Pork

Honey BBQ Pulled Pork

Sweet, sticky Kansas City-style pulled pork. Made without MSG.

Prep 5 min LOW 8–9 hours HIGH 4–5 hours Serves 8

Honey BBQ Pulled Pork, finished and plated — Serving suggestion

If Classic BBQ is Carolina — vinegar-forward, tangy, sharp — this one is Kansas City. Sweeter, stickier, built on honey and brown sugar rather than acid.

It's the version kids reach for first, and the version that makes the best sliders. Same forgiving cut, same easy method, completely different flavor.

Like the Classic, the sauce is yours. Ours seasons the meat; yours finishes it.

Why you'll love it

Sweeter than Classic BBQ.

Honey powder and extra brown sugar. Kids pick this one every time.

Made without MSG.

One of three in the pork line.

Makes exceptional sliders.

Sweet pork on a soft roll is hard to beat at a party.

Same forgiving cut.

Pork shoulder is nearly impossible to ruin.

What's already in the packet

Brown sugar powderSmoked paprikaHoney powderGarlicOnionPork bouillonChili powderBlack pepper

Real honey powder alongside brown sugar and smoked paprika. Kansas City sweet rather than Carolina sharp.

Choose your setting

Recommended

LOW · 8–9 hours

Low and slow gives collagen time to melt and flavors time to build. It is the setting this recipe was written for.

HIGH · 4–5 hours

For when you started late. It gets dinner done, but the texture is better on LOW.

Done at 195–205°F

Safe at 145°F, shreddable at 195°F. Aim for the higher number.

You'll Need

3–4 lbs Pork (pick one below)
1 cup Water or chicken broth
1 packet Cook SLO Honey BBQ Pulled Pork
1–1½ cups Your favorite BBQ sauce

Pick your pork

3–4 lbs

Pork shoulder (Boston butt)

3–4 lbs

Pork picnic roast

3 lbs

Boneless country ribs

Roasts and chops 145°F, ground pork and ham 160°F

Add vegetables

Sliced onion (fresh or frozen)Whole garlic clovesPineapple chunks

Sliced onion (fresh or frozen) and whole garlic cloves at the start, on the bottom; pineapple chunks in the last hour.

When to add what

When	Add	Why
At the start, on the bottom	Sliced onion (fresh or frozen)Whole garlic cloves	Root vegetables cook slower than meat. They belong closest to the heat, and they hold the meat up out of the liquid. Cut everything an inch and a half or larger — smaller pieces disintegrate.
Last hour	Pineapple chunks	Any longer and green beans go grey, squash turns to water, and pineapple falls apart.

Two ways to do this

If you're home

Follow the timing table above and add things when they're due.

About an hour is all you need

If you're out all day

Put in at the start as normal: sliced onion (fresh or frozen) and whole garlic cloves. These need the full cook anyway.

Add pineapple chunks when you walk in the door. Forty-five minutes to an hour on LOW is enough for all of it, and it will taste better than if it had cooked all day.

If you would rather not touch it at all, put everything in at the start and use frozen where you can. It will be softer than the timing above intends and the greens will lose their colour, but it will taste good and dinner is ready when you walk in.

Frozen is the better choice for a long day. Already cut, holds its shape better than fresh over eight or nine hours, and goes in straight from the bag with no thawing. Frozen diced onion and pepper strips remove the only real prep this recipe has.

Pasta and noodles

**Served over noodles.** Cook macaroni and cheese separately and spoon the glaze from the bottom of the pot over the top. **Do not add dry pasta to the pot for this recipe.** There is only half a cup of liquid — it makes a glaze, not a sauce, and there is nothing for pasta to cook in.

Before anything goes in the pot

1
Coat the meat in a bag, not in the pot
Put the meat and the whole packet into a gallon zip bag, seal it, and shake until every surface is covered. It coats far more evenly than sprinkling from above, it takes ten seconds, and there is nothing to wash afterwards.

These happen outside the crock pot, before it's switched on.

Tonight's Plan

1
Put the pork in the crock pot, fat side up.
Same as the Classic. Fat side up so it bastes itself.
2
Pour in 1 cup of water or broth.
Resist adding more.
3
Sprinkle the whole packet all over the pork.
Get the sides and the underneath too.
4
Put the lid on.
LOW for eight to nine hours.

After you shred — not before

Pick your sauce

Take the pork out and shred it with two forks.

Discard the fat as you go.

Put it back in, add your BBQ sauce, and stir. Rest 10 minutes.

Sauce at the end. Sugar plus eight hours equals bitter.

Stirring

Stir once at the halfway point and turn the pieces over

There is very little liquid here and a lot of sugar, so the bottom catches. Turning the meat also brings glaze back up onto the top, where it belongs.

Swaps and add-ins

Broil for sticky edges.

Sauced pork on a sheet pan, three minutes under the broiler. The best part of any barbecue.

Add pineapple.

A cup in the last hour. Sweet and tangy against the honey.

Use a vinegar sauce to balance.

A Carolina-style sauce over the sweet rub is a genuinely good combination.

Make Hawaiian sliders.

On sweet rolls with pineapple and red onion.

Tips for success

This one is noticeably sweeter. If your table prefers tangy, use Classic BBQ instead, or finish this with a vinegar sauce.
Sauce at the end, then broil. Three minutes under the broiler after saucing gives you caramelized edges.
Don't trim the fat cap. It renders and keeps the meat moist over a long cook.
Drop in a liner before anything else. Smooth it against the sides and fold the edges over the rim. When you're done, lift it out and throw it away — the crock never needs scrubbing.

Finish it right

A splash of apple cider vinegar.

Sweet pork needs acid more than tangy pork does. Two tablespoons changes the whole balance.

Sharp coleslaw on the sandwich.

Vinegar slaw rather than creamy slaw, to cut the sweetness.

Pickled red onion.

Sharp, pink, and it looks good on a slider.

Serve it over

Slider bunsCornbreadMac and cheeseBaked beansSweet Hawaiian rolls

Tomorrow night

Barbecue pork pizza.

On flatbread with red onion, cilantro and mozzarella.

BBQ grilled cheese.

Between buttered bread with sharp cheddar.

Pork fried rice.

Chopped, fried with day-old rice and egg.

Loaded sweet potato.

Split, filled, topped with slaw.

Keeping it

Fridge

Airtight, up to 4 days

Freezer

3 months. Freeze unsauced if possible.

Reheating

Low with a splash of liquid. Apple juice works well with this one.

Questions people ask

Recipe card