‘Tis the season when I go from lugging my slow cooker out from the pantry to giving it an official “home” on the countertop for the winter.
(And coming from someone with very limited counter space, that’s saying a lot!)
But my slow cooker has earned it. I am putting it to use constantly lately, making all sorts of great meals, prepping ingredients, even making some of my favorite apple cider and mulled wine. But without a doubt, I still use the slow cooker most to prep large batches of meat. Whether it’s chicken, pork, or beef, my slow cooker just does a rockstar job at seasoning meat and cooking it to perfection without me hardly lifting a finger.
So for a seasonal twist on pulled pork, I decided to try making a slow cooker apple cider pulled pork recipe this week. And oh people, you’re not going to want to miss this one.
Longtime readers of this blog know that I am all for all things apple cider when cold weather hits. Whether it’s making homemade apple cider from scratch, serving it in cute apple cider cups, cooking up some apple cider baked chicken, or even making caramel apple cider cookies, it’s safe to say that anything apple cider is a definite favorite around here.
So when I was craving a sweeter pulled pork, it seemed like a no-brainer to try cooking it in some spiced apple cider! I always love apples with pork, so I decided to throw in some apple cider with a few extra cider spices and onions for seasoning. And then I let the slow cooker do its magic.
Once again, the apple cider rocked it. This slow cooker apple cider pulled pork turned out amazing!!!
I loved the sweet apple flavor mixed with all of those spices on the pork. And the apple cider vinegar and onions gave it just enough of a savory cut to balance things out. I served it to friends on pork sandwiches, but it would also be awesome in tacos, quesadillas, or with some bbq sauce on top.
Totally simple, and totally delicious.
Once again, well done, slow cooker.
Slow Cooker Apple Cider Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 3.5 lb. pork shoulder
- 1 small white onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup apple cider, homemade or store-bought
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Place half of the onions in the slow cooker. Set pork on top of onions, then cover pork with remaining onions.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients. Pour on top of pork and onions.
- Cook in the slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours, or until the pork is cooked and pulls apart easily with a fork. Shred pork using two forks, then toss once more in the juices so that it is coated. Serve warm.
- You can also refrigerate or freeze the pork in a sealed container.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!Try these other favorite slow cooker meat recipes too!
Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos
I pinned this recipe years ago and it’s my first fall go-to every year (and often throughout the year). I love this recipe – it’s so easy and it’s so refreshing to find a delicious and easy slow cooked meal that isn’t all processed/canned ingredients. It’s simple, it’s fresh and it’s delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
Should the prom shoulder be 3.5 lb bone in or boneless?
Hi Hallie! Boneless! :) We hope you enjoy!
I made this recipe this weekend and followed it to a T and OMG it was sooooo delicious! I couldn’t believe how much flavour it had! I will definitely be making this again :) 5 Stars!
I have made this twice and my family loves it! I am planning to make it this week for a a group of 14 at our family reunion. If I want to double it, do you recommend using two 3.5 lb pork shoulders or can I get one larger one? Thank you! :)
Awesome! And either will work! You can buy a larger cut of pork, or just place two in there together. It just will take slightly more time to cook.
Good luck!
Ali
Hi Ali, This looks delicious! My husband is a home brewer and harder cider make, we are always looking for recipes to that can use either. Do you think this would work with hard cider? I think it would but wondering if the acid from the vinegar and cider would be to much.
Oooh, lucky you with a home brewer for a husband! :) I think hard cider would be great with this!
This was awesome….I followed the directions exactly. Thank you!!
Ali- This is so delicious!!! Made this for my husband’s birthday when we had to feed a lot of people and they LOVED IT! It also made our home smell delicious, which was an added bonus. I’m featuring it on my blog next month. Thank you for sharing all your amazing recipes with us. – Liz
Wow! This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it this week.
oh my deliciousness! this looks so good!
My slow cooker has low and high settings. What should I use?
This recipe calls for low heat. Although if you need to speed things up, you can cook it for 3-4 hours on high heat.