Slow Cooker Hard Cider Barbecue Pork is great on buns or even over rice!
My usual go to liquid for pulled pork is apple juice. I’ve been seeing more and more people using hard cider in cooking, why not?! I always have hard cider on hand, I tend to buy way more than I think I can drink. This recipe has other great flavors too; brown sugar, seasonings, onion and barbecue sauce.
I want to be clear about what kind of hard cider to use. I think a plain hard cider is best. I’ve had ciders that say they taste like apple pie, but really taste like a hot cinnamon candy, that is not the kind of cider to use in this recipe. Also, use your favorite barbecue sauce in this, I like to try new barbecue sauces often and this one is great in the recipe and on top of the finished pork.
Below is my YouTube video of this recipe. You can follow me on YouTube, here.
What is your favorite way to make pulled pork? I’d love to hear your ideas! Have a great week.
Ingredients
- 4 lb. pork shoulder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup favorite barbecue sauce
- 1 white onion sliced
- 1 12-oz. bottle hard cider (regular, not apple pie or other strange flavor)
Slow Cooker Size:
- 6 quart or larger
Instructions
- Add the pork shoulder to the slow cooker
- Sprinkle over the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, brown sugar, and brown sugar.
- Pour over the barbecue sauce and add the onion.
- Pour over the hard cider.
- Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.
- Shred the pork and serve on buns or rice.
Notes
Nutrition
I used my 6-quart Crock-Pot for this recipe. A slow cooker 6-quart or larger will work best for this recipe.
You may also like: Slow Cooker Cream of Navy Bean Soup
I have also used a Dr Pepper instead of the beer
How much garlic powder? In clip but not ingredients list. Thanks! Looks very tasty.
1 teaspoon! Thank you for letting me know.
If I want to use apple cider instead of hard cider, how much apple cider should I use?
I would do 1 1/2 cups.
Can i do this on high to speed up a bit? For how long? I was thinking high for like 4 hrs before i turn to low for like 2 hrs? I dunno. I started it at noon and totally forgot it takes 10 hrs to cook.
Yes I think that is a good plan.
i used half of the ingredients with 2lbs of meat in a smaller slow cooker. Do you think 10 hours are still fine?
I think there is plenty of liquid, so it should be fine.
I use a Boston butt with McCormick pulled pork pack of spices. Everyone says my BBQ sauce is the best they have tasted. Shocked when I tell them I use the package of McCormick pulled pork spices.
I’m excited about this recipe. I’m taking a few extra steps and smoking it in a blend of Hickory and apple wood for an hour or two before putting it in the crock. I also made a rub using the seasonings you listed as well as a little ground mustard. I’ll be using Famous Dave’s ‘Texas Pit’ for the sauce. Will update after it’s done. Thank you!
I’ve got a slightly larger butt haha so I’ve had to adjust the measurements (hopefully it all goes well). I’m using American Spoon’s Cherry BBQ sauce and a Shacksbury Arlo cider(I don’t care for dry ciders, but figured it might work better than a sweet) I’ll update with how it turns out.