I love using my slow cooker and it’s one of the most versatile kitchen tools. Cooking meat in the slow cooker is fantastic because it always comes out tender. If you love a smoky heat and depths of flavor, you’ve got to make this Slow Cooker Chipotle Pork Butt that’s made with Blue Moon beer. Toss all of your seasoning around the meat, let the aroma fill your kitchen, and end up with perfect shredded pork that’s perfect for tacos, nachos or sandwiches.

Pork Butt is a cheaper meat, but that can be cooked so many ways. Using the slow cooker ensures the meat is falling off of the bone and it’s perfectly tender. You can cook it slow all day, if you’re away at work or cook it on high if you want it done in 4 hours. The end result is seriously flavorful shredded pork that you can use in numerous ways.

Typically, when you purchase a pork butt, it’s a nice size and feeds 6-8 people (sometimes more, if you buy a bigger one). So you’re getting a few meals from your shredded pork. Our family always starts with street tacos and then we get creative. The following dinner ideas might be Shredded Pork Nachos, Pork Stuffed Peppers or even Sloppy Pork Joe’s. I love that families can get multiple meals from this one recipe.

Want more great family dinner recipes? I love making quick and easy meals for my family and here are our favorites:

• Oven-Baked Baby Back Ribs
• Instant Pot Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork
• Original Forgotten Chicken Recipe

How To Make Slow Cooker Chipotle Pork Butt

Picking the right slow cooker makes a difference. You’ll want a larger 7-quart slow cooker that can hold larger meats, like pork butt. The pork butt size I used for this recipe was 5 pounds. You can use any size between 4-7lbs and still get plenty of flavor. By the time your pork is cooked, it’ll fall off of the bone very easily to shred.

What Type Of Seasoning Is Used For Maximum Flavor

You start with a bare pork butt and add seasoning around on top and around it. This Chipotle Pork Butt is topped with Mexican Chipotle Chili Powder, Oregano, Cumin, Salt, Orange Zest, Orange Juice, Onion and Quartered Oranges. To finish, you’ll dump a bottle of Blue Moon beer on top of it. 

Blue Moon has a subtle citrus and sweetness to it. There’s also a hint of spiciness from the coriander that they use when brewing it. It’s a lighter beer and many people pair it with an orange wedge when drinking it.

The beer helps to tenderize the pork butt and it adds flavor, complimenting the orange. Together, it creates a huge depth of flavor that’s full of citrus and such tender meat.

What To Serve With Shredded Chipotle Pork Butt

You’ll end up with tons of shredded pork that’s so versatile to use. Our family eats off of one pork butt, as a family of 5, for several nights. So consider cooking the meat on Sunday to enjoy easy weeknight dinners throughout the week. Check out some of our favorite ideas:

• Shredded Pork Nachos: Top a bed of tortilla chips with pork, melt cheese and add all the toppings!
• Pork Stuffed Peppers: Hollow out sweet red peppers, stuff with hispanic rice and pork, then melt cheese on top!
• Sloppy Pork Joe’s: Put chipotle pork between two buns, melt cheese and drizzle with chipotle mayonnaise.

How Long Does Chipotle Pork Butt Last After Cooking?

Keep your pork butt fresh by storing it in an airtight food storage container after it’s cooled. Make sure it’s refrigerated. You can reheat individual portions in the microwave or the oven. Your pork is good to eat off of for 6-7 days before tossing. Since making a whole pork butt feeds many people, make sure you have creative plans to use it.

Can You Freeze Chipotle Pork Butt?

You can freeze your pork butt meat after cooking it. Add it to a freezer bag and you can freeze it for up to 4 months. Let it thaw in the refrigerator for several hours before reheating. I prepped some Chipotle Pork Butt during my third trimester and enjoyed it after my third son was born. It was so convenient to have meat ready to enjoy.

How To Discard Leftover Juices After Cooking

Once your Pork Butt is finished, you’ll have a lot of leftover juice (or liquid). You’ll use 1/4 cup to spread back over the top of the pork before it broils. However, the liquid is full of fat and I do not recommend pouring it down your kitchen drains. You can transfer it to an empty coffee canister and let it solidify before tossing in the trash. Or I’ve poured it into our garden. Just avoid pouring it in your drains.

What You’ll Need From The Grocery Store:

• 4-6lb Pork Butt
• Onions
• Chipotle Chili Powder
• Oregano
• Cumin
• Salt
• Oranges
• Blue Moon Wheat Beer

Step-By-Step Directions To Make Chipotle Pork Butt

Place the whole Pork Butt into the slow cooker. Add onion, chipotle chili powder, oregano, cumin and salt over the top of the pork.

Zest an entire orange over the Pork Butt and add the juice of the whole orange. Quarter another orange and add the pieces around the outside of Pork Butt.

Slowly pour the beer into the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker and turn it on LOW fo 7-8 hours OR HIGH for 4 hours.

Once it’s finished, Set oven to broil on HIGH. Transfer all of the pork to a sheet pan. Use two forks to pull it and shred it into pieces. Spread it over the entire sheet pan.

Measure out 1/4 cup of liquid from the slow cooker and sprinkle it over the pork. 

Transfer it to the middle of the oven and broil for 5-6 minutes until the pork gets nice crisp edges. 

Serve immediately. I suggest making street tacos with warm tortillas, queso fresco cheese, cilantro and red onion.