2-3 lb pork roast (I have used a boneless picnic roast, a bone-in shoulder roast, and a tenderloin…all are good!)

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp liquid smoke

1/2 C of the cooking liquid

2 C. BBQ sauce

Sandwich buns

For the rub: (all quantities are to your liking)

Salt & pepper

garlic powder

1 T. brown sugar 

I start with cutting off the fat! I don’t like bone-in roasts because cutting the bone out is a pain! I would rather buy it with the bone out already! Of course, you can cook it bone-in, it’s just my personal preference not to. I take off as much of the fat as I can. Another personal preference…I can’t stand fat! So I will spend an hour cutting it off! Tenderloins have the least amount of fat, so they are less work! I do leave some fat so that the meat stays moist. 

Tenderloin…not much fat to cut off, and still enough fat left on.

Next, time to give it a good rub down! I do a dry rub, meaning I don’t add oil or butter. I just sprinkle on S&P and garlic powder until it is nicely seasoned. Put a little more than what you think is enough. This has to season the inside of the roast too, so you always need a bit more. Pat it into the meat well. Then follow with about a tablespoon of brown sugar. More if your roast is bigger. Please don’t stick your pork contaminated hands into the brown sugar container! Wash your hands well first, or get the sugar into a little bowl ahead of time!

Place the roast into your slow cooker, and drizzle the vinegar and liquid smoke overtop. Then set to low and cook for 6-8 hours. 

after about 6 hours…

The roast is super moist and falls apart so easily that getting it out of the crock is a challenge! Move it to a cutting board and use 2 forks to gently shred it. 

While I am shredding it, I ask J to strain the liquid. I like it to be liquid only– no clumps of fat or bits of whatever! I tell J, “I don’t care how you do it, just get all the clumps out!” So this is what he does…a couple layers of paper towel lining a small strainer. Voila! Juice! You’ll need to save 1/2 cup of this!

So now you’ve got all the pork shredded and 1/2 cup of strained juice…

It all goes back into the crock pot with 2 cups (1 cup for a small roast) of your favorite BBQ sauce! I like to use Sticky Fingers Carolina Sweet! It is so good amazing with this pulled pork! 

This pork is so flavorful and juicy! I buy some big bakery buns to make sandwiches! 

This also freezes well! I just put about half of what I made into a ziploc gallon freezer bag and flatten it out. I”m not sure how long it will keep because we had it back out to eat within a week! But I imagine it would keep about 4-6 months.

Also, the 1/2 cup juice and 2 cups BBQ sauces is for a 2-3 lb roast. The tenderloin I used in this photo was just over a pound, so I only used a cup of BBQ sauce. Since I don’t measure the rub seasoning, I just use more for a bigger roast, and less for a smaller one. I eyeball it and it should be well covered with seasoning on all sides. If you need to use more brown sugar, then do so, but don’t go crazy! 

A 2-3 pound roast can serve >10 people. This tenderloin made 6-9 LARGE sandwiches (these rolls were as big as my hand)! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂