Slow Cooker Pulled Pork with Garlic & Thyme

Three pounds of pork. Goose fat. A slow cooker and time. That’s the whole thing.

Why You’ll Love This Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Comes out impossibly soft. Like, falls apart when you touch it. Takes less than two hours active time and doesn’t need a grill.

Works for the actual weeknight — comfort food that fits into real life, not some weekend project. Make it Sunday, use it all week. Refrigerated, it keeps three weeks easy.

The fat stays on top. You pull what you need, reheat it in a low oven, and the rest just sits there protected under a layer of goose fat. Not a technique people use anymore. Should though.

Tastes like you spent all day on it. Mediterranean flavors — thyme, bay, cloves — just working into the meat without you doing much. And honestly, once it’s in the slow cooker, you’re not really doing anything.

What You Need for Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Two pork filets. Split them into two or three pieces so they cook even. Goose fat — this is the one thing that actually matters. Olive oil doesn’t work the same way. Rendered, so you’re not cooking with water.

Garlic cloves. Six of them, halved. Salt — coarse salt holds better than fine. You need eighteen grams. Thyme. Four sprigs fresh. Dried won’t hit the same way.

Porcini powder. Not optional. Fifteen milliliters of whatever blend you use — this one’s porcini-based. Five whole cloves. Two bay leaves. Ten black peppercorns. That’s it. Everything works together.

How to Make Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Take your pork pieces. Lay them flat in a shallow dish. Grab a garlic clove half and rub the surface hard — you’re roughing it up, not being gentle about it. The meat should feel abraded.

Strip the leaves from two thyme sprigs. Mix them with the coarse salt. Now massage this into the pork. Really work it in. This is your cure starting.

Wrap the whole thing in plastic. Tight. Refrigerate for three and a half hours. Not three. Not four. Three and a half. Shorter than that and it tastes like raw meat with salt on it. Longer and it gets stringy and dry.

After the time’s up, drain off whatever liquid pooled in the dish. Blot the pork with paper towels — dry surface matters.

Put your goose fat in a heavy pan. Low heat. You’re melting it, not heating it. No smoke. Just melted fat waiting in the pan. This takes maybe five minutes.

Add the pork pieces. Add the remaining thyme sprigs. Add the porcini powder, the halved garlic cloves, the whole cloves, both bay leaves, and the peppercorns. The pork has to be completely covered in fat. Not sitting on top. Under.

How to Cook Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Until It’s Perfect

Bring the whole thing to a simmer. Barely. Tiny bubbles at the edges, not a rolling boil that means you’re destroying the meat. One hour and forty-five minutes. Stir it once or twice — you’ll hear a gentle crackle and this soft fat sound. That sound means it’s working.

Around the ninety-minute mark, poke a piece with a fork. It should pull apart with just a little resistance. Not crumbling. Not firm. Somewhere between.

Pull it out with a slotted spoon. Put it in a bowl. Let it cool a bit.

Strain the fat through a fine mesh strainer. Get all the herbs and spices out. The fat will still be warm and liquid. That’s good — you need it that way.

Get a sterilized jar. Mason jar works. Pour the warm fat over the pork until everything’s covered. Nothing touching air. Cool it at room temperature until the fat solidifies on top, then refrigerate it.

It’ll keep like this for weeks. When you want some, pull out what you need, discard the surface fat layer if it’s thick or grayish, and reheat it low — 250 to 265 degrees — covered, until it’s warm and soft again. Ten minutes usually.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tips and Common Mistakes

Don’t skip the salt cure. It changes everything. The texture becomes different — less dense.

Goose fat is the move. Rendered chicken fat works if you have it. Olive oil doesn’t. It doesn’t have the same staying power, and the fat oxidizes wrong.

Check the pork around the seventy-minute mark. Sometimes it’s done early. Sometimes it needs the full time. Depends on thickness. Fork test is the only thing that matters.

If the surface fat turns grayish or thick, that’s oxidation from air exposure. Discard it. It tastes stale. The pork underneath is usually fine.

Reheat it covered. Uncovered means it dries out. Low and slow. Not high and fast.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork with Garlic & Thyme

By Emma

Prep:

25 min

Cook:

1h 30min

Total:

2h 0min

Servings:

8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 pork filets divided in 2–3 pieces
• 6 garlic cloves halved
• 18 g coarse salt
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 700 g rendered goose fat
• 15 ml porcini powder marinade spice blend
• 5 whole cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 10 whole black peppercorns

Method

1. 1 Arrange pork pieces in shallow dish. Rub surface vigorously with a garlic clove half.
2. 2 Combine salt with leaves from 2 thyme sprigs. Massage this salt-herb mix into pork outside.
3. 3 Wrap tightly with plastic wrap, refrigerate 3 ½ hours. Too short leaves it bland; over 4 hours dries out.
4. 4 Drain marinade juice and blot pork dry.
5. 5 Heat goose fat slowly in heavy pan over very low heat till melted but not smoking.
6. 6 Add pork, remaining thyme, porcini marinade spices, garlic cloves, whole cloves, bay leaves, peppercorns. Pork must be submerged completely.
7. 7 Bring fat just to a low simmer—tiny bubbles at edge not rolling boil. Cook gently ~1¾ hours. Stir occasionally; listen for gentle crackle and fat sound.
8. 8 Check tenderness by poking pork with fork; should pull apart easily with slight resistance.
9. 9 Use slotted spoon, transfer pork to bowl.
10. 10 Strain fat through fine mesh to remove herbs/spices; let cool but remain liquid.
11. 11 Place pork in sterilized jar (Mason or equivalent). Pour warm filtered fat over until fully covered.
12. 12 Cool jar at room temperature until solid, then refrigerate.
13. 13 Before serving, remove pork, discard hardened surface fat layer if thick or grayish.
14. 14 Reheat pork in low oven (120–130C/250–265F), covered, until warmed through and soft.
15. 15 Shred meat with forks and pile on mesclun greens. Drizzle with decent olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Nutritional information

Calories

620

Protein

35g

Carbs

1g

Fat

58g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Can I use a regular slow cooker instead of cooking it on the stovetop? Honestly? The stovetop version works better. You can do slow cooker pulled pork, but you won’t get the same control over the temperature. It’ll still pull apart, just takes longer and tastes less defined. Try it if you want, but the fat temperature matters too much here.

What if I don’t have goose fat? Rendered duck fat works. Chicken fat if you have it. Olive oil is a different dish — not worse, just different. The point of the fat is preservation and texture. Oil doesn’t give you that shelf life.

How long does it keep in the fridge? Three weeks minimum if it’s covered in solid fat. The fat seals it off. After that, oxidation starts happening on top. You’ll see it turn color. Discard that layer and the pork underneath is probably still okay.

Can I make this without the porcini powder? Probably, yeah. It won’t taste exactly the same. The umami’s doing something. Could use mushroom powder instead. Or skip it entirely — thyme and bay are doing heavy work on their own.

What temperature should the fat be when I add the pork? Melted but not hot. You want it warm enough that it stays liquid, but you’re not cooking the pork fast. Low heat. No hurry. If it’s smoking or even steaming, it’s too hot.

Do I have to use pork filets? Filets work because they cook evenly. Pork shoulder would work too but takes longer. Pork loin gets stringy. Filets are the right cut for this method. Stick with it.

Can I reheat it on the stovetop instead of the oven? Sure. Low heat, covered pan, watch it so it doesn’t dry out. The oven’s easier because it’s gentle and even. But stovetop works if you’re patient.

Why does the recipe say exactly three and a half hours for the cure? Because that’s the window. Three hours isn’t enough — the salt hasn’t fully worked. Four hours starts drying it out. Three and a half is where the texture turns right. Not a hard rule, but close.