There’s nothing quite like a slow-cooked, tender, juicy shredded pork. It’s versatile and freezes well, so I love making a big batch of this Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork to keep on hand for quick dinners later. This heavily spiced pulled pork has become one of my favorites over the years and is probably one of my most cooked recipes. It’s just too easy, with the slow cooker doing all the work, and the results are soooo delicious!
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Use a Slow Cooker for Tender, Moist Meat
Pulled pork is super easy to make, especially if you have a slow cooker. Slow cooking holds in all the moisture during cooking and slowly breaks down connective tissue, so the meat is so tender that it just falls apart and shreds with the touch of a fork. Combine those spectacular results with the fact that slow cookers are essentially hands off, and this is, without dispute, my favorite way to make pulled pork.
How To Use Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork
This delicious shredded meat can be used so many different ways. Pile the pork into rice bowls, burritos, quesadillas, tacos, or just enjoy on a bun. I also love using it to top salads for an extra shot of protein.
Freeze the Extras
This makes a BIG batch, so keep some in your fridge for the week and freeze the rest. To freeze the pulled pork, divide the pork into more manageable portions (I usually do 1-2 cup portions), then chill it completely in the refrigerator overnight. Transfer the pork to the freezer once completely cooled and keep frozen for up to 3 months. Any freezer safe container works.
Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork
Servings 6 (1/2 cup each)Ingredients
- 3 lbs. boneless pork butt or shoulder ($4.47)
- 2 Tbsp chili powder* ($0.60)
- 1 Tbsp smoked paprika ($0.30)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder ($0.05)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
Instructions
- Combine the chili powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl.
- Cut the pork butt into 2-3 inch cubes. Place the pork cubes in a large bowl, sprinkle the prepared spice mix over top, then stir to coat the meat in the spices.
- Place the seasoned meat in a slow cooker, place the lid on top, and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or low for 8-9 hours.
- After cooking, stir the meat with a fork to shred the meat. If it's not tender enough to fall apart when stirred, return the lid and cook for an additional 30 minutes and try again. After shredding the meat, it is ready to serve, or portion and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use. Keep the shredded meat in the juices from the slow cooker until ready to serve for the best flavor.
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Equipment
- Slow Cooker
- Color Cutting Boards
- Chef’s Knife
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!You might also like our Slow Cooker Carnitas recipe!
Chili rubbed pulled pork served as tacos in corn tortillas with sliced jalapeños, pickled red onions, and cotija, Cumin Lime Coleslaw on the side.
How to Make Slow Cooker Pulled Pork – Step by Step Photos
Prepare the chili spice rub first. In a small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp chili powder, 1 Tbsp smoked paprika, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp onion powder, 1 tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. Stir until they’re evenly mixed.
Cut one 3 lb. boneless pork butt or shoulder into large chunks (about 2-3 inch pieces).
Place the pieces of pork in a bowl and pour the spices over top. Stir the pork pieces until they’re evenly coated in spices.
Place the seasoned pork in a slow cooker (I’m using a 5 qt slow cooker and it’s only about half full). I do not add any water or liquid to the slow cooker, as the meat will release quite a bit of liquid as it cooks. If your slow cooker specifies that you must add some liquid, you can add a cup of water.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-9 hours. After cooking it should be so tender that it begins to fall apart when stirred. If it doesn’t, simply put the lid back on and continue to cook for 30-60 minutes more. Sometimes that last little bit of time makes a huge difference in the texture.
Stir the pork in the slow cooker until it has shredded into smaller pieces. Serve immediately or transfer to a food storage container and refrigerate and/or freeze for later. I like to keep the meat right in the cooking juices during storage for maximum flavor.
It’s soooo tender and juicy! And those spices!!
And it makes the absolute BEST tacos!!
This is my favorite pulled pork recipe. I serve it in pocketless pita bread with tzatziki sauce. So yummy! Also used it for the Posole soup. Amazing!
Oh YUM! That sounds delicious.
We keep this recipe in regular rotation! Day 1 we eat it in burrito bowls or on tortillas. Day 2 I mix it with cream cheese/shredded cheese, and bake taquitos! The chili rub mixes with the cream cheese and it’s sooo good!
Great idea Allison!
W-O-W! I tried this since it was cheaper than my usual method (no broth or garlic cloves), and I’m never going back. This turned out amazing!
I used some of this in your posole recipe and will be mixing the rest with a can of Rotel for some easy pork burritos.
What timing would you suggest for an Instantpot?
Awesome as always, Beth! I used my instant pot at 60 minutes with a natural pressure release
Thanks Abby! Came here to check for IP info. 🙂
Hello! I’ve made this recipe a few times and it’s to die for. Would this same process work with a Beef chuck shoulder roast? They were buy one get one at Kroger so I’d like to try it out this weekend.
Thanks!
It should work similarly, yes. :)
Has anyone made this in an instant pot or pressure cooker? I’m wondering what timing you guys might suggest. Also wondering whether I would need to add any Liquid?
Is it possible to make a version of this with chicken breast in the slow cooker?
Absolutely! You may need to add a little liquid, since the chicken will be a lot more lean and won’t create as many juices. I would try maybe 3 hours on high.
Is there a way we can cook this in a an oven if we don’t have a slow cooker?
You can probably roast it at a low temperature for a few hours, but I haven’t tested this method, so unfortunately I don’t know what temperature or how long.
Would you be able to send me the old recipe? I’m having a party and the last time I made it. It was a crowd favorite!
Sent! :)
Omg! This is so good. I’m tempted to be like “Beth can I have the old recipe?” Even if I never have made the old one just because I think it would be so cool to get an email from Beth! Haha. Definitely embracing my budget bytes fan girl today, thanks for all the awesome recipes!!
I want to compare the perfectly pulled pork to the chili rubbed recipe. Can you email a pdf of the old one also! My wife loves it.
Sure!
Is this the same recipe as the perfectly pulled pork? I had an old shortcut I’ve been using to get here. My girls loved this pulled pork as I’ve made it plenty of times. It was never spicy for them but if it’s spicier now, I may need to make modifications!
Hi Jason, no it’s not the same, but better IMHO. This one IS a bit spicy, though, so I’ll email you a pdf of the older recipe to keep on hand (I’ll use the email that you used to leave the comment).
Could I please also have an email of the original perfectly pulled pork? It’s become a regular meal in our house. Thanks
Absolutely! Emailing it now. :)
Yeah -same thing here. Can I have to original recipe? My kids are change resistant and I like peaceful meals. :-)
Just emailed it to you. :) Let me know if it doesn’t arrive!
One more email? I’m missing your old recipes!
No problem, Pam! Sending now! :)
I love your idea of using leftover meat for a Southwest style pizza! What kind of sauce would you suggest for that?
Honestly, I’d probably just use a regular pizza sauce and make the toppings southwest inspired. :)
So easy and so delicious! I found that I only had one tbsp of chili powder left when I went to make this, and it still turned out flavorful. We had it in tacos, and I plan to use some of the leftovers in your 30-minute posole tomorrow!
Made this a bit different. Marinated the pork to tenderize in 1 c. apple cider vinegar and water to cover the uncooked pork for 24 hrs. I took the pork out, patted it to dry, rubbed the spices (chipotle pepper, red pepper, chili powder, and cumin) onto the pork. Then browned the whole pork in butter on medium-high in a cast iron dutch oven on all sides. Took the pork out, added 1 large onion and four cloves of garlic and sauted a bit in the butter and pork juices. Turned down the heat, added half a cup to 3/4 c. to deglaze the pan and cooked on low (covered) for four hours. Amazing!
“…a bit different.”
This is literally an entirely different recipe. It sounds delicious but it’s not even close to the original and like 5x the work.
This recipe is stupid delicious and so stupid easy!! I can’t say enough good things about it and I haven’t even used it in a dish yet! I would be interested in useing this meat in other recipes other then the Posole. I need more ways to use this delicious meat!
Thanks Brianna!
This looks so good and I’m wanting to try it. Would I be able to use a boneless pork loin instead of a butt? I would like to try this for New Year’s.
I’ve made it with loin before and I still like it quite a bit. Just be aware that the texture of the meat will be different because loins are quite a bit more lean. It won’t be quite as tender and juicy as the butt.
The pork butt at my grocery was over 7 pounds so I got pork loin instead and it worked great! It was done in a little over 3.5 hours.