boneless shoulder
- 1 bottle barbecue sauce, 18 oz. we used Rays Hawaiian style
- 1/2 cup water, or broth
Instructions
- Cut pork roast / shoulder in half. If there is a bone there is no need to remove it. Lay inside slow cooker.
- Pour bbq sauce over the top. Pour water into bottle, put lid on and shake to remove rest of sauce from bottle, pour this into pot too.
- Put lid on and lock or if there isn't a lock set 2 dish towels on top to trap the heat better. Set to low for 6 hours, will shred easily with two forks or break apart easily with tongs, serve inside buns!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to save leftovers
Now that my kids are busy with their own lives we typically have some left. Unplug your machine and leave the lid off when you are done eating. Allow to cool completely and then transfer what is left into containers with a tight lid with some of that sauce to keep it moist.
Keep in the fridge and reheat the next day for lunch to enjoy as is, over rice or this works great as Shredded Pork for Tamales if you used enchilada sauce to cook this in instead.
I put tin foil under the lid of my slow cooker and it keeps the moisture in.
that would work too