This easy weeknight dinner starts with a big pork shoulder slow-cooked in root beer until melt-in-your-mouth tender, then completely drained and tossed with your favorite BBQ sauce for the juiciest, most flavorful pork sammies. They’re kid-approved, crowd-friendly, and a total lifesaver on busy nights. Just pile onto warm buns and top with hot pickles, horseradish, or hot sauce for the perfect sweet-meets-spicy bite!

Ingredients
Pork
- 8–10 lb pork shoulder (or pork butt)
- 3–3½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1½–2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1½–2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1½–2 teaspoons onion powder
Liquid
- 1 (2-liter) bottle of root beer
(pour into crockpot until roast is almost fully covered)
Finish
- 2–3 cups favorite BBQ sauce
To Serve
- Slider or sandwich buns
- Hot pickles
- Horseradish
- Hot sauce
- Serve with Dilly Butter Glazed Carrots
Instructions
- Pat pork dry and season generously on all sides with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.
- Place roast in crockpot and pour root beer around it until it’s almost fully covered.
- Cover and cook 10–12 hours on LOW until the pork is fall-apart tender.
- Optional: Flip the roast halfway through and spoon some cooking liquid on top.
- Remove pork from crockpot and drain ALL liquid completely.
- Shred pork with two forks, removing large fat pieces.
- Transfer shredded pork to a large mixing bowl, add BBQ sauce, toss well, then return to crockpot on Warm.
- Serve with a slotted spoon on buns and top with hot pickles, horseradish or hot sauce.
Notes
- Fully draining before adding BBQ sauce prevents soggy sandwiches.
- Root beer adds sweetness; spicy toppings balance it beautifully.
- This makes a large amount—great for leftovers and freezing.






🍔 Easy Weeknight Crockpot BBQ Pork Sammies (8–10 lb Roast)
This easy weeknight dinner starts with a big pork shoulder slow-cooked in root beer until melt-in-your-mouth tender, then completely drained and tossed with your favorite BBQ sauce for the juiciest, most flavorful pork sammies. They’re kid-approved, crowd-friendly, and a total lifesaver on busy nights. Just pile onto warm buns and top with hot pickles, horseradish, or hot sauce for the perfect sweet-meets-spicy bite!
Ingredients
Method
- Instructions
- Pat pork dry and season generously on all sides with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.
- Place roast in crockpot and pour root beer around it until it’s almost fully covered.
- Cover and cook 10–12 hours on LOW until the pork is fall-apart tender.
- Optional: Flip the roast halfway through and spoon some cooking liquid on top.
- Remove pork from crockpot and drain ALL liquid completely.
- Shred pork with two forks, removing large fat pieces.
- Transfer shredded pork to a large mixing bowl, add BBQ sauce, toss well, then return to crockpot on Warm.
- Serve with a slotted spoon on buns and top with hot pickles, horseradish or hot sauce.
Notes
- Fully draining before adding BBQ sauce prevents soggy sandwiches.
- Root beer adds sweetness; spicy toppings balance it beautifully.
- This makes a large amount—great for leftovers and freezing.

