A new slow cooker recipe! This recipe idea stems from a sandwich I recently devoured at a new local restaurant. We had heard good things about the place, so we popped in one evening to check it out. After scanning the menu, I noticed that they had a french dip sandwich made with shredded pork. I was like, ooh! That’s different. So of course I ordered it, and I’m SO glad I did! It was awesome – and totally inspired me to create my version of slow cooker shredded pork french dip sandwiches at home!
Side note : this restaurant is officially the home of my FAVORITE (favorite. favorite. favorite.) fried chicken sandwich, as I discovered upon a return visit. Now I can’t wait to go back and try, like, EVERYTHING on their menu. And then attempt to recreate it all at home. 🙂
[Just for the record, I have already attempted to replicate the fried chicken sandwich. Said attempt did not go well.]
The slow cooker shredded pork french dip sandwiches, however, turned out just like I wanted! It’s another one of those quick, easy, slow cooker recipes. Set it in the morning, come home to it after work, and your delicious dinner is nearly served for you. Don’t you just LOVE those kinds of recipes?
I truly do not take advantage of them enough.
My version of french dip sandwiches starts with pork shoulder. If you want to use pork loin, please do. It’s leaner than the shoulder, but still delicious. I use it in my pork carnitas tacos, and THAT recipe will always be one of my favorites, too. Pork shoulder will give you a bit more fat, which of course directly translates to more flavor, so we went that route for this recipe!
For this recipe, it’s a very similar (and simple) process as the pork carnitas tacos. Wash and dry the pork, then season it with a few spices. Place the pork in the slow cooker, add liquids and herbs, then leave it to cook. I REALLY don’t know how it gets any easier.
If you want to send these sandwiches over the top, you’ve got to broil the provolone cheese. The bubbly, browning cheese not only makes them look incredible, but it only enhances the amazing flavor of the sandwich. Plus, I can’t get enough of cheese that looks like this. (Can you tell?) I seriously stare through the glass on the oven door and watch the cheese bubble. Is that normal? Maybe I should have kept that little gem to myself.
I’ve made this recipe half a dozen times now, and I normally use fresh garlic and onion. However, I simplified this version and just used seasonings. Because when it comes to slow cooker recipes, I do like to keep things simple. Plus, this way it offers a no-frills au jus that comes directly out of the slow cooker. So easy!
I plan on using my leftover shredded pork for fried rice soon, so be sure to check back for that one. 🙂 Oh – and you can always click here to save this to pinterest for later! Don’t forget to follow me on pinterest for all the other drool-worthy recipes I pin!
*this recipe was enhanced on 5.27.20*
for the original recipe, please email me!
slow cooker shredded pork french dip sandwiches
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. pork shoulder (or pork top loin for lean cut)*
- 1 tbsp. light brown sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. mustard powder
- 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 cups beer
- 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. worcestershire
- 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 slices provolone cheese or a couple of extra slices if you want it really cheesy!
- 4 bakery buns use egg buns, hoagies, or your preference
Instructions
- Set the slow cooker on "low". Whisk together seasonings (brown sugar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, smoked paprika, and pepper) in a small bowl.
- Rinse the pork shoulder (or loin)* in cold water, then dry off completely. Rub the combined seasonings over every surface of the pork, coating all sides. Place seasoned pork directly into slow cooker.
- Pour beer, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire, and soy sauce into the slow cooker. Add bay leaf and fresh thyme sprigs, too.
- Cover and cook for 7 hours. Remove lid from slow cooker, and shred the pork. Turn heat to "keep warm", and allow the shredded pork to absorb some of the liquids for thirty minutes.
- Divide shredded pork into desired serving sizes (at least one cup each). Place each portion on a greased baking sheet (or a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat), and form the shredded pork to fit your bread (circular to fit a bun, oval if you're using a hoagie). Cover pork with provolone cheese. Broil on low for a few minutes, until cheese is browning and bubbling.
- Stir beef broth and water into the liquids in the slow cooker to make the au jus. Keep warm for serving.
- Remove from oven and use a large spatula to transfer each pile of pork directly onto the bottom buns. Serve hot with remaining liquids as au jus on the side.
Notes
Tried this recipe?
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Comments & Reviews
This is to die for! Soooo yummy! I added more heat and I didn’t use beer. I used beef broth. My family and loved it!
SO happy that you and your family enjoyed these, Linda!! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment – and I love your beef broth swap for beer! That’s perfect!
We made this recipe yesterday. While the pork certainly was tender, it had NO flavor. Putting a rub on meat and immediately cooking it means that the rub had NO time to instill the flavors into the meat. I will be tweaking this recipe to get more flavor.
Hi Kate! It’s unfortunate that this one didn’t live up to your standards. This is really meant to be a “dump and go” type of recipe without a lot of fuss (searing / resting / cooking / etc.). Because it skips a lot of steps, I can see where you think the flavor may be lacking. Most recipes accumulate flavor as they’re being cooked, (adding salt, resting the meat, searing the meat, adding more seasonings to taste, etc.), but considering this one is an easy hands-off recipe, that wasn’t what I was trying to achieve with it.
The seasonings infuse into the liquid that the pork cooks in, and then lightly infuse into the tender pork towards the end of the recipe. These liquids eventually become the au jus, which is full of flavor and served with the sandwiches, so it’s a key component to the entire recipe (instead of just serving the pork alone).
I recommend shredding the pork and letting it rest in the liquid (au jus) for 30 minutes before you top it with cheese and place it under the broiler. This step (step 4) is very important, as it infuses the flavor from the au jus into the pork. This recipe has been a favorite for many people and I’ve tested it quite a few times, so I definitely want to help you be successful next time!
On that note, since you’re looking to tweak it to fit your tastes, there’s some great ways to amplify the flavor. To start, I recommend searing the pork on all sides before putting it into the slow cooker. This helps the pork retain moisture and flavor as it cooks! Secondly, you could season the pork and let it cook by itself in the slow cooker before adding the liquids (similar to my Slow Cooker French Dip Sliders recipe here!), so the seasonings cook into the pork before being submerged in liquid. Or as a final suggestion, you could certainly spread the shredded pork out across a rimmed baking sheet and broil it on low for a few minutes before shaping it and adding cheese. This would add some texture and flavor to the pork, as well.
I hope these tweaks help if you come back to read them, or I hope they help anyone else in the future! Thanks 🙂
I’ll even go one step further, since it’s what we do to our au jus crock-pot recipes. MORE than 30 minutes in the au jus to let that flavor really cook into the meat. Like a couple of hours more, at least, on low…once it’s shredded, just dump it all right back into the juice & let it continue simmering on Low.
You end up with a meat that is so much more flavorful. At least with Beef. We’ll see about Pork (which we’re trying for the first time today).
Love this. Don’t know that I would include the beer in the recipe next time. I love au jus, don’t like the taste the beer added to the flavor.
I’m so glad you liked it, Scott! And I REALLY appreciate your input from your first comment! The pork will benefit a ton from resting in the au jus for more than 30 minutes, and I’m really glad you said that. I totally respect your point on the beer – I personally love the taste of beer, so I think I’m biased – but leaving it out is definitely an option if you prefer. If you make it again without the beer, I would love to know what you think!! Thank you again!
Some adjustments made during the cooking process: I used a local farm-raised pork loin–I can’t say that was exactly 4 lbs (I doubled the recipe), but it was probably close. Didn’t have beer, so used chicken broth and an extra tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. I was distracted by a crying child and added the beef broth in during the initial cooking instead of at the end. Whoops!
That said, I think the results were still pretty true to the recipe, and so so so so so so good! The whole family loved it, and my husband was deliriously happy. I can’t understand what the other reviewer was saying about lack of flavor. Even without the au jus, the pork was flavorful, tender, and delicious. With the au jus, it was incredible. We like our food flavorful, usually dial up the spices in any given recipe, but this was delicious as is. We’re definitely adding this recipe to our family collection.
Thank you for taking the time to leave such an amazing comment, Amanda!! I’m SO glad you and your family loved this recipe, and am thrilled that it will be going into your family collection! Chicken broth and apple cider vinegar are a perfect substitution for beer, and cooking it in the beef broth the whole time is totally great, too! Thank you again for making it!