This Slow Cooker Pork Picnic Roast is juicy and tender with the perfect blend of spices. Use it as a base for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, pulled pork sandwiches and so much more.
There are so many ways to enjoy this shredded slow cooker pork. Once you’ve got a batch on hand, you have several meal options. My favorite way to enjoy it is drizzled with BBQ sauce and piled high on a slider bun with a little coleslaw and a pickle.
Easy Pork Picnic Roast
Shredded pork is a juicy, delicious comfort food staple that is super simple to make, can be used a million different ways, and makes your house smell amazing. This crockpot picnic roast recipe is a meal prep staple in my house because it’s a quick way to add a little extra protein to meals throughout the week.
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As much as I love a good sweet pork recipe, or a Pork Carnitas Recipe, sometimes I just want something with a little less sugar. For this recipe, the pork shoulder is coated in oil and then rubbed with a perfectly blended selection of spices.
From there, let the slow cooker do the work for you. You’ll be well on your way to having meal possibilities all week long.
Ways to Serve Pork Picnic Roast
Besides pork sliders, here are a few more ways to enjoy this pulled pork:
- Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Tacos – serve with your favorite slaw, cheese and fresh cilantro.
- Pork Carnitas Nachos – I’d recommend adding a drizzle of BBQ sauce or southwest ranch dressing, white or red onions and guacamole.
- Quesadillas – Fill a tortilla with this pulled pork, your favorite cheese and serve with a side of homemade salsa.
- Taco Bowl- Add some ranch potatoes, top with pulled pork and some shredded cheese and you’ve got an entire meal.
- Serve over mashed potatoes, inside Baked Mac and Cheese or added to your favorite green salad.
Key Ingredients
- Pork Roast – I like to use pork shoulder, or you can use Boston butt or picnic roast. These have more fat than something like a pork tenderloin, but this can easily be removed while shredding.
- Avocado Oil – you can also use canola or olive oil.
- Spice Mix – this recipe calls for using cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, garlic salt, paprika, salt and pepper. Of course, you can adjust to your liking here.
- Chicken Broth – this keeps the roast extra tender and moist. You could substitute beef broth or even vegetable broth for slightly different flavor profiles.
How to Make Crockpot Picnic Roast
- Prep the roast. Remove roast from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature for about 1 hour. Pat dry the pork roast with paper towels, then coat the roast completely in oil using a pastry brush or your hands.
- Add the spice rub. In a small bowl, mix together the cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, garlic salt, paprika, salt and pepper. Rub the spice mixture over the entire pork roast.
- Cook. Place pork roast in the slow cooker and pour the chicken broth on top. Cover and cook on high for 6-7 hours or on low for 10-12 hours, or until the meat shreds easily with a fork.
- Shred. Remove the cooked pork from the slow cooker and place in a casserole dish other wide rimmed container to shred. Remove any large pieces of fat while shredding.
- Mix with broth. Strain the broth that remains in the slow cooker, then add the shredded meat back in. Slowly pour about half of the broth over the shredded meat – just enough to keep it moist. Stir, adding a little more broth as needed.
- Serve. Serve in tacos, burritos, sandwiches, nachos, salads and more. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- I have a 6-quart crockpot and it can fit up to a 10-pound shoulder roast.
- If you want to cook veggies at the same time, add chopped onions, potatoes and carrots, or any other root vegetables, to the crockpot around the edges of the pork roast. Remove them when you remove the pork to shred.
- Adjust the amount of spices to the size pork roast that you cook. For example, if you decide to cook a smaller 5-6 pound roast, reduce to about 1 tablespoon of each spice.
- Pulling your pork roast out of the fridge for at least 1 hour ensures that it will cook evenly through.
- After shredding the meat, I like to put it back into the crockpot and slowly add half of the broth back in. Continue to add just until the meat is moistened but not soaking.
- Since it is a shoulder roast and not a tenderloin, there will be more fat. You will need to separate the fat from the meat when shredding. I like to move the roast to a casserole dish to shred the meat while removing any chunks of fat. I also like to strain the chunks out of the broth before adding it back to the meat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our favorite cuts of pork to use for this crock pot pork roast are pork shoulder, Boston butt, picnic roast or any combination of the three. You can even use a bone-in roast which carries tons of moisture and flavor.
First off, the internal temperature should be between 160-190 degrees. You can always check the temperature by using a digital thermometer inserted into the thickest spot.
Otherwise, you’ll know that your roast is done when you can easily shred it with 2 forks. If you can’t shred the meat, the connective tissue has not cooked long enough to break down.
Pork shoulder is a tougher cut of meat than, say, pork tenderloin, so the cook time is generally longer. The cooking time depends on a few different factors, including the size of your crockpot, the size of the pork roast, the cut of pork and whether you slow cook on low or high.
This recipe gives a general guideline of cooking for 6-7 hours on high or 10-12 hours on low. But, this cooking process requires a bit of trust! If at 5 hours you test your roast and it’s easy to shred, it’s done. If not, keep cooking! We advise that you check a couple of times during the cooking process (unless of course you are cooking overnight) because every slow cooker and piece of meat cooks a little differently.
Storing and Reheating Pork Roast
- Storing: let your shredded pork cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Freezing: you can freeze your Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Roast in freezer bags. Add a small amount of cooking juices to the bag and store frozen for up to 2 months. Once you are ready to use, transfer to the fridge to thaw overnight.
- Reheating: to reheat in the microwave, just place into a microwave-safe container and reheat for about 30 seconds at a time on high until warm. It’s best to reheat with a little of the cooking liquids if you have any on hand. You can also reheat in a pot on medium heat over the stove. Again, it’s good to add a little of the cooking liquids, or even a touch of oil or melted butter, while you reheat slowly.
Pork Picnic Roast Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 pounds pork roast, (or pork shoulder, Boston butt or picnic roast)
- 1/3 cup avocado oil
- 1½ tablespoons cumin
- 1½ tablespoons onion powder
- 1½ tablespoons garlic powder
- 1½ tablespoons chili powder
- 1½ tablespoons garlic salt
- 1½ tablespoons paprika
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups chicken broth
Instructions
- Remove pork roast from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for about 1 hour. Pat dry the pork roast with paper towels, then coat the roast completely in oil using a pastry brush or your hands.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, garlic salt, paprika, salt, and pepper. Rub the spice mixture over the entire pork roast, then place in the slow cooker and pour the chicken broth on top.
- Cover and cook on high for 6-7 hours, or on low for 10-12 hours—until the meat shreds easily with two forks.
- Remove the cooked pork from the slow cooker and place in a casserole dish or another wide rimmed container to shred. Remove any large pieces of fat while shredding. Strain the broth that remains in the slow cooker, then add the shredded meat back in. Slowly pour about half of the broth over the shredded meat—just enough to keep it moist. Stir, adding a little more broth as needed.
- Serve in tacos, burritos, sandwiches, nachos, salads and more. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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This classic Slow Cooker Pork Picnic Roast is tender and is a perfect blend of spices, perfect for tacos, enchiladas, burritos, or pulled pork sandwiches. It’s the best pork roast recipe in a slow cooker.
Categories:
Crockpot, Easy Weeknight Meals, Gluten-Free, Main Dish, Meal Prep, Nut-Free, Pork, Reader Favorites,
Going to make this for my bday dinner.
Going to make this tonight. Was wondering do you put any liquid in it at the start of cooking? Thank you
I was shocked when I clicked on the recipe and could change it for the amount of servings! What a FANTASTIC idea. I hate receiving repetitive emails but I’m signing up with you, Jill for that reason (and the fact that this looks like a great recipe for pulled pork!) THANK YOU