Pork · Crockpot

Crockpot Pork Roast (Boston Butt)

Bakes Foods makes the case that a pork roast this tender only needs two ingredients: a Boston butt and a generous coating of seasoned salt. No liquid, no fuss, just a thick cut of meat, a lid, and eight to ten hours you don't have to think about.

R By Richard · Adapted from Bakes Foods · Published 23 July 2026
👁 418.5k source views ❤️ 6.4k source likes
⏱Prep 5 min
🍲Crockpot 9 hr (Low)
🍽Serves 6
How to make Tender Pork Roast in the Crock Pot (Boston Butt)

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

About as simple as crockpot cooking gets: season a pork shoulder (Boston butt) generously with seasoned salt, place it fat-side up in the crockpot with no added liquid at all, and let it cook for the best part of a day. The fat content in the cut does the work. From there it's a blank canvas: eat it plain, shred it into pulled pork with barbecue sauce, or add vegetables to the pot for a full one-pot dinner.

Ingredients

Main
  • 1.8 kgpork shoulder (Boston butt), left whole
  • seasoned salt (such as Lawry's)
Optional additions
  • onion, roughly chopped
  • garlic
  • diced tomato
  • potatoes, green beans and/or carrots, chunked
  • jalapeno
To serve
  • barbecue sauce (add late)

Method

  1. Coat the pork shoulder generously and thickly on all sides with seasoned salt (or your own blend of salt, pepper and garlic).

    ~5 min

  2. Place the pork into the crockpot with no added liquid, fat side facing up if there is a visible fat cap.

    ~2 min

  3. If using, scatter roughly chopped onion, garlic or a little diced tomato around the meat.

    ~3 min

  4. Cover and cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours, until completely fork-tender and pulling apart easily. Avoid poking or moving it too much near the end, it will start to fall apart on its own.

    ~540 min

  5. Shred with two forks, or slice, and serve. Stir through barbecue sauce for pulled pork, or serve plain with vegetables.

    ~5 min

Frequently asked

Do I need to add any liquid to the crockpot?
No. The core recipe uses no added liquid at all, the pork's own fat content keeps it moist and tender over the long, slow cook.
Can I add vegetables to cook alongside the pork?
Yes. Chunked potatoes, green beans or carrots are suggested for turning this into a full one-pot dinner, though they weren't used in the core filmed version.
How do I know when it's done?
It should be completely fork-tender and starting to pull apart on its own. Avoid prodding it too much near the end since it becomes fragile once it's fully cooked.
Can I turn this into pulled pork?
Yes. Once it's cooked, shred it with two forks and stir through barbecue sauce, per the channel.
Extraction notes (transparency): Cook time is given two ways on camera: the crockpot's timer was set to 8 hours, but the video later shows checking it at the '10-hour mark'. The 8-10 hour range here covers both. No liquid is added at all in the core recipe; onion, garlic, diced tomato, potatoes, green beans, carrots and jalapeno are all named as optional additions/variations rather than part of the base recipe, and are listed as optional ingredients here for that reason.