This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see our privacy policy.
This easy slow cooker (or instant pot) Brown Sugar Balsamic Pulled Pork is healthier than most, takes minutes to put together and is a delicious crowd pleaser!
I love a meal that requires no last minute prep, especially when we're entertaining guests. This Brown Sugar Balsamic Pulled Pork can be made early in the day (or a day in advance) and simply warmed before eating. Tote it in your slow cooker to a party, potluck or picnic for a super easy, crazy delicious meal that young, old, and all ages in between, will enjoy.
I dropped off a container of this pulled pork and a package of my Easy Buttermilk Brioche Buns to a friend this past week. Later that evening, I got this text: "For sure, drool worthy!!! Oh my word, that was so good!!! Dad and I both loved it!!" Everyone else who's tried it has had the same response.
Pulled pork - done a little healthier
I'm always a little hesitant to make recipes that call for pork butt or pork shoulder. It's not that I don't love the succulent, moist, super tender meat this cut of pork produces. The problem for me is that it tends to have a really high-fat content, and that fat goes right into whatever sauce the meat is cooking in. Not so with this Brown Sugar Balsamic Pulled Pork recipe. As dumb as that may sound, it really thrills this health-conscious crazy cookin' girl!
How does that work, you ask? Fabulously moist and tender meat without all the extra fat? Easy! But it's just something I never thought of before. The pork is cooked in a simple mixture of chicken broth and garlic salt. You can either use a slow cooker or instant pot. I've done both with wonderful results. Once the meat is tender, it's drained and the fat-ridden cooking liquid is discarded. Voila!
A super easy, super tasty sauce
And the sauce? Towards the end of the cooking time, you simply throw all the sauce ingredients into a saucepan on the stovetop and simmer it for 10-15 minutes till it's nice and thick. Pull apart the meat and combine it with the sauce. I like to pull the pork with my fingers, as it's easy to see and feel any areas of fat between the juicy, tender meat. I separate the meat from the fat as I go and discard the fat once the task is completed. This is much harder to do in most pulled pork recipes, where the pork is cooked in the sauce.
Have a picnic, cookout, party or potluck coming up? Buy some good rolls or whip up a batch of these Easy Buttermilk Brioche Buns, then put together a pot full of this Brown Sugar Balsamic Pulled Pork. A perfect side for this delicious meal would be a big bowl of Black Bean Mexican Corn Salad.
Café Tips for making this Brown Sugar Balsamic Pulled Pork
- This recipe calls for pork butt or pork shoulder. Instead of buying a whole or half pork butt or shoulder, I like to purchase boneless pork shoulder ribs. I find these ribs much easier to work with than a huge piece of pork butt or shoulder. They're a bit more expensive but are often trimmed of some of the excess fat, so you're not buying as much fat. Not every grocery store carries this cut, but several in my area do. You might have to check around a bit or ask your butcher. Just make sure that the ribs are "shoulder" ribs and not "loin" (which is a much leaner cut of meat and will get tough when cooked for a long time).
- One of the easy secrets to the delicious flavor in this Brown Sugar Balsamic Pulled Pork recipe is a generous amount of Worcestershire sauce. Although the final result, doesn't have a strong Worcestershire sauce flavor, the ingredients for this classic sauce include vinegar, molasses, anchovies, tamarind extract, salt, sugar, onions, garlic, and spices - a super-easy way to add lots of wonderful flavor. Look for a good quality Worcestershire sauce. I really like the Lea and Perrin brand.
- Chili garlic sauce adds a touch of heat to this pulled pork. You can adjust the heat level by adding more or less. Chili garlic sauce is readily available in the Asian section of most larger groceries or online.
- Other than serving this Brown Sugar Balsamic Pulled Pork in buns or rolls, there are lots of other ways to use it:
- Serve in a bowl with rice and a side of broccoli or corn on the cob.
- Make quesadillas by layering it with your favorite cheese between flour or corn tortillas. Sauté till golden brown on both sides. Serve with a side of Mexican Chopped Salad.
- Serve over mashed potatoes.
- Serve on its own with a simple green salad.
- Make tacos with flour or corn tortillas - top tortillas with pork, shredded red or green cabbage, avocado slices, pickled red onions and a scatter of Cotija cheese.
- If you're serving this pulled pork as sandwiches at home, toast the buns before serving. This easy step takes this already delicious pork to another level. To toast the buns, simply drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil onto a sheet pan. Rub the oil to coat the pan with your fingers. Place the buns, cut side down on the prepared pan and bake at 350˚F. for 10-15 minutes, until the undersides and edges are a beautiful golden brown. Serve immediately.
Thought for the day:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:13
What we're listening to for inspiration:
If you enjoy this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and a review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations and ideas for variations.
- 4-5 pounds trimmed pork shoulder I use boneless shoulder ribs, (see tips above
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅔ cup dark brown sugar
- ⅔ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ⅔ cup aged balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2-3 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 3 3-inch rosemary sprigs
- 6 medium cloves garlic minced
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
-
If using a whole pork butt or shoulder, cut meat into 4-6-inch long and approximately 3-inch wide strips. If using the boneless ribs, cut them in half. Set aside.
-
Combine chicken broth, garlic salt and pepper in a 5 to 6-quart slow cooker. Add the pork and stir. Cover and cook until fork-tender, 6-7 hours on low (depends on the heat of your slow cooker). (See “Notes” below for instant pot method.) Drain the pork and discard the liquid.
-
When pork is cool enough to handle, shred the meat into bite-size pieces, with your fingers, discarding any fat. Return meat to slow cooker or a storage container (if making ahead).
-
Combine all sauce ingredients in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until liquid is thickened and starting to become syrupy. Remove rosemary stems.
-
Combine half of the sauce with the shredded pork. Taste and season with kosher salt and pepper, if needed. Save the rest of the sauce to drizzle on the pork when serving. Pork can be made ahead and warmed in the slow cooker before serving. Meat also freezes well. Thaw and warm before serving.
See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips.
To make in the instant pot, add chicken broth and garlic salt to the IP pot, add the pork and stir. Set instant pot to high-pressure setting and cook for 35 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally, then drain the pork and discard the liquid. Proceed with step #3 in the recipe directions.
The Café Sucre Farine is a participant in the Amazon Affiliate Program. Affiliate programs are designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on Amazon. The price you pay as a consumer does not change, but if you make a purchase through one of our links, we receive a small commission - and we continue delivering delicious recipes to you!
Norma says
Made this last night and WOW what a great dish! I was really glad you kept the sauce separate because 1) it would have gotten too diluted with the juices/fat coming off the meat as mentioned; and 2) I wasn't sure how the sauce would come out with that combination of unusual ingredients (if it didn't turn out it wouldn't ruin the dish--I could just use BBQ sauce instead). The sauce is fabulous! The only thing I did a little differently was to make the sauce a couple of hours ahead of time. I had a little pocket of time then and figured that would be one less thing to do when putting it altogether and also felt the flavors would benefit from that time to meld. As one person commented here, I think next time I will try it with beef--maybe a chuck roast--although it was amazing on the pork. This is now one of my favorite slow cooker meals! Thanks for a great recipe that will hit our table often!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Awesome! Thank you for your review, Norma!
Carol Ann says
I made this last night and it crazy good but I couldn't believe you would actually instruct us to throw a flavorful stock that has developed 6 hours of flavor down the drain!! What a waste. I strained mine, threw the solids back into the pork pot and stuck the rest into the fridge. Tonight, I will pull the cap of fat off the top and transfer the rest into the freezer for future enjoyment.
Chris Scheuer says
Good idea, Carol!
Meghan says
Hi Chris!! This is AMAZING!! Thank you 🙂 Have you ever tried this recipe using beef? Would you suggest that, or stick to only using this sauce recipe with pork? Thank you!
Chris Scheuer says
I have not tried it with beef, but I bet it would be delicious, Meghan. If you try it, let us know!
Meghan says
Thanks Chris!! I went for it! The beef was incredible!! Also used some extra sauce to put on shredded chicken, and that was delicious too! 🙂
Chris Scheuer says
That's wonderful! Thanks for letting us know!
Beth says
I am dying to try this I love all your recipes could I make this in the oven? What temperature and for how long? Thank you
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Beth, you can definitely make this in the oven but I can’t tell you exactly how because I haven’t tested it. But I would roast it at 300º for a few hours until it's nice and tender.
Karen L. Calanchini says
Chris, OMG you are brilliant! What a great method you came up with, I do not know why I never thought of it. I had a beautiful, bone-in 5 lb. pork shoulder. I cut the fat cap off the top and proceeded with the recipe. After the meat became tender enough to pull, I took it out, dumped out the fatty water, and it was so easy to separate the bone, gristle and then finished with that wonderful sauce in the slow cooker for another hour. It was the best ever and every one had two pulled pork sandwiches. I will be using this method from now on with other fatty pieces of meat.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Karen! I'm so glad you enjoyed this method too!
Laurel says
Hi Chris,
I am wondering if, in your recipe testing, you had ever braised the pork in the sauce - rather than braise it in stock and then add it to the shredded pork? Thanks!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Laurel, I have done both. In this recipe, I was trying to be a little healthier since the fat from the pork all goes into the sauce. But sometimes I just make it the day before so I can chill the sauce and spoon off the solid fat. Either way works!
Susan Harrison says
I made this today. The sauce is divine! Who'd have thought all those ingredients would be so good together...AND I had everything on hand except the Chili Garlic sauce which I bought yesterday. The pork is still in the slower cooker. I chose to use country boneless ribs. Even that smells good. It's a rainy, windy, chilly raw day and this will be an excellent dinner tonight. I'll write a better comment after we've eaten this evening although I now already the pork will be delicious - it couldn't be anything else with that sauce! I'll serve it alone or on rice with a bitter greens salad with a tangy lemon vinaigrette. Cara Cara oranges for dessert.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Susan! I hope you enjoyed the pork as much as the sauce. It sounds like a wonderful meal!
Diane says
Hi Chris, thanks for another delicious recipe. Your method of slicing the raw meat and pulling it apart with the hands is a lot easier than using two forks to a whole cooked chunk of meat as some recipes suggest. I filtered out the cooking liquid in a fine mesh strainer and refrigerated. There was a lot of fat but it hardens to the top surface and can be easily scooped off then discarded. This left me with about 2 cups of flavourful stock to which I added a cup or so of water, and lots of veggies for a delicious soup.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for sharing your results, Diane! What a great idea, to make soup! Yummy!
Polly says
Chris, this is one of my absolute favorites! I serve it using Bibb lettuce leaves like a taco. I am planning for company and have it in my Slow cooker now. Also, just made the naan bread for quick pizza using your pizza sauce. Terrific recipes for “make ahead” delicious meals. Thank you.
Chris Scheuer says
Thank you, Polly! 💕I'm so happy you enjoyed this pork and the other recipes!
Debbie Hermann says
I'm a little confused - under the tips section it mentions ingredients in the sauce as.......molasses, anchovies, tamarind extract, but they are NOT listed in the Calcutta recipe....
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Debbie, sorry if that confused you. What I say in the Tips is that Worcestershire sauce is a great secret ingredient because it contains molasses, anchovies, tamarind, etc.
marian lane says
Wow! What a great flavor combination. I used pork shoulder, cut into chunks and most of the fat cut off ahead of time. I used my instant pot and cooked for the 35 minutes with a natural release. The pork was perfectly tender and shredded easily. The sauce is AMAZING. I wasn't too sure about that amount of Worcestershire sauce but since you've yet to steer me wrong, I dumped in all in lol. The balsamic was a perfect touch, sweet but not overpowering. I made whole wheat brioche buns to serve with and it was a hit.
Kristi says
Trying to figure out what to serve for a family get-together next weekend, so I did a test run (half-recipe) for supper tonight. My husband and I loved it! I'm so glad - I think 1 1/2 times the recipe will be good for our party.
Thanks for so many good recipes - we have loved every one I've tried so far. In fact, I just mixed up a batch of "ridiculously easy" scones - date and pecan this time - for a quick breakfast in the morning. I'll bet I've done variations of your recipe 2 dozen times at least, and have even added my own shortcut.