Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork
After grabbing the groceries that I needed for this week’s recipes, I had a few dollars to spare in my September Challenge budget, so I headed over to the meat aisle to see if I could nab anything on sale and just stock up for the future. I found a great boneless Boston pork butt for just a few dollars and if there’s one thing I love, it’s pulled pork. And now, this Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork in particular.
Pulled pork is super easy to make, especially if you have a slow cooker. Once the meat is slow cooked, it’s so tender that it just falls apart and shreds with the touch of a fork. That delicious shredded meat can be used so many different ways, making this an excellent buy. I whipped up a very basic chili powder based rub, coated the meat, and popped it in the slow cooker. Four hours later I had succulent and flavorful Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork that I can pile into rice bowls, burritos, quesadillas, tacos, or just enjoy on a bun.
I kept a portion of the meat in the fridge for this week and froze the rest so I could have back ups for the next couple of weeks when I get that “meat” craving.
Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 2.5-3 lb boneless pork butt ($3.84)
- 2 Tbsp chili powder* ($0.30)
- 1 Tbsp smoked paprika ($0.15)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder ($0.05)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.05)
Instructions
- Cut the pork butt into 2-3 inch cubes. Place the cubes in a large bowl.
- Mix the chili powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Pour the spice mix over the cubed meat and toss to coat.
- Place the seasoned meat in a slow cooker and cook on high for four hours.
- Carefully lift the meat out of the juices in the slow cooker to a large bowl or dish. Use two forks to shred the meat and remove any large pieces of fat or gristle. Serve immediately or portion and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.
Notes
Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork
Step by Step Photos
I used a boneless Boston butt, which was 2.75 lbs. You can use a bone-in pork butt, but make sure to get one that weighs slightly more to make up for the bone’s weight. The bone can easily be removed after cooking. Cut the pork butt into large (2-3″) cubes. I don’t bother trimming the fat because a lot of it melts off the meat into the bottom of the slow cooker and the rest can be easily removed as you shred the meat after cooking.
In a small bowl, stir together 2 Tbsp chili powder, 1 Tbsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper.
Pour the spice mix over the cubed meat and toss until the meat is coated.
Place the seasoned meat in a slow cooker and cook on high for four hours. Because no extra liquid was added to the slow cooker, a lot of the meat is above the juices, which helps keep the spices on the meat. The meat that is above the liquid still cooks just fine from the radiant heat given off by the heavy duty ceramic liner of the slow cooker.
Carefully (because it will be tender and delicate) remove the chunks of meat from the cooker and place them in a large bowl or dish.
Use two forks to shred the meat and pull off any large pieces of fat or gristle.
My roast yielded three cups of shredded meat. OMG it was so hard to not just sit there and eat it out of the bowl!
I divided the pork into three 1 cup bags, each with two 1/2 cup portions. I kept one in the fridge to eat this week and froze the other two.
What can you do with this amazing Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork? Just about anything! Eat it in a “burrito bowl” (that’s what I did this week), stuff it into a real burrito, a quesadilla, or just eat it on a roll like a pulled pork sandwich. Heck, why not even use it to top a southwest inspired pizza? ANYTHING. It’s so good.
Awesome as always, Beth! I used my instant pot at 60 minutes with a natural pressure release
Hello! I’ve made this recipe a few times and it’s to die for. Would this same process work with a Beef chuck shoulder roast? They were buy one get one at Kroger so I’d like to try it out this weekend.
Thanks!
It should work similarly, yes. :)
Is it possible to make a version of this with chicken breast in the slow cooker?
Absolutely! You may need to add a little liquid, since the chicken will be a lot more lean and won’t create as many juices. I would try maybe 3 hours on high.
Is there a way we can cook this in a an oven if we don’t have a slow cooker?
You can probably roast it at a low temperature for a few hours, but I haven’t tested this method, so unfortunately I don’t know what temperature or how long.
Would you be able to send me the old recipe? I’m having a party and the last time I made it. It was a crowd favorite!
Sent! :)
Omg! This is so good. I’m tempted to be like “Beth can I have the old recipe?” Even if I never have made the old one just because I think it would be so cool to get an email from Beth! Haha. Definitely embracing my budget bytes fan girl today, thanks for all the awesome recipes!!
I want to compare the perfectly pulled pork to the chili rubbed recipe. Can you email a pdf of the old one also! My wife loves it.
Sure!
Is this the same recipe as the perfectly pulled pork? I had an old shortcut I’ve been using to get here. My girls loved this pulled pork as I’ve made it plenty of times. It was never spicy for them but if it’s spicier now, I may need to make modifications!
Hi Jason, no it’s not the same, but better IMHO. This one IS a bit spicy, though, so I’ll email you a pdf of the older recipe to keep on hand (I’ll use the email that you used to leave the comment).
Could I please also have an email of the original perfectly pulled pork? It’s become a regular meal in our house. Thanks
Absolutely! Emailing it now. :)
Yeah -same thing here. Can I have to original recipe? My kids are change resistant and I like peaceful meals. :-)
Just emailed it to you. :) Let me know if it doesn’t arrive!
One more email? I’m missing your old recipes!
No problem, Pam! Sending now! :)
I love your idea of using leftover meat for a Southwest style pizza! What kind of sauce would you suggest for that?
Honestly, I’d probably just use a regular pizza sauce and make the toppings southwest inspired. :)
So easy and so delicious! I found that I only had one tbsp of chili powder left when I went to make this, and it still turned out flavorful. We had it in tacos, and I plan to use some of the leftovers in your 30-minute posole tomorrow!
Made this a bit different. Marinated the pork to tenderize in 1 c. apple cider vinegar and water to cover the uncooked pork for 24 hrs. I took the pork out, patted it to dry, rubbed the spices (chipotle pepper, red pepper, chili powder, and cumin) onto the pork. Then browned the whole pork in butter on medium-high in a cast iron dutch oven on all sides. Took the pork out, added 1 large onion and four cloves of garlic and sauted a bit in the butter and pork juices. Turned down the heat, added half a cup to 3/4 c. to deglaze the pan and cooked on low (covered) for four hours. Amazing!
This looks so good and I’m wanting to try it. Would I be able to use a boneless pork loin instead of a butt? I would like to try this for New Year’s.
I’ve made it with loin before and I still like it quite a bit. Just be aware that the texture of the meat will be different because loins are quite a bit more lean. It won’t be quite as tender and juicy as the butt.
The pork butt at my grocery was over 7 pounds so I got pork loin instead and it worked great! It was done in a little over 3.5 hours.