Each summer, my husband and I pasture-raise around a dozen hogs on our small family farm, so you could say I know a thing or two about pork recipes. Slow-cooked pulled pork is one of my all-time favorites because it uses pork shoulder, which is my favorite cut of pork. When cooked just right, this tasty cut of meat is tender, moist and shreds easily.

Since I make pulled pork so often, I love to try different recipe variations, but this Carolina pulled pork recipe is a constant. Not only is it easy to make thanks to the slow cooker, but it is tangy, spicy and full of delicious pork flavor. Use it on sandwiches, serve a heaping pile with your favorite coleslaw, or freeze it for another day. I’m sure it will become one of your favorite slow-cooker pork recipes.

What is Carolina pulled pork?

Carolina pulled pork starts with a pork shoulder that’s been rubbed with spices, and which is then slow-cooked or smoked and mopped with a tangy vinegar-based sauce while it cooks. That mop sauce sometimes includes tomato or ketchup, but true East Carolina-style barbecue does not.

When it comes to other meaty barbecue recipes, variations abound, from the different cuts of meat to the wood used in the smoker to the many regional barbecue sauces. As for the meat, the options include brisket, beef ribs, pork ribs, pulled pork or burnt ends—and that’s just the beginning! Sauces range from sweet and smoky Kansas City-style to thin and tangy Memphis-style.

Carolina Pulled Pork Ingredients

• Pork: This pulled pork recipe calls for a boneless pork shoulder or butt (sometimes called Boston butt) roast. (Psst: Both of these cuts refer to the front shoulder and leg of the pig, not the rear end!) The even marbling of this cut of pork makes it ideal for cooking low and slow.
• Onions: You can use nearly any type of onion in this recipe, but we recommend using white or yellow onions.
• Pork rub: Our sweet and savory spice rub made from brown sugar, salt, paprika and pepper gives the pork an extra hit of flavor.
• Carolina barbecue sauce: Make this tangy sauce with cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic salt, ground mustard and cayenne pepper. It has a good balance of acid, umami, salt, spice and sweetness.
• Hamburger buns and coleslaw: This is how you want to serve Carolina pulled pork: on a bun, piled with coleslaw, with a lot of napkins. You can buy premade coleslaw or make a creamy slaw yourself.

Taste of Home