Pork · Slow cooker

Barry Lewis Dr Pepper Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Barry Lewis's overnight slow-cooker pulled pork uses Dr Pepper as the braising liquid for sweet caramelisation, finished with barbecue sauce and piled into a buttered crusty roll with coleslaw.

R By Richard · Adapted from Barry Lewis · Published 10 June 2026
👁 221.8k source views ❤️ 4.2k source likes
⏱Prep 15 min
🍲Slow cook 8 hr (Low) / 8 hr (High)
DR PEPPER SLOW COOKER PULLED PORK

Source video by Barry Lewis on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

Barry Lewis sets this up the night before. An onion is roughly chopped into the slow cooker as a base, then a pork shoulder joint (fat trimmed if you wish) is rubbed with Maldon smoked salt, garlic powder and black pepper and sat on top. About 400 ml of Dr Pepper is poured in, the lid goes on and it cooks overnight. In the morning the pork is lifted out, shredded with meat claws (forks work too), returned to the juices with the onions and about 250 g of barbecue sauce, then warmed through for around 30 minutes before serving in a buttered crusty roll with coleslaw.

Ingredients

Main
  • 1 wholeonion, peeled and roughly chopped
  • pork shoulder joint, fat trimmed if desired
  • Maldon smoked salt
  • garlic powder
  • black pepper, freshly ground
  • 400 mlDr Pepper
  • 250 gbarbecue sauce (add late)
To serve
  • crusty roll, sliced
  • butter
  • coleslaw

Method

  1. Peel and roughly chop the onion, then tip it into the base of the slow cooker to form a bed.

  2. Trim the fatty layer from the pork shoulder if you wish, or leave it on.

  3. Rub the pork shoulder all over with Maldon smoked salt, garlic powder and a good grind of black pepper on both sides.

  4. Sit the seasoned pork shoulder on top of the onions in the slow cooker.

  5. Pour about 400 ml of Dr Pepper over the pork.

  6. Put the lid on and slow cook on low overnight.

    ~480 min

  7. Lift the pork out onto a board and shred it using meat claws or two forks.

  8. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker with the Dr Pepper juices and onions, then stir through about 250 g of barbecue sauce (around half a bottle), tasting and adding a little more if you want more tang.

  9. Put the lid back on and warm through for about 30 minutes to let the flavours mingle.

    ~30 min

  10. Slice a crusty roll, butter it if you like, pile in the pulled pork using a slotted spoon and top with coleslaw before closing the lid of the roll.

Frequently asked

How much Dr Pepper goes in?
About 400 ml, poured over the seasoned pork shoulder before the lid goes on.
When do you add the barbecue sauce?
Not at the start. After the pork has cooked overnight and been shredded, stir about 250 g of barbecue sauce (around half a bottle) through the meat and juices, then warm through for 30 minutes.
Do you need meat claws to shred the pork?
No. Barry uses meat claws because he had a new pair to try, but he says two forks work just as well.
Do you have to trim the fat off the pork shoulder?
No, it is optional. Trimming makes it easier to peel off later, and the trimmed fat can be fried into pork scratchings if you want.
Extraction notes (transparency): Cook time stated only as 'overnight' (turned on at 12:30am, taken out in the morning) - estimated 8 hours from context. Settings switched from low to high partway through the warming step. Onion quantity (one onion stated, no weight), pork shoulder weight not stated, smoked salt / garlic powder / black pepper quantities not stated (sprinkled by hand). Servings not stated. Barbecue sauce brand not named on camera, just 'recommended by an American friend'.