I’m a huge fan of pulled pork (who isn’t really?) Succulent and tender, loaded with sweet and tangy flavor, it’s mmm… mmm…good!
Here in South Carolina you can pretty much find a BBQ joint that serves pulled pork on every corner. The problem with getting it at a restaurant is the sugar-laden BBQ sauce, which will knock you out of ketosis faster than you can say “Porky Pig.”
So what’s a low carbin’ BBQ lovin’ Yankee to do? Well you might think you need a smoker or other fancy equipment to make a decent pulled pork at home, but you’d be wrong. All you need is a crock pot, aka. slow cooker and you could be enjoying some keto-friendly pulled pork in just a few short hours.
It may not win you any fancy BBQ trophies over on the Food Network (or maybe it would), but trust me when I say that no one you serve it to is going to care whether it’s been slow smoked for 24 hours over reclaimed Noah’s Ark lumber that’s been cured with the tears of 1,000 Unicorns or not.
It’s luscious, and flavorful, and best of all, super easy!
[pinterest text=”Slow Cooker Pulled Pork – a low carb and gluten free main dish recipe from ibreatheimhungry.com” layout=”horizontal” image=”https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/pulledpork2small-500×665.jpg”]
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Slow Cooker Pulled Pork – Low Carb and Gluten Free
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
Description
A simple and delicious keto-friendly pulled pork recipe made in the slow cooker.
Ingredients
For the pulled pork:
- 3lb boneless pork shoulder (aka. Boston Butt)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp celery salt
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- 1/2 cup water
For the BBQ sauce:
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard
- 2 tsp hot sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot)
- 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 Tbsp low sugar ketchup
- 4 Tbsp granulated sugar substitute
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
Instructions
For the pulled pork:
- In a small bowl, combine the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika, allspice, celery salt, cloves, and mustard powder. Mix well. Rub the spice mixture all over your pork. Add the water to a large crock pot. Place the spice rubbed pork in the pot and cover. Cook on high for four hours, or until tender and falling apart. Remove the meat from the crock pot, leaving the juices behind. Shred the meat with clean hands, or use two forks to “pull” it apart.
For the sauce:
- Skim the solids and visible fat from the top of the liquid and discard. Add all of the sauce ingredients to the remaining liquid in the crockpot, whisking until smooth. Cover and cook on high for about 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add the meat back to the sauce and stir until fully coated. Serve hot.
Notes
Approximate nutrition info per serving: 265 calories, 16g fat, 1g net carbs, 20g protein
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Approximately 3/4 cup shredded meat and sauce
Serve with Keto Broccoli Slaw and Jalapeno Cheddar Muffins for the perfect BBQ dinner!
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Alexia says
Hi There! I made this yesterday, except used about 3 lbs of pork ribs because that is what I had on hand. I also added a teaspoon of liquid smoke to the bbq sauce. My bbq sauce took much longer to thicken, but the end result was fantastic. I was so impressed with the depth of flavor. The pork was so good! And my bestie/roomie loved it! That’s how I knew it was good lol.
Thanks for these really tasty recipes! Who knew you could eat so well on a low-carb diet! :-)
Eric says
This looks great! Can’t wait to try it. My slow cooker is a 1990 vintage model, but it does have a high and low setting (just haven’t a clue what the temperature it gets to at each setting is). Seems to work fine, though, so haven’t felt the need for a new one.
One request, though. Could you reduce the size of the photo so that the recipes would print out on only one page instead of two? Or make printing the photo optional? Many thanks.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for letting me know Eric, I changed the photo to a much smaller one which should fix the problem! And yes, any slow cooker that still works should do the trick for this – especially because this cut of meat is so forgiving! Hope you like it! Hope you like it!
Tracy says
I cooked this yesterday and put it on low for 8 hours. Turned out perfect.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Awesome, thanks for letting us know Tracy!
Eric says
I made this yesterday, and WOW! Is it good! The crockpot worked fine, and the meat was falling off the bone as I tried to remove it from the pot. I’m a bit of a hot sauce junkie, so I think I will use something with a bit more kick than Frank’s next time, and I did add several drops of Liquid Smoke to to the sauce, but that is just my taste. This is a fantastic recipe – easy and tasty. Put it on a low carb roll, or over mashed cauliflower, and have a bit of cole slaw on the side, and you’ll have a real treat! Now if Melissa would only come up with a low carb pecan pie to end the meal… ;)
Tracy says
Can you cook on low for 8 hours instead of high for 4 hours? Would like to put this on to cook while away at work.
movita beaucoup says
Awwwww, yah! This looks amazing!! AND EASY! Slow cookers are the bestest…
Mellissa Sevigny says
I know right? I don’t know why I don’t use mine more often! Now that the warmer weather is coming (it IS coming right? RIGHT???) it will go back into storage for another 5 months. Oh well – now I can GRILL ALL OF THE THINGS!!!!
Jen says
Oh man, I still use my crock pot in the summer! It doesn’t generate nearly as much heat in the kitchen as a real oven. :)
Melissa says
Can you sub guar gum for xanthan gum?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Absolutely!
Sarah @ Sarah Cooks the Books says
Love Southern food in a slow cooker! Thanks for this recipe.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Low and slow – it’s the best! :)
Lisa says
Hi,
Great recipe.l May I ask what is the purpose of using xantham gum?
I’m not familiar with this ingredient…
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hi Lisa! The xanthan gum acts as a thickener and gives the sauce that traditional thick texture of BBQ sauce that adheres to the meat. Usually you’d get that stickiness from all of the sugar in a sauce, but since this one has no sugar, the xanthan works perfectly as a substitute. You can omit it for sure, but instead of sauce it will be more like an au jus – still delicious though!
Betty says
And where do we find this?? With the spices
Carolyn says
It looks wonderful, Mellissa. My husband actually bought me a smoker for Xmas and the added flavour is awesome. But I would highly consider popping it into my slow cooker once it’s smoked!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Carolyn! It’s true that you can’t beat a smoker for flavor – especially in ribs which I much prefer smoked to any other method!!! For pulled pork though, the crock pot is a great alternative! I want to get a smoker this year too – then I’ll be experimenting with smoking my own fish and jerky! Yum! Can’t wait to see what you’ll be cooking up with it over at your place this summer! :)
McDonna says
This looks tantalizing! I’m assuming it would work equally well with its *beef* counterpart – Boston Butt? I try to steer clear of pork. Except bacon. Bacon is not pork. It’s bacon. LOL
ben says
Um, what? Boston butt *is* pork shoulder.
Dawn says
Melissa you are hysterical. I can’t wait to try this. Thank you
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Dawn, hope you like it! :)