Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwich with Apple Slaw

This slow cooker pulled pork sandwich with apple slaw has the most tender, flavorful pulled pork and minimal prep time. You’ll want to make this recipe over and over.

I’ve had pulled pork sandwiches before that didn’t quite do it for me, so I really wanted to hit this one out of the park. The meat needed to be flavorful, not dry, and extremely tender. That was achieved by slow cooking the spice-rubbed pork shoulder for 10 hours.

I’ve had pulled pork sandwiches that didn’t have enough crunch. I fixed that with the simple apple and carrot slaw and by toasting the inside of the bun.

A dollop of my favorite applewood hickory BBQ sauce, and this dreamy sandwich was devoured as soon as I was able to put down the camera. I then had another one for dinner.

I am very pleased with how this sandwich turned out!

There is nothing particularly complex about this Crockpot pulled pork sandwich recipe. Timing the 10 hours of slow cooking was the only sort of tricky part since I didn’t want to wake up early on a weekend to start cooking this. 🙂 I don’t usually cook stuff overnight, but it worked well in this instance.

I loaded up the Crockpot before bed, and the following morning I had fall-apart tender pulled pork. Lunch was fabulous.

This is one of those recipes where your slow cooker is really worth its weight in gold. I don’t use my slow cooker very often. I find a lot of recipes that call for slow cookers are just as easy to make with a normal pot. You could make this pulled pork recipe in the oven, but I’d say the Crockpot is your best bet here since you are cooking it for such a long time.

Slow cooking this cut of meat makes it super tender, and all you need is two forks to quickly shred it. Depending on your piece of meat, you may need to discard a few of the larger fatty pieces as you go along. I kept some of the smaller fatty pieces as they add some extra taste and moisture to your sandwich.

The liquid that’s left over from cooking the meat is flavorful, but a bit fatty. I take the meat out of the slow cooker when it’s done, shred it, and then I add a few spoonfuls of the reserved cooking liquid to add a bit more moisture and flavor. You can add as much or as little as you like. I suggest adding a bit more if you’re skipping the BBQ sauce.

So good.

So, does this Crockpot pulled pork sandwich with apple slaw sound delicious to you or what?! 🙂

Questions? Let me know!

5 from 5 votes

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwich with Apple Slaw

By Natasha Bull

This slow cooker pulled pork sandwich with apple slaw has the most tender, flavorful pulled pork and minimal prep time. You'll want to make this recipe over and over.

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 10 hours hrs

Total: 10 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Servings: 6

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Ingredients 

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• ▢ 2-3 pounds pork shoulder see notes
• ▢ 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chili powder
• ▢ 1.5 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
• ▢ 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Rub:

• ▢ 1 tablespoon paprika
• ▢ 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon garlic powder

Slaw:

• ▢ 1 red apple julienned
• ▢ 1 Granny Smith apple julienned
• ▢ 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• ▢ 4 tablespoons mayo
• ▢ 1/2 large carrot julienned
• ▢ Salt & pepper to taste

For serving:

• ▢ Buns
• ▢ Butter
• ▢ BBQ sauce

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Instructions 

• Combine rub ingredients in a small bowl. Remove any twine from the pork. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork, using your hands. I suggest placing pork on a baking sheet to catch any fallout.
• In a slow cooker, add the Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, chicken broth, garlic, ground cumin, liquid smoke, and brown sugar. Stir until combined. Add the pork into the slow cooker and cover. Set on low and cook for 10 hours.
• When the pork is about ready, combine the slaw ingredients and refrigerate until needed.
• When the pork is done, take it out of the slow cooker and place it on a cutting board. Using two forks, shred it. Depending on your piece of meat, you may need to remove larger fatty pieces. I like to keep some of the smaller fatty pieces as they make the sandwiches taste even better. Place the shredded pork on a plate, bowl, or in a storage container. Spoon some of the leftover cooking liquid onto the pork and toss. It's up to you how much/how little you use. If you're not going to top your sandwiches with BBQ sauce, I suggest adding more of the liquid.
• If desired, toast the insides of the buns. To do this, I add some butter into a skillet on medium-high heat and toast the inside of each bun half for a few minutes.
• Fill the buns with BBQ sauce, slaw, and the pulled pork. Enjoy!

Notes

• Recipe makes at least 6 sandwiches, depending on how much/how little you top them with. The pork shoulder I cooked was just over 2 pounds and I made four sandwiches with enough pork leftover for at least two more.
• I cooked my ~2 pound piece of meat for 10 hours. I would suggest 8 hours on low as a minimum, especially if yours is larger. This recipe will also work with a larger piece of meat (up to 4-5 pounds), but I would double the rub ingredients. I prefer to use a boneless roast, but bone-in works too.
• This is the 7-quart slow cooker I use.
• Nutrition info includes meat and slaw but not the buns/toppings as calories can vary wildly depending on what you buy.

Nutrition

Calories: 275kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 67mg, Sodium: 1652mg, Potassium: 568mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 2029IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 50mg, Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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