Slow Cooker Mustard-Rubbed Pulled Pork
Y’all are going to love this recipe. My Slow Cooker Mustard-Rubbed Pulled Pork uses just five ingredients and results in delicious pulled pork that shreds at the touch of a fork and creates a mustardy, slightly sweet, tangy vinegar barbecue sauce that you’re going to fall in love with. Plus, it’s made in the slow cooker so it’s super easy and perfect for Summer! To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
I get inspiration for my recipes from all different sources. Sometimes it just pops into my head, sometimes it’s the product of thoughtful brainstorming, sometimes it’s inspired by something I ate in a restaurant or adapted from a recipe I saw in a book or on another site, and occasionally it all stems from a brand requesting I use a specific ingredient. When a brand approaches me wanting me to create a recipe using their product, I always consider two things: a) is this a product I already use, love and feel completely comfortable genuinely endorsing to my readers? And b) when first approached do I immediately and excitedly start brainstorming a whole list of ideas for recipes I would love to make using that product? I would never want to work with an ingredient I wasn’t organically inspired by or that I couldn’t recommend enthusiastically.
In this case, when French’s Yellow Mustard* wanted to work with me, the answer to both of the above questions was a resounding yes. I pretty much exclusively use French’s mustard (I love it on hot dogs, hamburgers, and turkey melts) and since it’s zero calories per serving it’s a super easy way to add some zesty flavor while sticking to your healthy eating plan. Plus, it’s all natural with no artificial ingredients, which is definitely an added bonus.
Just five ingredients – delicious results!
I knew immediately what I wanted to make using mustard, I just had to figure out how to adapt it for indoor cooking. My fiancé makes the most amazing mustard-rubbed pork shoulder in his smoker using yellow mustard and it’s actually my favorite thing he cooks. Since I know most households don’t own a smoker, I wanted to see if I could capture some of the same flavors right in the kitchen. Slow cookers make amazing pulled pork, so I thought that would be a good place to start. Since the pork produces its own liquid in the slow cooker, I also thought adding apple cider vinegar would make for a delicious vinegar/mustard Carolina-style BBQ sauce to drizzle over the meat when serving.
The results? SO GOOD. The pork slides right off the bone and shreds at the touch of a fork. It’s flavorful from the mustard and brown sugar rub and the sauce is a perfect blend of flavors. If you like the vinegar taste to be a bit stronger (if you plan to serve the meat on buns you may want to consider this), you can add more vinegar to taste in the saucepan step. Serve the meat any way you like: straight up in a pile (my favorite), on a bun, in a wrap, stuffed into a baked potato or baked onto a pizza. Your options for leftovers are only as limited as your creativity!
Looking for more tasty ways to use your slow cooker? Check out my Slow Cooker section for more posts, including Thai Peanut Chicken, Meatballs & Marinara, Barbecue Beef and more! Want more French’s Mustard recipes? Follow French’s on Pinterest or check out their hashtag #NaturallyAmazing for Summer BBQ ideas, cooking tips and infinite ways to turn mustard into a meal your family will love.
*I have partnered with French’s Yellow Mustard as part of their #NaturallyAmazing Summer campaign. I have been compensated for my time commitment to work with their product, however my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.
Slow Cooker Mustard-Rubbed Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 5 pound bone-in pork shoulder
- ½ cup French’s Yellow Mustard
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Pork shoulders generally have a layer of fat covering one side. Using a sharp knife, remove this layer of fat and trim off any additional significant pieces of fat from the outside. My pork shoulder started off at 5 ½ pounds but after trimming was about 4 lbs 7 oz. (Note: the bone weighed about 5 ounces, so I calculated the points and nutrition info using 4 lbs 2 ounces of lean, trimmed pork shoulder)
- On a cutting board, coat the outside of the pork shoulder in mustard (you can probably use a silicone pastry brush, but I just slather it on with my hands...this is a messy step!). Once covered, sprinkle brown sugar over the mustard and pat into the mustard coating. Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning over the top.
- Place the coated pork shoulder into your slow cooker and make sure any residual mustard/brown sugar coating remaining on the cutting board gets drizzled on top. Cook on low for 8 hours until pork shreds easily and falls off the bone. Remove the bone and discard.
- Remove the pork to a cutting board and shred using two forks. Taste the cooking liquid and add the cider vinegar (you can add more to taste if desired). Transfer the liquid from the slow cooker to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10-15 minutes. Serve the liquid alongside the pork and drizzle over pork before eating – whether eating it straight, on a bun or otherwise. Refrigerate and store sauce separately from any leftover pork.