Dr Pepper Pulled Pork

overhead close up shot of pulled pork on tray with two silver forks digging in

Print Recipe

5 from 6 votes

This Dr Pepper Pulled Pork is sweet, saucy, tender, juicy and all round DELICIOUS!

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time10 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £3 / $4

Equipment

Slow Cooker (for cooking pork)
Large Curved Tray (for shredding pork)
Large Pot or Deep Pan with Whisk (for BBQ Sauce)
Sharp Knife & Chopping Board (for slicing onion)
Tongs & Wooden Spoon

Ingredients

Pulled Pork

3-4lb / 1.5-2kg Pork Shoulder (see notes)
1x 12oz / 330ml can of Dr Pepper (not diet!)
1 medium Onion, sliced
2 tsp EACH: Paprika, Salt
1 tsp EACH: Garlic Powder, Black Pepper

Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce

1x 12oz / 330ml can of Dr Pepper (not diet!)
1 cup / 240g Ketchup
1/4 cup EACH: Dark Brown Sugar, Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tbsp EACH: Worcestershire Sauce, Tomato Paste (Tomato Puree in UK)
2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Mustard Powder
1/2 tsp EACH: Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Salt, Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Hot Sauce, or to taste (optional)

Instructions

Prep Pork: Coat the pork all over in seasoning. Use your hands to rub the seasoning into the meat.
Cook Pork: Add onion slices to the bottom of a slow cooker then pour in half a can of Dr Pepper. Add pork on top then pour over the rest of the Dr Pepper. Pop the lid on and slow cook on low for 10 hours.
BBQ Sauce: Add all of the ingredients to a pot/deep pan and whisk to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer and stir occasionally until thickened (approx 20-30mins). It will thicken, just keep gently simmering and stirring. Don't crank up the heat or it'll burn the sugar. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly (i.e. more sugar for sweeter, more hot sauce for spicier etc).
Shred: Use tongs to remove pork from slow cooker and add to a large curved tray. Add the onions and a splash of the cooking juice for extra flavour (optional). Roughly shred with two forks. Don't over shred in the first instance or it'll go tough and dry.
Sauce: Pour over BBQ sauce then use tongs to combine, shredding a little more if needed.
Serve: Add to burger buns with coleslaw, on top of mac and cheese or in nachos (see notes).

Video

Notes

a) Pork - Pork shoulder aka pork butt is the best cut of meat for slow cooking. You should find it in the store, but if not just pop to your local butchers. Sometimes they already have it pre-packaged, sometimes labeled as 'pork for pulled pork' or something similar. I prefer a slightly smaller size (3lb/1.5kg) because you get more sauce to meat ratio, but the difference is minimal. If you're at all concerned about having too little sauce just make it in batch (use servings toggle at the top of the recipe card to double sauce).

b) Make Ahead BBQ Sauce - To get ahead of the game you can make this in advance. Just allow to completely cool and tightly store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Just warm it up in a pot again before pouring over the pork. Use some of the slow cooker juices to loosen up if needed.

c) Can I make this ahead of time? - I prefer this as fresh as possible, just so the pork is at its most tender. But you can store leftovers tightly covered in the fridge for 3 days. Can also freeze it. I recommend reheating in the microwave, adding a splash more sauce if needed to keep it juicy! (thaw in fridge first if frozen).

d) Serving - Sandwiches in burger buns with coleslaw is the classic way. You can also plonk it on top of some mac and cheese. You can also make nachos, but I don't recommend making it purely for this reason as it does dry out in the oven, so just use leftovers. Just stack tortilla chips with pulled pork then cheese and bake at 180C/350F until the cheese melts. Top with avocado, tomato, onion and a drizzle of bbq sauce (or your favourite toppings).

e) Calories - whole recipe divided by 10 without sides:

Nutrition