Slow Cooker Coke Pulled Pork is a recipe the whole family will love! Made by smothering the pork in a seasoned barbecue sauce then cooked in cola in the slow cooker it is a flavor packed taste sensation. Finished in the oven to get a little caramelisation on it this pulled pork needs only minimal effort but you will want to use it for everything!
Recipes like the Slow Cooker Coke Ribs and Slow Cooker Coke Ham embrace using this hugely popular soft drink (soda) as a key ingredient.
The French Onion Pork Chops, Slow Cooker Pork Belly, Slow Cooker Roast Pork With Crackling and Stuffed Pork Tenderloin are other ways that we can use the slow cooker to cook pork dishes.
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🤍 Slow Cooker Coke Pulled Pork Recipe
I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the recipe in the points below:
- Simple ingredients.
- Easy recipe.
- Crowd pleaser.
- Perfect for all ages: the flavors are not 'too spicy' or too intense for little ones.
- Versatile: the ways that you can serve your pulled pork are wide and varied. You can add it to burgers, sandwiches, pizzas, pasta and more.
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the slow cooker coca cola pulled pork recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.
As you can see the slow cooked coca-cola pulled pork recipe calls for:
- Salt and pepper: salt and a little bit of black pepper is used to season the pork.
- Worcestershire sauce: for a little oomph.
- Paprika: smoked paprika gives a delightful earthly flavor.
- Mustard powder.
- Garlic powder.
- Onion powder.
- Coca cola: we use 1 can of coke in the slow cooker, ½ of the 2nd one when we oven bake the pork and the rest in the barbecue sauce for glazing.
- Barbecue sauce.
- Pork shoulder: I like to use boneless pork shoulder. We cook it with the fat on but we remove this layer before pulling the pork. Pork butt is another cut that will work well.
😉 Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:
- Coke: you can use pepsi or Dr Pepper in place of the coke if you wish to. Or you can use a flavored cola like cherry coke or vanilla coca-cola.
- Barbecue sauce: you can use your favorite brand of barbecue sauce ie smokey, spicy. sweet baby ray.
- Sugar: you know what is in coke? Sugar. Yep, uh huh 😂. For that reason I don't use extra sugar for the dry rub ingredients. If however, you wish to, you can add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar whilst whisking together the sauce.
👩🍳 How to Make Slow Cooker Coke Pulled Pork
To make the pulled pork we start by creating the sauce and preparing the pork shoulder.
- Gather the sauce ingredients (Photo 1)
- Stir to combine (Photo 2)
- Remove string and pat dry (Photo 3)
- Season with salt and pepper (Photo 4)
🍳 Instructions
Grab the barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika. Add these to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Then set this aside whilst we start on the pork.
Remove any butchers string from the pork and use a folded piece of paper towel to pat it dry.
Then flip the pork over so the meaty side is up and liberally season this with salt and pepper.
Next take a basting brush and smother the meat with the combined barbecue sauce. You will see what this will look like in photo 5 below.
- Baste with sauce (Photo 5)
- Roll back up (Photo 6)
- Into the slow cooker (Photo 7)
- Pour in can of coke (Photo 8)
Next roll the pork shoulder back up, give the slow cooker base and sides a quick grease with cooking spray and then place the rolled shoulder into the slow cooker.
Now open and pour 1 can of coke into the slow cooker and watch as it gradually comes up the sides of the pork. We want the top fat layer of pork sitting just above, not fully submerged in liquid.
Next we take the basting brush and liberally coat the top surface of the pork with the seasoned barbecue sauce.
- Baste with sauce, cover and cook (Photo 9)
- Transfer cooked pork to baking dish (Photo 10)
- Add remaining coke to sauce (Photo 11)
- Combine (Photo 12)
🥤Slow Cooker Pulled Pork With Coke
Next put the lid on and let the pork cook. You can choose either high heat for 4-5 hours (my preference) or low heat for 7-9 hours.
Towards the end of the cook time preheat the oven.
Next place the cooked pork into a large baking dish. Open the 2nd can of coke and pour ½ of it over the pork. Transfer the baking dish into the oven (uncovered) middle shelf and let it cook for 10 minutes.
Now we grab the leftover sauce and pour the remaining coke into it. It will fizzle at this point, gently stir and it will be absorbed into the thick texture of the sauce.
Once the initial cook time is up, use oven mitts to remove the baking dish and set it on a heatproof surface.
Now take a large sharp knife and pair of tongs and cut parallel to remove the fat layer on top of the pork (discard this).
Then pour the cola glaze into the pan and spread it across the top of the pork where you removed the fat.
- Baste then into oven (Photo 13)
- Remove fat layer (Photo 14)
- Baste and into oven again (Photo 15)
- Grab 2 forks and pull (Photo 16)
Return the pork to the oven for a further 10 minutes.
Once that time is up again use the oven mitts to remove the baking dish and set it on a heatproof surface.
Now use 2 forks to pull the pork (shred it). It will pull apart easily and you simply repeat the pulling action until all of the pork is shredded.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Now we come to the most fun part...the eating!
I like to keep things burger like and serve the shredded pork in hamburger buns. Then I add some extras like pickles and salad. There are however, so many different ways to serve your meat that you might be thinking with a pasta salad or in tacos or on pizza. Each of these ideas will work well.
My favorite salads to add are coleslaw and potato salad. These are both so fit worthy I reckon.
For sauce pairings try the Herbed Yogurt Sauce, Cilantro Lime Yogurt Sauce, Basil Yogurt Sauce or the Lemon Yogurt Sauce. You can also have a look at all of my homemade sauces if you want to try something different 😊👍.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Leftover pulled pork can be transferred to a sealed, airtight container. It can then be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days. It does need to be reheated before being consumed.
How to Freeze
Or portion the pulled pork into small zip lock bags. Push the air out and seal. Then stack these in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat
For refrigerated leftovers, transfer these to a bowl and cover with cling wrap. Reheat in the microwave on high for 1-3 minutes until warmed through.
For frozen leftovers, remove them from the freezer and let them thaw in the fridge during the day. Then follow the step above to reheat them. Frozen then thawed pulled pork will take an extra minute to reheat as it will be colder to start with.
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:
- Grease: I do spray the slow cooker insert with cooking oil. This is so that the pork shoulder doesn't stick to the edges as it cooks. If it does it can blacken and burn.
- Sauce: if you want more sauce to serve the pork you are best off making a double batch and then separating it. This is because the basting brush will go in and out of the sauce many times and it touches the raw pork as it does. We want to avoid serving the pork with that sauce (uncooked) and simply use either plain bbq sauce or the seperated portion which can safely be consumed.
- Pork shoulder: we do roll the pork back up, however, if there is room in your slow cooker to spread it out a little, by all means do this. We still want to keep the fat layer on the top but we can also unfold it under that a little to spread it out across the base of your slow cooker.
- Love slow cooking? Then you might like the Savoury Mince, Slow Cooker Dahl, Slow Cooker French Onion Beef, French Onion Chicken or the Chicken And Corn Soup.
🤓 Slow Cooker Coke Pulled Pork FAQ's
Boneless pork shoulder is the best cut of pork to slow cook and pull.
I love slow cooker recipes. It is that sure fire cooking method of dinner cooking itself whilst you can get other stuff done that keeps me using this appliance time and time again. Recently I have been exploring other cuts of meat cooked in coke. I did the Slow Cooker Coke Ham and then the Slow Cooker Coke Ribs so pulled pork was a natural progression from there.
Slow cooking the pork is the secret to creating the best pulled pork. You also want a lot of flavors in the mix from dry ingredients like garlic powder to wet ingredients like barbecue sauce.
Using soda like coca cola to make pulled pork ensures that the meat is melt in your mouth tender, juicy and absolutely loaded with flavor!
Coleslaw, potato salad, mac and cheese or corn on the cob are all great side dishes that pair well with pulled pork.
The fat layer is just that, fat. It is not meat. It has a jelly like consistency and lacks flavor. For this reason it is recommended to remove the fat layer as park of the cooking process. Doing so ensures that you are left with genuine 'pulled pork' and shredded meat with fatty bits.
😍 More Easy Dinner Recipes
If 'dinner time' stresses you out because you can't think of what to cook for another night then let me help! The recipes below have a variety of proteins, cook times and methods. I am confident that you will find something in the list to cook tonight!
- More pork recipes: Pork Mince Stir Fry, Thai Minced Pork, Sticky Pork Rashers, Pork Mince Noodles.
- Other proteins: Minced Beef Stir Fry, Chicken Pesto Linguine, Grilled Chicken Alfredo, Mini Enchiladas, Beef And Bean Enchiladas.
- Easy family meals: Chicken And Rice Tray Bake, Tuna And Rice Casserole, Baked Chicken Drumsticks And Rice, Beef Pesto Pasta.
- Pasta and noodle recipes: Soy Sauce Noodles, Garlic Spaghetti, Chorizo Pasta Bake, Baked Ziti With Meatballs, Fettuccine Alfredo With Tuna.
It is time to get our slow cooker coke pulled pork on my friend! You can also find all of my dinner recipes or slow cooker recipes in the one spot.
Adrianne
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📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Coke Pulled Pork
Ingredients
Barbecue Sauce
- 1 ½ cups/375ml barbecue sauce Note 1
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce Note 2
- 1 tablespoon mustard powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
Pork
- 2.5 kg/5/5 lb boneless pork shoulder Note 3
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cans coke (coca cola) Note 4
Instructions
- Barbecue sauce: add the barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika to a medium bowl and whisk to combine then set aside.
- Pork shoulder: place the pork shoulder on a clean, dry cutting board and remove any packaging. Then use a folded piece of paper towel to pat it dry. Next flip it meat side up and fat side down. Unfold it and then season the meat with salt and black pepper. Next use a basting brush to coat this side of the meat with the seasoned barbecue sauce. Then roll the pork back up and flip it over so that the fat side is on top.
- Slow cooker: grease the base and sides of the slow cooker insert with cooking oil. Then place the pork shoulder into the base. Open the 1st can of coke and pour this into the base of the slow cooker around the pork. Stop if the pork looks like it will be fully submerged in coke. We want the fat layer sticking out the top. Now take the basting brush and liberally brush the sauce over the top of the pork. Place the lid on the slow cooker and set the timer and temperature to 4 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low.
- WITH ABOUT 15 MINUTES COOK TIME TO GO: Preheat oven: preheat the oven to 180°C / 350-375°F / Gas Mark 4-5.
- Baste and cook: transfer the cooked pork to a large baking dish. Open the 2nd can of coke and pour ½ of this across the surface of the pork. Transfer the pork into the preheated oven on the middle shelf. Let it cook for 10 minutes. Once this cook time is up use oven mitts to remove the baking dish and set it on a heatproof surface.
- Cola glaze: pour the remaining coca cola into the leftover barbecue sauce and gently stir as it fizzles and gets absorbed into the sauce.
- Fat layer: use a sharp knife and tongs to remove the fat layer from the pork. Then baste the surface where you cut the fat off and pour in the rest of the sauce. Return to the oven for 10 more minutes.
- Pull and baste: after the 2nd oven bake, use the oven mitts to again remove the baking tray from the oven and use 2 forks to shred the pork shoulder.
- To serve: use tongs to transfer the pulled pork to toasted burger buns with coleslaw. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
- Note 1 - Barbecue sauce: you can use your favorite brand/spice level. Once we combine the sauce we use it to baste the pork before slow cooking, during oven baking and for a finishing touch. If you want to serve the pork with sauce you are best making a double or separate batch. This is because we use a basting brush and repeatedly touch the raw meat and then dunk the brush in the sauce. We therefore don't want to use the sauce as 'serving sauce' without it being thoroughly cooked.
- Note 2 - Worcestershire sauce: adds oomph! Please don't leave it out. We want the oomph in there.
- Note 3 - Pork shoulder: boneless pork shoulder is readily accessible and there is no need to remove a bone ourselves. We do however cut the top layer of fat off the pork but this is only after it has slow cooked to get the juices to drip down into the rest of the meat.
- Note 4 - Coke: I admit that I have never asked anyone heading into the servo (petrol station) to grab me a 'coca-cola' I would say 'coke'. But same, same. I use the full sugar coke for the recipe and I omit using any brown sugar or additional sugar in the rest of the ingredients (we don't need more). We use 1 can of coke as the liquid to cook the pork, ½ of the 2nd can as we oven bake the pork, then we add the remainder of the coke to the rest of the barbecue sauce. This creates a cola glaze for the final oven baked part of the process.
Belinda says
We are making this for sure! sounds great.
Adrianne Jamieson says
Thanks Belinda 😊👌.