Crockpot Bourbon Bacon Pulled Pork – An easy recipe for the BEST ever crockpot pulled pork! This pork is slow cooked to perfection with BBQ sauce, spices, bourbon, and the addition of bacon for even meatier barbecue flavor. We love this BBQ pulled pork recipe that makes slow cooker pulled pork tenderloin the most tender and flavorful!
Ok, can I please make myself sound a little “official” here and just say if there is one thing that I know well, it’s good BBQ.
A lot of people attribute BBQ with Kansas City – which is the right thing to do because it’s amazing there.
It’s also amazing everywhere in Kansas!
I’m 99.9% certain that everyone here grows up eating BBQ on a weekly basis. It’s a mouthwatering staple around here.
CHECK OUT OUR VIDEO FOR THIS RECIPE BELOW!
Pulled pork is one of the first things I ever started making – It’s really simple and honestly our fave dinner in my house.
Since it was one of the first things I attempted to cook, you can imagine by now that I’ve made it about a trillion and a half different ways over the years.
I’m telling you, I’ll never switch up my recipe again. This one is just right. And I’ll tell ya why!
I want my pulled pork to have MAX flavor!
For that to happen, I do a simple spice rub and massage it right into the meat first.
Then, a simple sauce – brown sugar, bourbon, apple cider vinegar, and your favorite BBQ sauce.
The apple cider vinegar helps to make the meat extra tender!
This sauce turns out so rich – not too sweet, just right on the tang. It’s perfection.
After the pork has cooked and shredded, we add in about 1 cup of cooked crumbled bacon.
More if you want – never enough bacon.
It’s a meaty sandwich, tender, tons of flavor, rich and tasty!
Enjoy this pulled pork! It couldn’t be easier to make or more melt in your mouth to eat!
Note: Don’t be intimidated by the ingredient list – it’s mostly all seasoning!
~Nichole
Crockpot Bourbon Bacon Pulled Pork - An easy recipe for the BEST ever crockpot pulled pork! This pork is slow cooked to perfection with BBQ sauce, spices, bourbon, and the addition of bacon for even meatier barbecue flavor. We love this BBQ pulled pork recipe that makes slow cooker pulled pork tenderloin the most tender and flavorful!
- 2 Pounds Boneless Pork Loin
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Paprika
- 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin
- 1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
- 1 Cup BBQ Sauce
- 1/3 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/2 Cup Bourbon
- 8 Slices Bacon, Cooked and Crumbled
-
Place the pork loin in the bottom of the slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, paprika, pepper, cumin, and cayenne. Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over the meat and massage into all sides for 1 minute.
-
In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar, bbq sauce, apple cider vinegar and bourbon. Pour over the pork loin. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
-
Shred the pork using two forks. Mix in the cooked and crumbled bacon. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to use.
I shared this recipe over at The Weekend Potluck!
You had me at Bourbon, Nichole! Thank you so much for sharing your delicious pulled pork recipe at Weekend Potluck! I’ve added this to my “must-try” list. We hope to see you again this Friday. Have a great week!
Thanks, Mary!! 🙂
thank you for the pulled pork recipe. I have never been able to make crackpot cooking come out right. the only thing that I changed was I used Amaretto instead of bourbon. just not a fan of bourbon. It was fantastic. thank you again
What can be used in place of the Bourbon?
Hi, Betsy! You could just leave the bourbon out and not add anything else, it will turn out fine. If you’d like, you can use beef broth in place of the bourbon as well.
Cola, Root Beer and Dr Pepper all come to mind, but cut back the sugar a little. If you go with the beef broth, then add some bourbon flavoring. This recipe looks awesome, but living in Western N.C and East Tennessee, I’d like some Cole Slaw on my sandwich please!
Can you double the recipe? The reason i’m asking is I want to make this at the beach for a house full of people.
Yes, you can double it! 🙂
Could you do this with chicken? If so would you make any adjustments? I know chicken isn’t pork but I’m not a big pork eater and the recipe looks delicious.
Yes, you could definitely use chicken! I would use 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts. If you want, you could use half the amount of chicken, and half the entire recipe. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much. This definitely on my list to try soon..
For doubling the recipe, is the cook time still the same? I was just going to pop in the slow cooker at night for a BBQ the next day at noon. What’s your go to BBQ sauce for this recipe? Thank you!!
You should be fine to double and cook the same amount of time, however, I would definitely go for the full 10 hours on low. Maybe give yourself an extra hour or two for cook time if you can to make sure the meat does get tender. I like to use Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce! 🙂
Thanks for this tip – my coworkers have requested pulled pork sliders for inventory time, this is awesome. I’m feeding about 20 hard workers, adding a side of 4 lbs potato salad, rolls of course. Any suggestions for another side? Baked beans are too similar. Thanks much for this dynamite recipe!
What kind of Bourbon do you use?
Hey, Ashley! Typically I just use what we have on hand. Don’t feel like you need to use a top-shelf bourbon for this recipe at all.
Can you taste the Bourbon at all? Does the alcohol cook out of it?
The alcohol does cook out! The bourbon ads flavor, but it doesn’t taste of alcohol.
Can you cook this on high for 4 hours, or will it not be as tender?
Hi, Ashley! In my experience, this recipe is best cooked on low for the full time, for the most tender meat. When I have attempted to cook this on high for 4-5 hours, the meat just never shredded quite as easily. All slow cookers are different, so you could definitely try it out but I would plan for extra time just in case. Hope that helps! 🙂
Is this on the sweeter side? With the brown sugar and sweet baby ray’s that feels sweet to me…or does the bourbon offset that? Have you ever halved the sugar?
Hey, Jessica! I don’t find this too sweet at all, and I do not like my BBQ sweet. You can absolutely half the sugar if you feel the recipe will be too sweet for your taste 🙂
Hi, is this spicy at all? My family doesn’t like hot spicy food so the cayenne scares me
Hi, Emily! We don’t find this too spicy at all, but you can absolutely just leave the cayenne out! 🙂
How long will this hold in the fridge? I want to make it for a party and then warm it up/serve it on sternos (I might double or quadruple the recipe for that). But how long will it hold in the fridge?
You could make it ahead and it should hold up in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Can the meat be frozen when you put it in? I forgot to take it out of the freezer last night?
I’ve never tried making this pulled pork with a frozen pork roast. Without testing it out myself, it’s hard for me to say. I would say you will probably need to increase your cooking time significantly.
Have you tried this with a pork butt instead of loin?
I was wondering the same thing
So should I use a sweet or non sweet barbeque sauce with that much Brown sugar.
Baby rays works best. I made this and it absolutely delicious. You can also use truvia brown sugar. Cuts the carbs right out and tastes amazing!
I have a Crockpot Express Multi-cooker. I know recipies can be adapted for pressure cooking, but do you have any suggestions to accomplish that? Thank you!!
Not only have I been asked to make your recipe again, but double batch it. I’ve used boneless pork chops and a 4# loin and both work. For bourbon I use Makers Mark. It’s incredible. Thank you!!
By far the best pulled pork made in a crockpot, I’vr ever had. I used about half of an enormous pork shoulder, about 4lbs worth. I doubled the other ingredients except the bourbon,(didn’t have enough), and actually left out the bacon. I used smoked paprika and went a tiny bit heavy on the cayenne. It made lots of liquid but sooo tasty. Beautiful caramelization on it too. Throwing out my old recipe for this! Thank you!
Did this recipe with with 2 pounds of boneless chicken breasts. I used 1/2 cup of Splenda brown sugar, Sweet Baby Ray’s hickory and brown sugar BBQ sauce, and used Jack Daniels for bourbon. I stopped cooking after 4 1/4 hours because the chicken was so tender it was falling apart.
It came out amazing for a guys night hangout and everybody loved it alot. This recipe is now going to be a staple in my house from here on out. Thank you very much for this great recipe!!!
Awesome! Thanks for letting me know how much you enjoyed it! 🙂
Made this tonight and it was a big hit. I only had a mini bottle of bourbon but didn’t seem to matter. Next time I think I will cut back a little on the cayenne pepper. Will definitely be a crowd pleaser!!
Thank you so much for taking the time to post such a great recipe! I made this recipe exactly as written and it was wonderful! Full of flavor and veru moist!
I’ve made this before and it was amazing! Thank you for sharing!
I’m about to make it tomorrow, but do not have bourbon. Is it possible to substitute it with beer?
I’m sure that beer would be fine 🙂
Made this last night. This recipe is a keeper. Much flavor!
Hands down, the BEST BBQ I’ve ever made or had!! It’s even better the second day!! I had a ton of compliments on this recipe and have gladly added it into our dinner rotation at home. You will not be disappointed! And don’t wor h about the bourbon! It totally adds to the flavor without the bite or worrying about kids eating it. The recipe is perfect just the way she has it listed!!
What size crock pot do you use? If I double the recipe, would that same size work, or do you think I should use a bigger crock pot? I always stress over whether my crock pots are the right size for a recipe! Thanks in advance 😉
Hi! I use an 8 quart crockpot. It might be a tight fit if you double the recipe in a 7 or 8 quart. You can always slice the meat to make it fit though if necessary 🙂
I’m thinking pork tenderloins could be substituted for the pork loin?
Yes, that’s fine 🙂
Absolutely loved your recipe for pulled pork!
I used Sweet Baby Ray’s and Four Roses Bourbon.
Perfection! Thank you
Have you tried making this in an instant pot/pressure cooker?
Thanks!
MP
Hi! I haven’t tried it, but, you can definitely try it following the directions for my IP pulled pork https://thesaltymarshmallow.com/instant-pot-pulled-pork/
Could you please tell me if a pork loin roast is different than the cut you recommended? I used a 2.5lb pork loin roast and cooked on low for a full 8 hours but it wasn’t pull apart tender. Delicious, but not terribly tender. Thanks!!
Made this last night and everybody raved. It was delicious. I made a few changes. I used a 4 pound boston butt. Omitted the bourbon(didn’t have any on hand) but subbed with root beer soda and beef broth. Doubled everything except the cayenne pepper. Used both smoked paprika and sweet paprika. Took a bit longer in the crockpot but i suspect it was due to the size of the boston butt. The flavor was outstanding! Thank you for a great recipe!
This is in my slow cooker now and it smells amazing! Can’t wait for game time so we can eat it!! My hubs is not a fan of pulled pork so I convinced him to let me try this recipe (I had him at Bourbon!!!) so he will be my true test!!