Slow Cooker Dr Pepper Pulled Pork

Dr Pepper pulled pork in a slow cooker is the best. Cooked low and slow all day gives you the most tender pork shoulder that shreds easily with two forks. Just set it and forget it and enjoy on slider buns for dinner tonight.

Do you love shredded pork but want to know about cook it yourself right at home?? Well let’s compare every method and tell you how they differ, and which way we like best. It is one of our favorite Crockpot recipes that is perfect cooked for a crowd.

Whether you are making this low and slow or Pork Butt in Instant Pot it is good to use a liquid that has flavor like homemade sauces, soda, apple juice or soda! Whether you use bottled or make your own you want something that will coat every single piece well.

I have made Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder with just broth but have found that if you use a liquid with a lot more flavor it comes out so delicious you don’t need to do much else with it.

If we had to choose our best and least prep method it would be this recipe here. I will explain step by step below and you will see.

Low temperatures for a LONG time is generally the best method, until the pressure cooker came along. With that said if you do have an electric smoker or pellet grill you MUST try smoked pork as well as our Boston Butt in Oven and decide for yourself. If you ask me what is the best way to cook pork I would first ask you what you want to make. 

Ingredient Notes

Most people would say a pork shoulder. I have used a center cut pork loin that was boneless before (seen below) and in the Instant Pot I would say it was my favorite. Boneless pork roast can be used as well.

Does pork tenderloin work for pulled pork?

I would not use this cut. The reason it isn’t recommended is that it is very lean and to get the tender texture you want you want there to be a decent amount of fat on there.

You need a can of Dr Pepper soda. I mean Coca Cola really will do the same thing just with a slightly different flavor of course. Dark soda are best in this case.

I like to add sliced onions to add flavor and a bit of texture to the dish. Especially if you are going to serve on slider buns this is a great add in.

Barbecue sauce will make the sauce thicker which will coat the meat well so it is as tender as possible. I have used all sorts of flavors and brands, Sweet Baby Rays is the cheapest.

And then I typically will add seasonings here and there like garlic powder, salt and pepper (and/or whatever else I am feeling at the moment).

How Long to Cook Dr Pepper Pulled Pork in Slow Cooker

To cook a pork shoulder with this soda pop you are going to need a good 8-10 hours to break down the connective tissues, don’t rush things. You need to keep on low to get the ideal texture, any larger than about 4 lbs will need more time too.

How Long to Cook Dr Pepper Pulled Pork with Frozen Shoulder

We have directions on how to cook Frozen Pork Loin in Crock Pot too. With a shoulder it would work very similar to this. Believe it or not the timing doesn’t change a lot as long as the lid is securely closed the whole time. Trick to keeping the heat in is to put a dish towel over the top!

How do you know when it is done?

It is all about the texture. You want it tender and moist. Your best way to check is with 2 forks. Dig them into the middle and pull. If it is easily to separate the two pieces and it literally falls apart it is done. If it takes really any effort at all to pull apart it needs more time, period.

Of course you can add additional seasonings or make sauce thicker like we did with our pork loin slow cooker recipe but I don’t feel that is necessary really.

How to Serve

That is totally up to you but if you want to have a ton of options and need some side dish suggestions, here are a few: We usually use mini hamburger buns to make them into pulled pork sandwiches with these items as add ons to the meal.

1. Crockpot cornbread is a great one.
2. Small flour tortillas
3. Hamburger or slider buns
4. Cole slaw
5. Salad

Can you overcook pulled pork in a slow cooker?

It’s pretty hard to do, however if it is in too long it may get mushy and not the texture you desire. Keep an eye on it once it is fall apart tender and if you aren’t ready to eat just move it to the warm setting. This has never happened when making dutch oven pork, you should try that.

Other pork recipes you’ll love

Then we have our ever popular Instant Pot Hawaiian pulled pork you see below. Some easy Instant Pot carnitas using a pork steak