Crock Pot Boston Butt
This easy recipe for Crock Pot Boston Butt is fall-apart-tender, flavorful and juicy because of the unique braising liquid, the chipotles in adobo sauce, and a few of my easy cooking techniques. You’ve never had pulled pork from a slow cooker this good!
Serve this pulled pork with Spaghetti Mac and Cheese for an unforgettable dish the family will love!
A Quick Look at the Recipe
- ✅ Recipe Name: Crock Pot Boston Butt
- ⏲️ Ready In: 5-6 Hours
- 👨👨👦👦 Serves: 12 people
- 🍽️ Calories: 371kcal
- 💪 Protein: 37g
- 🥣 Main Ingredients: Boston Butt pork roast, spices, onion and garlic, cider vinegar, honey, ketchup, minced chipotles
- 📋 Dietary Info: Pork is a great complete-protein source!
- 💯 Why You’ll Love It: This no-fuss slow cooker recipe delivers fall-apart, seasoned pulled pork in as little as 5 hours, while the chipotle-spiked braising liquid takes it far beyond ordinary.
Listen, I have seen a lot of slow cooker pulled pork recipes out there, and most of them are broth, maybe some BBQ sauce, and then hope for the best. This is different and I need to tell you why.
The braising liquid alone is worth making this recipe. It has a layer of braising liquid and minced chipoles in abodo that is the perfect mix of sweet and smoky in every bite. This liquid, in combination with those chipotles, are doing serious work.
Here’s another thing I do that makes a big difference: cut your Boston Butt roast into four large chunks before seasoning. I know it’s an extra step, but it adds so much flavor because it gives the meat more surface area to soak up the spice rub. It’s such a simple thing but it makes such a big impact on flavor.
Lastly, run the liquid through a fat separator so your pork doesn’t feel greasy. Don’t have a separator? Keep reading! It makes all the difference, and it’s why my family loves this pulled pork on macaroni and cheese, sandwiches, walking tacos, quesadillas, fried rice, and even pulled pork over sweet potatoes!
Ingredients and Substitutions
For a complete list of ingredients, see the detailed recipe card below.
- Boneless Boston Butt Roast: Cutting the roast into 4 large hunks helps it cook faster and also allows the seasonings to permeate the meat more easily. You can cook the roast whole (providing it will fit into your crock pot) but you’ll likely need to adjust the cooking time as it will take longer to get tender. If you can’t find a boneless Boston Butt roast, you can totally use one that’s got the bone included – no worries!
- Onion: You can use any onion you have on hand (yellow, white or red/purple).
- Garlic: if you don’t have 8 cloves of garlic, substitute 1 tablespoon garlic powder or granulated garlic.
- Spice Rub: Olive oil or avocado oil, smoked paprika, chili powder, ground cumin, dark brown sugar, kosher salt, black pepper. Don’t be afraid of the amounts the recipe calls for. I promise the results will be outstanding: flavorful but not overpowering.
- Cooking Liquids: Honey, cider vinegar, ketchup, chicken broth.
- Minced Chipoles: Don’t be afraid of the minced chipotles – yes, they are spicy hot, but they also add great depth of flavor and smokiness to the meat, without making it spicy at all. You’ll find minced chipotles in adobo in the Hispanic section of your local grocer.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Place the hunks of the Boston Butt pork roast into a slow cooker.
Step 2: In a medium mixing bowl, make the spice rub by combining the oil with all the spices, brown sugar and water.
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Step 3: Using your hands or a spoon, spread the spice rub over the pork chunks.
Step 4: Top the pork with the chopped onions and minced garlic. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the honey, vinegar, ketchup, broth, and chipotles. Slowly pour the mixture around the pork chunks.
Step 5: Cover the slow cooker and cook the pork on high for 1-2 hours. Reduce the temperature to low and cook the pork for an additional 3-4 hours, or until the meat is very tender when tested with a fork.
The pork should be nearly falling apart when it’s fully done, 195 degrees F. at the center of the pork.
Step 6: Return the pork chunks to the slow cooker. Use two forks to pull apart the meat. If desired, add some of the cooking juices back into the meat for added flavor and juiciness. Serve on warm buns slathered with mayonnaise and garnished with pickles or even pickled red onions.
My Recipe Tips
- When I cut the Boston Butt roast into chunks to place into the slow cooker, I trim them just a bit if there seems to a lot of excess fat on one side of the roast or the other. Use a sharp knife to do this on a large cutting board. You’ll still need some fat left on the roast since that provides flavor!
- I always defat my cooking juices from the pork. Pour the warm (but not hot) cooking juices into a fat separator (aka gravy separator) allowing them to rest so the fats can raise to the top. Squeeze the trigger that allows the cooking juices to escape from the bottom, releasing the trigger to close just before the fats that have risen to the top reach the bottom. Discard the fats, as desired.
- I prefer to dress all of the pulled pork at one with the defatted cooking juices for lots of added flavor. Just drizzle as much or as little of the cooking juices as you prefer over the warm meat, using tongs to mingle it in.
Crock Pot Boston Butt FAQs
You sure can. Just cut the roast into hunks as directed, and add the bone-in chunk to the crock pot. As this hunk with the bone cooks and gets tender, the meat will fall away from it.
Every cook has their own opinion. I think the bone DOES add more flavor to a roast, especially when you’re slow cooking in a crockpot, where the bone’s marrow and collagen dissolve into the cooking liquid.
Yes. Boston Butt is a pork shoulder roast that comes from the upper part of the pig’s shoulder, just behind the neck. The lower part of the shoulder is usually what’s called a pork Picnic Roast in the meat case.
Yes, and this is a great question. When you’re shopping, you might find Boston Butt roast labeled as pork butt, shoulder butt, Boston roast, country roast, shoulder blade roast, or pork arm roast.
Boston Butt roast (or any pork roast for that matter) is done and safe to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 190-195 degrees F. at the center. You can check this with an instant-read meat thermometer probe, or you can rest assured the pork is fully cooked if it falls apart with zero effort when you can easily shred it by twisting a fork inserted into the meat.
This depends on how much time you have for cooking the pork. I like a combination of both. I start my pork on high to get things rolling, then turn my crock pot down to low so the pork can simmer until tender and perfect.
I do one of two things. Once all my pork is fully shredded, I often warm some of the defatted cooking liquid and drizzle it over the shredded pork to add more flavor and moisture. Or, if I need a sauce or gravy, I can put the cooking liquid in a skillet and add a bit of cornstarch slurry (equal parts cornstarch and water) to thicken it as they simmer.
Be sure you don’t overfill your crock pot when cooking the Boston Butt. Don’t fill the slow cooker more than two-thirds full so that the heat and the cooking liquids can circulate properly. Don’t uncover the slow cooker too often, since letting the heat escape can slow the cooking process.
More Crock Pot Recipes for Meat
Making meat in the slow cooker is a great way to stockpile meat for the week or make a Sunday dinner that everyone will love. I also love to make my Round Steak in the Crock Pot. Serve it with noodles and peas for a dinner everyone loves. Looking for a chicken recipe? Then this Mississippi Chicken in the Crock Pot will certainly do the trick over some Million Dollar Mashed Potatoes.
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Crock Pot Boston Butt
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Ingredients
- 8 – 10 pounds boneless Boston Butt roast, cut into 4 large hunks May substitute any pork butt roast or pork shoulder rost
Spice Rub
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon mild chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 tablespoon water
Aromatics
- 1 medium white or yellow onion chopped
- 8 cloves garlic minced
Cooking Liquids
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons minced chipotles in adobo sauce or more to taste, if you prefer added heat
Instructions
Prepare the Pork
- Into a large greased slow cooker, place the hunks of the Boston Butt pork roast.8 – 10 pounds boneless Boston Butt roast, cut into 4 large hunks
- In a medium mixing bowl, make the spice rub by combining the oil with all the spices, brown sugar and water.2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil , 2 tablespoons smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon mild chili powder , 2 teaspoons ground cumin , 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar , 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 2 teaspoons black pepper, 1 tablespoon water
- Using your hands or a spoon, spread the spice rub all over the top of the chunks of pork in the slow cooker.
- Top the pork with the chopped onions and minced garlic.1 medium white or yellow onion, 8 cloves garlic
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the honey, vinegar, ketchup, broth, and chipotles. Slowly pour this mixture around the exterior of the pork chunks.1/2 cup chicken broth, 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup cider vinegar , 1/2 cup ketchup , 2 tablespoons minced chipotles in adobo sauce
- Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook the pork on high for 1-2 hours to really get things rolling along. Reduce the cooking temperature to low and continue to cook the pork for an additional 3-4 hours, or until the meat is very tender when tested with a fork. (The pork should be nearly falling apart when it's fully done, 195 degrees F. at the center of the pork.)
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the pork chunks to a platter. Let the cooking juices and fat cool slightly, then remove them from the slow cooker.
- Return the cooked pork to the slow cooker. Use two forks to shred the fork by gently pulling them away from each other as you insert them into the pork chunks. The pork should fall easily apart as you shred the meat. If desired, pour some of the cooking juices over the shredded meat when serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Chef Alli is not a dietitian or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate.