Crockpot Bourbon Bacon Pulled Pork – An easy recipe for the BEST ever crockpot pulled pork! Â 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. Â It’s a mouthwatering staple around here.
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. Â This one is just right. Â 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. Â 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! Â 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
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- 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.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I shared this recipe over at The Weekend Potluck!
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!
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!!
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! 🙂
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!
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!!
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!!
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!
Have you tried this with a pork butt instead of loin?
I was wondering the same thing
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.
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.