By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on June 11, 2026
Serves 10
121 cal · 375 min
Slow Cooker Sweet Pork Barbacoa
Recipe GLPR727af9196d6183
Tender, fall-apart pork slow-cooked with aromatic spices, apple cider vinegar, and a touch of molasses and honey, creating a rich, complex barbacoa filling. Shredded and finished with a savory-sweet sauce, it's perfect served on warm tortillas with your favorite toppings.
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Ingredients
3 to 4 lb pork shoulder roast (skin on or off), cut into large chunks
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
4 bay leaves
1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons garlic powder
Chicken stock or broth (about 1 to 2 cups)
3/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 to 1/2 cup chili powder
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons salt (or more to taste)
10 8-inch flour or corn tortillas
Sour cream, for garnish (optional)
Fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish (optional)
Toppings: shredded cheese, lettuce, diced tomatoes, jalapeños, onion, or other desired toppings
Directions
Add the pork shoulder chunks, chopped onion, bay leaves, apple cider vinegar, and garlic powder to your slow cooker.
Pour in enough chicken stock or broth to come about one-quarter of the way up the side of the pork. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, until the pork is very tender and shreds easily with a fork.
Once the pork is cooked through, transfer the meat to a large saucepan. Using a slotted spoon or mesh sieve, carefully scoop the cooked onion pieces from the slow cooker and add them to the meat, discarding the bay leaves. Discard any remaining cooking liquid in the slow cooker or reserve it.
Pour approximately 1 cup of the cooking liquid from the slow cooker into the saucepan with the pork.
Add the tomato paste, salt, black pepper, chili powder, honey, molasses, lime juice, cumin, ground mustard, and ground cloves to the pork mixture. Stir everything together until well combined.
Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until all ingredients are heated through and flavors are melded, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Warm the tortillas in a dry skillet or over an open flame until pliable and lightly charred.
To serve, place a portion of the barbacoa onto each warm tortilla and top with your choice of cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, cilantro, and any other desired toppings. Serve immediately and enjoy.
Comments
This is a solid slow-cooker dish that checks most boxes for a Charlotte weeknight: pork shoulder is routinely under $3 per pound at every major chain here, the spice list is pantry-standard, and 375 minutes (6 hours 15 minutes active plus passive cooking time) is honest for braising a whole shoulder. Cost per serving lands around $2.50 to $3 before toppings and tortillas, driven entirely by the pork. The real limitation is that it needs 6+ unattended hours, so it's a weekend or very-planned-ahead recipe, not a weeknight scramble—and while it reheats beautifully, you're committed to serving it the same way three days running unless you freeze portions. For a family of four eating five servings at a meal, this works perfectly; for two people, the quantity demands either freezing half or eating barbacoa tacos five nights straight.
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