Do you know what a cook lives for? The look in friends’ eyes when they’ve bitten into something you’ve made, and they’re deliriously happy about what they’re eating. Their wide-eyed smiley faces would say, “OMG, WOW,” if they weren’t so busy eating, and wanting to be polite and not talk with their mouths full. That’s the response I got from my friends last night when I served them tacos with this slow cooked pulled pork. A pork shoulder roast is rubbed with a spice mix of traditional Mexican spices, marinated in the rub an hour to overnight, seared, and then slow cooked until the meat is falling apart tender. It’s a great filling for tacos, tamales, and burritos.
We’ve cooked this pull pork in a slow cooker, because it’s really easy this way. We do sear the roast first. I have a slow cooker that allows you to do that in the cooker pan itself, but if you don’t have that kind of slow cooker, you can sear it on the stovetop, or skip the step all together. Searing helps on two counts, it browns the meat on the outside adding a little more of that wonderful browned flavor to the dish. It also toasts the chili and the cumin in the spice mix, helping their flavors to deepen as well.
Slow Cooker Mexican Pulled Pork Recipe
Ingredients
The Rub:
- 4 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon ground oregano
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Scant pinch of ground cloves
The roast:
- 3 1/2 pound boneless pork shoulder roast
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Method
1 Whisk together the rub ingredients in a small bowl.

2 If the roast is tied up with butcher string, untie it. Pat the roast dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mix into the roast all over, reserving any leftover spice mix for later. Marinate in the rub at least one hour or overnight.

3 Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. (If you are using a slow cooker with a removable container that can be used on the stovetop, use that, otherwise use a separate pan.) Place the roast in the pan and brown on all sides.
4 Place the roast in a slow cooker, and add any reserved spice rub. Cook on the low setting for 6 to 10 hours, until the pork is fall apart tender.

5 Remove the roast from the slow cooker and place on a cutting board. Cut into large chunks. Then use two forks to pull the meat apart into bite sized shreds. Return the shreds to the slow cooker and toss to coat with the juice from the roast.
Serve with tortillas, avocados, and salsa.
Yield: Serves 8.








Boneless or Bone-In?
Boneless. Thanks for asking. I’ve now clarified that in the ingredient list.
If only I could run out and get a pork roast and avocados right now. This is going to be on my short list of things to make.
That looks delicious!
This looks and sounds delicious. Never mind that the crock-pot is the most used “object” in my kitchen. I just have one question: does a pork shoulder contain a bone? I have never cooked one. As is the case, I love your site!
This sounds and looks so yummy. Do you add any liquid to the roast while it slow cooks?
No need to add any liquid to the pot. If cooked on low, the pork will cook slowly enough to release its own liquid.
Come now, don’t be coy. Tell us more about your slow cooker that sears. I, for one, am very interested.
The slow cooker is an All-Clad slow cooker. I think this model from Williams-Sonoma. http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/all-clad-deluxe-slow-cooker-with-aluminum-insert/ It’s sort of the Cadillac of slow cookers. I love it. Got it for myself for Christmas a year ago and finally started using it!
Thanks for the link to the All-Clad slow cooker. This addresses my main gripe with slow cookers.
The Cooks Essentials line of pressure cookers on QVC can also be used as a slow cooker as I do mine because they have the browning function needed to sear a roast.
People in rural areas that have “blips” in the power service should be aware that the digital program will be lost when the power fails (even briefly. Not a great thing to come home to.
I have this Hamilton Beach slow cooker that lets me sear. I love it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026A7GRM/ref=wms_ohs_product
I also saw an ad for a new Ninja slow cooker/skillet/roaster that will sear right in the pot.
I’m making out my grocery list now! I have some fajita spice mix from The Spice House which has all of the rub ingredients you list, plus a few more. I’m going to try that with a little extra chili powder and thrown in.
Marinate in what? Seems to me that the marinade flavor is integral to the recipe.
In the rub. Just put the rub on the roast, wrap it, put it in the fridge.
For those of you asking about the bone, I don’t know if the recipe has been updated or not, but my copy of it says a boneless pork roast.
Yep, I updated the recipe as soon as I saw the first comment.
Do you think this would work with chicken thighs? Maybe if we added some liquid? We don’t eat much pork.
Yes, though I would pull the skin off first, and maybe add half a cup of water to the pot (not too much, the meat will give off its own liquid as it cooks), and leave the bone in while it cooks. It will be easier to pull the meat off the bone after it’s cooked, and you’ll get all the goodness and flavor from the bone if you cook it bone in. That all said, I haven’t made this with chicken, but I do believe it’s worth a try.
I think the chicken would work, I would use thighs, I think the breast meat would be overwhelmed. I would also opt for a shorter cooking time, probably 6 hours or less. Boneless, skinless thighs would make it very easy.
one of hubby’s favs is pulled pork – so this will be made very soon. Will let you know how he likes it
I highly recommend an Instant Pot. Its an all in one rice cooker, pressure cooker, slow cooker. You can sear in it. It has a stainless steel pot. My new favorite kitchen tool
The Instant Pot looks like it would work great.
A trimmed smaller Boston Butt would work well too, but would definitely want to trim a good bit of the fat cap off to keep the finished pot from being too greasy. A leaner pick of country ribs would be good too, have used them many times for a pulled pork like dish. The price is usually great on them, especially anyone in the southeast with a FL close by as it’s a staple ad item
my mouth is watering, i want to make this right NOW!!
Hi Elise, I don’t have a slow cooker; in the oven @ 200-250, ~4 hours ok for this? If not, what is your recommendation? Thanks – love your site!
Hi Heather, great question. I would put it in an oven proof pot, like a Dutch oven, covered into the oven. Make sure the roast is at room temp before cooking. Sear it first. Cook it at 300°F for the first half hour, then drop the temp to 225°F, for 3 1/2 hours, or whatever it takes to get it to fall apart. It may take longer than 4 hours. The risk is that the heat is too high and whatever moisture gets released, evaporates, leaving you with a rather dry roast. I’m afraid I do not have a definitive answer for this. If I were making it without a slow cooker, I would add half a cup of water to the pot, bring it to a simmer, cover the pot, and then lower the heat to the lowest possible simmer setting on my burner to maintain a very low simmer. And then cook it as long as it takes. Good luck!
Thanks Elise, I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Thanks for this comment! I have only had pulled pork a few times and loved it. May one day try making it, but I don’t have a slow cooker either! Silly question, why would cooking it in the oven be different to a low heat saucepan on the stovetop – it’d be easier to check moisture level that way I’d think.
It would be easier to maintain a very low simmer on the stovetop. With the oven, you would have to take the pot out of the oven to check.
I just tried your suggested directions for a Dutch oven in the oven (with the 1/2 cup of water) and it turned out great! With the oven set at 225°F the liquid read a steady 180°F on my infrared thermometer. After 4 hours the shoulder was falling apart all by itself.
Great! Thanks for letting us know.
Years ago I read that low in a slow cooker would be 200°F in the oven and high would be 300°F in the oven. I’ve used those when cooking a slow cooker recipe in the oven and it has worked well. It’s just oven braising instead of braising on the cook top.
I cook my pork shoulder in the oven in a cooking plastic bag and it come out very soft if you cook at 325, the time depend on the weight of the shoulder
Great suggestion Martha!
I wonder… if you chunked it instead of shredding, then tossed the chunks into a greased skillet, would it make good carnitas?
Yes, I’m guessing you could easily do this for carnitas.
Can I use my rice-cooker in lieu of a slow-cooker? (I live in Japan.)
There’s so much different information on the web I can’t seem to find anyone in agreement on this question.
I don’t know what what temperature your rice cooker cooks, as to whether it would be comparable to a low slow cooker setting or a high setting. So it may take some experimentation to sort out how to use it as a slow cooker.
I don;t know how it well it will work but apparently you can use a rice cooker as a slow cooker using the warming setting only. You may have to juice it on the high setting periodically to keep the temperature up. I have no idea if long slow cooking would damage the rice cooker after a while but in a pinch it can certainly do the job.
I don’t know about using the rice cooker as a slow cooker, but I have kept the warm setting on for days and days and it is fine (Korean brand rice cooker called Cuckoo).
Thanks for the advice.
Would this recipe work with beef (brisket)? We don’t eat pork, but this recipe looks amazing!
Yes, I think it would be good with beef brisket. I haven’t tried it though, so if you do, please let us know how it turns out for you!
A great way to do this in the oven is sear first, then wrap tightly in foil and put it in the oven on low, low and let it go. It will retain moisture and juice and come out falling apart.
Thank you for the suggestion Vivace!
My oven goes down to 175 degrees, would this be too low to cook the roast? Also, could you use a nice boneless chuck roast for “pulled-beef” instead of pork?
Yes, I think that would be too low. Somewhere between 250 and 300 is probably the right temp. Yes you could make this with chuck, or brisket, much like a pot roast, but I haven’t done it with these seasonings yet. I recommend reading all of the comments to see what others have suggested for cooking the roast in the oven.
Know what an eater lives for? Dishes like this!
It looks very nice. Is it possible to do it with Thermomix?
Good question. I have no idea.
Looks amazing! There is a Mexican restaurant that my husband and I go to and they make wonderful carnitas (pulled pork) and I’d love to give this a try at home.
Monica
My recipe is very similar with one small difference- add a can of beer to the crock pot when cooking, then shred the meat and return to the oven to caramelize and reduce the sauce. It’s heavenly!
We have the Ninja slow cooker and it is the greatest cooker ever made, we use the searing process in it. We have a pork roast in it now for the superbowl game, but we will try this recipe next. Thanks all have a great day.
I have this cooking right now! Cannot wait to try it!
I have this marinating right now. I read aloud the recipe to my husband and he went right out and purchased a pork shoulder roast as I prepared the spice rub. I had all the necessary ingredients on hand. I will be putting in slow-cooker tomorrow. Can’t wait to have tacos. Thanks for such a delicious recipe!
I was going to your website Saturday for your pulled pork recipe, when the Mexican pulled pork recipe popped up. Change of plans/ingredients! It did indeed make it’s own juices and was delicious with corn tortillas, beans, avacado and lettuce. We used an extra savory/spicy chile mix we recently received, here in Arizona. Yummy!!
I know that look! I live for that look! Therefore, I need to try this recipe as soon as possible!
Yes yes yes yes yes.
I made this for Sunday lunch, it was delicious. Loved the flavors!
A small bone in picnic or other bone in shoulder should also work and may even impart deeper flavor. The way we do it is to cut 4-5 deep slices in the shoulder before slow cooking or braising and then make sure some of the rub gets in the cuts too – these are all great suggestions — now just a post on homemade good gluten free flour or Masa tortillas where you concentrate on technique would be a fine companion to this post :-)
Hi Jim,
Here you go! http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_corn_tortillas/
This looks so good, I wish I could eat it right off the screen!
This looks great. I would also tag or file this under “low carb” many of us still use your low carb lists first published 5+ years ago! :)
Hi Elise, I just made this and the flavor was great but it did come out a little dry. I trimmed a lot of the fat off first. Do you think that’s why? I set to slow cooker for 8 hours–perhaps that was too long? Would love your advice–thanks!
Hi Cindy, Yes, this is why I don’t trim too much of the fat. If too much renders out, you can always skim it at the end. 8 hours in the slow cooker should not have been to long if it was on the low setting. Did you have plenty of liquid at the end of cooking? If so, then the temperature was correct, the lid secure, and the cooking time fine. If the meat was dry, it was either a lean roast to begin with (I always look for a lot of fat marbling when purchasing a shoulder roast) or you may have trimmed off too much of the fat.
The photos for the directions do not show that the slow cooker is covered with it’s lid. Do you do this roast uncovered?
You cook the roast in the slow cooker covered.
I made this in the oven yesterday and it was really good. I had a 5 lb. bone-in pork shoulder roast that I seasoned like you posted and put it in the refrigerator for 5 hours. I would highly recommend letting it sit over night to let the seasonings penetrate more.
I put it in the oven at 275 F for 5 hours, but the time is just a guide since it need to have an internal temp of at least 270 F…I let it get to 280 F +.
I let it sit for about 15 minutes and then shred with two forks. Served with pico de gallo, avocado, limes, sour cream …excellent.
Thanks for the recipe
In the crockpot RIGHT NOW! This is perfect for low carb plan as well!
How spicy is this? It looks great and I’d love to try it, but want to know which spices I need to reduce. We are on the low end of the spice scale – Hormel canned chili is about all we can handle :-)
Cindy – I have this marinating right now to go in the crock pot in the morning and I’ll try to report back on the spice level because I’m a bit afraid myself. :) My husband loves spicy food but I’m a bit more of a wuss. I plan to reserve some of the pulled pork for myself and not put it back in the juice -I think that will help keep the fire level manageable.
Hi again, Cindy. First, this is absolutely delicious. As for the spiciness level, I think you will be just fine with the shredded pork if you don’t put it back in the juice in the cooker. It has great flavor, but isn’t really hot at all. I would really hope you try it with some of the juice though, even if just a bite, because Holy Wow…what a treat. I had one taco without juice and one with, and neither one was blow-your-head-off spicy. Try it, you’ll like it! :)
Heather – thank you so much for the helpful advice. I now plan on making this yummy recipe.
Just made this tonight and it was perfect. I cooked half a roast (since I just cook for one) so I would end up with fewer servings, and it cooked beautifully. I topped mine with some avocado, queso fresco and salsa from a local taco shop. It couldn’t have been tastier!
Just looking at this is making me hungry. My last pulled pork didn’t come out so great (my fault for tweaking recipe)..but I’ll have to try make this one soon!
I’m curious why the brown sugar was felt to be needed, although at least it’s a relatively modest amount.
I’ve noticed more and more of today’s main dish recipes have sugar added. Quite a few meatloaf recipes I’ve seen recently add up to as much as a 1/4 cup of brown sugar to the meat mixture.
Even restaurant foods have been sweetened up. Asian food that isn’t overwhelmingly sweet can no longer be found where we live. We’ve stopped eating at Asian restaurants because of that.
Given this trend to throw sugar into every prepared dish, is it a surprise to anyone that America is experiencing an obesity and diabetes epidemic?
Pulled Pork looks sooo yummy, but I’m allergic to pork, is there a good tasting alt?
Thank you, Elise! We had this for dinner tonight and even though I’ve never made pulled pork of any sort before, it might well be one of the best things I’ve ever made. My husband kept saying, “give it 5 stars!”. This is definitely going on the keeper list. I can’t wait to share it with my family and friends.
Hi Heather, I’m so glad you and your husband liked it!
I made this yesterday and had it with the Spanish rice recipe on your website. It was absolutely delicious and definitely a keeper. I omitted the cayenne altogether as my chili powder had some kick to it.
I make a different version of this; my rub consists of 2TBS Kosher salt, 1TBS chipotle powder, 1TBS dried cilantro, 4-6 cloves minced garlic. Serve with white onions, cilantro on white corn tortillas. Great for a potluck; it’s the only thing I’m allowed to bring to work potlucks. :)
I find myself without any garlic powder or onion powder!
I have garlic salt, garlic pepper, “garlic gold nuggets” granules, fresh garlic and fresh onion.
Are any of those acceptable substitutes?
Hi Tara, sure, though your guess is as good as mine on the proportions.
Got a rice cooker for Xmas with slow cooking options and this is the first recipe we tried. Didn’t have garlic or onion powder on hand so added roasted garlic instead. Set it off before I went off to bed and woke up to this amazing pork roast that just crumbles under the fork.
I agree that adding water is not necessary (although I did since the machine recommends it… but I won’t next time).
Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
Terrific! I made this yesterday with a 4.4 pound shoulder roast and it took about 7 1/2 hours. The meat was absolutely falling apart – beautiful! Everyone loved it. My jar of cayenne is kind of wimpy, and the meat wasn’t very spicy. Instead, I roasted a jalapeno, and we topped the tacos with it.
Made this tonight to the letter of your recipe, and it is delicious. I love the rub on the pork. Its great, thank you!
This recipe is amazing. I cooked it as instructed. I served it on tortillas with radishes, onions, cilantro, and a little jalapeño hot sauce. My husband couldn’t get enough. I can’t wait until my parents come over so I can cook this for them.
I am making this in the oven today. The pork has released a lot of grease even though I trimmed it. Should I remove the grease as it is cooking? Anyone? Thanks!
Hi Julie, you can skim away some of the rendered pork fat if you want, but I recommend that you leave some for flavor. ~Elise
The chili powder I make already has quite a bit of cumin, oregano, and garlic powder in it. Would there be a good substitute for those, or just add a smaller amount of each?
What great flavor. Our roast was over 4 # and it was very salty for our taste. Will make it again with 3/4 tablespoon of salt. Thanks for all the great recipes. After retiring I have taken a much bigger role in making meals and you make me look good.
I made this yesterday with a 5 lb. boneless pork shoulder picnic roast. After it was done (in about 6 hours), I let it rest for about an hour, then shredded it. I decided to put the meat in burrito-size tortiallas with a little shredded monterey jack cheese and salsa verde. I rolled them up and put in a casserole dish, covered them with more salsa verde and shredded jack cheese. I baked them for 20 minutes until the cheese melted and the sauce was bubbly. My family absolutely LOVED it! Best pulled pork I’ve ever made. I plan to tweak the rub ingredients and make BBQ pulled pork next!!!
I made this for my family today. We all loved it! It will now be part of regular dinner repertoire. Thanks!
Quick warning for those attempting to sear the meat in their Crock Pot ceramic bowl – don’t do it! I’m afraid I followed that step and it resulted in cracking and ruining my Crock Pot. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize the damage until after I cooked the meat, which resulted in the juices running all over the table and burning to the bottom of the metal Crock Pot. So…sear in another pan, people! Are those inserts easy to replace?
But the flavors were nice – I’m using leftovers in a tamale pie!
Hi Anna, I’m so sorry that happened! Yes, if using the insert of your slow cooker, it must be designed for cooking directly on the stovetop.
looks yummy! What is the liquid shown in the crockpot with the roast for step 4?
That is the liquid that is released by the pork roast as it cooks. There is no added liquid in this recipe.
I needed to say I’m making this again. It is so delicious. I have never been a fan of pulled meat — but this pork is so tasty and versatile. Well done you!!!!
I used a pork tenderloin as I wanted a leaner cut of meat and added 3/4 cup of water to make up for the lack of fat. I would say this isn’t a good substitute :). Even with the added water it was just too dry. I did find the flavor blend really interested and added salsa to give it some more moisture.
I made this recipe last night using a hunk of shoulder roast I had in the freezer. I only let it marinate for 1 hour but it turned out really nicely! The meat is tender and flavorful- I will definitely make this one again!
I added one ingredient prior to serving and it was delicious.
When you put the shreds back in the slow cooker and cubes of Pinapple. Mix so the pinapple gets warm and coated.
It adds a nice flavor to the overal dish. (I served it on a soft taco shell with a wedge of lime)
I love this, especially because I can put it in tacos, quesadillas, and burritos! The possibilities are endless!