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Recently I sent my lovely husband out shopping for me and he came home with a great, frugal pork leg joint which I knew would be perfect for slow cooker pulled pork.
At just £2.99 a kilo our 1.5kg joint was an absolute bargain! I decided that instead of the traditional roast pork I was going to finally have a go at making slow cooker pulled pork – to see what all the fuss is about! Scroll down now to see the recipe for yourself!
If you’re looking for some inspiration for other slow cooker recipes then be sure to check out my Easy slow cooker recipes (UK recipes).

Ingredients for slow cooker pulled pork
1.5kg pork leg (remove the fat and reserve this for pork crackling if you like)
2 tbsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic granules (or 3 cloves if you have fresh)
1/2 tsp onion granules
2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 onion
1 pint of stock
300ml barbecue sauce
Method for slow cooker pulled pork:
Chop onion and place into your slow cooker pot.
Combine all ingredients (besides pork, stock and bbq sauce)
Rub this all over the pork leg
Fill slow cooker with stock. If your joint is poking out you’ll want to turn it a few times during cooking for an even texture.
Cook on high for 4 hours, then turn to low for 8 hours. Alternatively leave on low for 16 hours.
Once your meat is cooked you can reserve the liquid as a base for a delicious stock.
Shred your meat and add the barbecue sauce. Enjoy!

Slow cooker pulled pork
A delicious, tender pulled pork that you can prep in minutes and leave cooking all day or overnight.
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg pork leg with the fat removed and saved for crackling if you like
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp salt & pepper
- 3 cloves garlic 1/2 teaspoon of garlic granules
- 1/2 tsp onion granules
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper double if you like it spicy
- 1 tsp chilli powder double if you like it spicy
- 1/2 tsp muscovado sugar
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 pint stock (fresh or cubes are fine)
- 300 ml barbecue sauce (optional)
Instructions
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Chop 1 onion to place into the bottom of the slow cooker.
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Take all of the ingredients, besides the pork, and combine together. I use a pestle & mortar to combine the ingredients fully.
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Once you have a nice rub spread it all over the pork leg. Then place this inside the slow cooker on top of the chopped onions.
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Fill up the slow cooker, to the top of the meat, with the stock.
It is ok for meat to be sitting outside of the water but be aware that you will want to turn it at least a couple of times during cooking to ensure an even texture.
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Cook on high for the first 4 hours.
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Then turn down to low for the remaining 8 hours.
(You can cook this for 16 hours on low if you would prefer, basically the longer the better.)
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Once the meat has finished cooking you can save the stock and onions as the base for a lovely gravy.
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The meat is ridiculously tender and takes just seconds to shred. You don’t even need to use a sharp knife. Meat claws make shredding fun and easy.
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Mix barbeque sauce through the meat.
Recipe Notes
This is an ideal meal for preparing and leaving to cook while you are out at work.
I saved the leftover pork fat and turned it into pork crackling which my husband loved! I’m not a lover myself but he said it was absolutely delicious!

In total my 1.5kg pork joint made enough meat for two main meals (for two), two days sandwiches (for two) as well as the pork crackling too. I was also able to freeze leftovers for three pizza nights in the future.
I was very pleased with the number of meals we got for just £4.50 worth of meat and a few store cupboard ingredients.
Can you use pork leg for pulled pork? Will you get a nice pulled pork from a leg joint?
Yes! That is what I’ve used for this slow cooker pulled pork recipe! It is a lovely cut and works really well for pulled pork.
What temperature for pulled pork?
If you want to make this pulled pork in the oven then slow cooking at gas mark 6 (200C) is the way to go!
Eta Tomi
Friday 12th of January 2018
Omg, this looks so delicious. Never slow cooked pork though i am always scared it will overcook but will definitely try this ... Yum.