Secret Ingredient?? ROOT BEER. Most pulled pork recipes tell you to add bbq sauce after it’s made. This doesn’t need it, but it’s up to you. Made in a slow cooker, the root beer gives it a nice moist tenderizing texture.
ingredients:
1 boneless pork shoulder (or pork butt) 3.5-4lbs
12 oz root beer
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 Tablespoon freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Put the pork shoulder in the crock pot. You can cut it in half if you are worried it won’t cook through. Pour the root beer over the meat.
In a small bowl combine all the ingredients. I know it sounds like a lot, but believe me, after 8 hours of cooking it will just seep into the meat, not overpower it, I promise. Now just rub the dry ingredients over the pork. The end. Could life be simpler?
Cook on low for 8 hours.
When you are ready to roll, carefully take the lid off – the steam will burn out your retinas – and using two forks or a pair of tongs, carefully shred the pork, mixing it in with the liquid and juices in the slow cooker. I just keep it in there rather than transferring it to another plate. I like to serve mine on King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls cause they are soft and deliciouuusss. This is a great recipe for a party, or a Sunday night dinner.
Kid's lunches, simple dinners and a whole lot of geeky baking.
Oh yum! I love pulled pork and the root beer idea is fabulous!
OH YUM!
Looking forward to trying this for Memorial Day!
this looks delicious
This recipe was a BIG HIT at a potluck that I brought it too! It instantly feeds a lot of people which I like and it just tastes fabulous. The guys were going back for seconds & thirds!!! There was nothing left. That cumin just smells so good when you’re making the spice mix. And the pulled pork with the Sweet Bread combination is PERFECT! Thanks so much for publishing this recipe – I don’t think I can live without it now.
Wow! i just made this recipe, came out sooo great. It was extremely easy to make. I didnt wait the whole 8 hours
was just too hard with the smell, i started pulling the pork at about 7 hours. Thanks for the recipe 
OMG…I marinated the pork for 6 hrs., came home after dinner, and cooked in the oven (covered with foil)for 5 hrs. at 300 degrees. The aroma coming from the oven was making me crazy it smelled soooo good! It tasted as good as it smelled. I made a grilled cheese sandwich with mozarella. It would be great in Pannini. So easy, I will be making this for the next pot luck.
Thanks Jenn!!!
i made this overnight last night and now i’m tempted to eat it for breakfast. this is the easiest recipe i’ve found and it turned out great – thanks for the recipe!
OH MY GOSH!!! Bless you girl! I had a baby shower and it was my chance to also showcase my products AND my party planning skills. I blurted out during the planning process that I could make the Pulled Pork sandwiches. I had NO idea what the heck I was doing. I was so scared!! I found your page and thought, ROOT BEER! Everyone gets there and starts complimenting a few things here and there and I am shaking when the guest of honor says, Okay where’s the pulled pork…I am starving. I knew the smell was amazing and when I tasted it it was amazing, but what would these 15 picky women think. Okay so just an FYI, I made a 12lbs roast thinking there would be tons of left overs. Well the ladies at the party CALLED THEIR HUSBANDS and we ended up with a house full of people all coming for the pulled pork sandwiches. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for posting this and for making me look GGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDD!
Rebecca Lopezdevictoria
Owner of Giggle Jungle
I made this a few weeks ago and it is very tasty! I was using another rootbeer pulled pork recipe on allrecipes which was good but this one is even better. The spices really add flavor. I’ll be making it again tomorrow which is why I’m here again.
This recipe will not disappoint! Husband, kids, sis and her fam all loved it. Perfect in every way! Didn’t need to cook it for the entire 8 hours but kept it warm in the juices. chicken Long rice yesterday, pulled pork today, next will be the shoyu chicken. Keep the crock pot recipes coming!
I ended up using a whole bottle of A&W root beer (15oz?), and it came out sooooo good that I had to freeze the other half, otherwise I would have eaten it all!
Oh hells yes! We here at Zombie Mall are major fans of the pulled pork bbq and usually I spend a good 14 hours out with the grill pouring smoke over the meat as it slow cooks. Yesterday I had a major hankerin for some pulled pork but didn’t want to spend all that time tending to the fire and wood chips (usually have to add more wood chips every 30 min, gotta add a few coals every hour or so, add water to the pan, etc).
SO… I decided to try a smaller cut in my crock-pot. And wham-O This is the perfect recipe for me, right down to the root beer!
Do you think it would be good with meat instead of pork???
Just made this the other night and it was absolutely fantastic! Your so creative and awesome!
Thank you for having this website!
OMG!!!! This was the best recipe I have EVER tried. I followed it to the T…. WOW!!! I will make this forever and a day…. Maybe everyday…. Love it!!!!
We love this- I’m making it again this weekend. Great recipe with a lot of flavor!
WOW!!! Tried it this weekend – so easy and sooo yummy!!! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!
I made this using a Beef bottom round roast and it was awesome also! Added lots more onions as we love onions. It was 5 stars all around!
I was skeptical before I made this recipe….no bbq sauce??!?! well okay I will try it……IT WAS FANTASTIC!!!!!!even my 3 boys LOVED it!!! thank you!
Soo excited! Got my pork in the crock pot now, and it smells amazing! I’ve tried this recipe once before and was blown away at how tender and tasty it turned out, but due to being an airhead I forgot to bookmark this page to my favorites last time!! After searching online for a good recipe last night I stumbled upon this page again and couldn’t have been happier! Thanks!!!
Would you double to seasonings if you have a 6# roast?
@Rhonda Yes, double the roast size, double the seasonings!
Thank you for this recipe. It is amazing, so delicious! I have made this several times for parties and everyone always loves it.