Cider Brined Pulled Pork
On September 03, 2019 (Updated October 17, 2024)
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This salty, sweet apple Cider Brined Smoked Pulled Pork is made from pork shoulder that is brined then smoked and slow roasted to tender, fall-apart perfection.
Smoked Pulled Pork
One of the reasons that I fell so hard in love with my grill is because of how SIMPLE it is to cook dinner for my family. I am a mom of 3, and, to be honest, getting dinner on the table every night can be a pain in the butt. From deciding what to make, to grocery lists, to shopping trips, to the second shopping trip because you forgot stuff on the first trip, it can suck. The weekends have become my favorite time to cook outside with my family and meal prep for the upcoming week. My most favorite thing to do in bulk that we do over and over again on the weekends is pulled pork.
If you have followed along at Hey Grill, Hey for any amount of time you are probably aware of my pulled pork/ pulled pork leftovers obsession. I think it stems from the fact that pulled pork is so dang simple to make, it is one of the MOST inexpensive (always under $2.00/lb) cuts of meat, and there are leftovers for DAYSSSSS which means easier meal prep for me during the entire week.
If I maximize my grill space, then I can double this pulled pork recipe, portion into bags and freeze for future use. It is a life changer, truly, and helped me get over that “what am I cooking for dinner tonight” dilemma. Oh, and smoking pulled pork is completely to die for, so this recipe is a totally win-win.
Pulled Pork Brine
This pulled pork is brined in apple cider, making it completely and utterly delicious. The apple cider pulled pork brine perfectly accentuates the natural sweetness of the pork. The flavor is in every single bite of pork because not only is it brined from the outside, it is also INJECTED with the brine.
Prepare yourself, friends. This is your chance to play mad scientist and go all in with a giant syringe! It is so freaking fun. If you don’t have a meat injector, it would be worth buying one just for this recipe. Or don’t buy one and just enjoy the (still) amazingly delicious flavor from the brining process alone. This pulled pork is just so succulent and juicy and it is all from that tasty brine, so I love getting the flavor into the meat as much as I can.
How to Brine and Smoke Pulled Pork
So here’s the rundown of how I save money, time, and effort and still feed my family like they are legit royalty without me really trying very hard.
- Friday evening: Place the pork butts in the brine. Refrigerate.
- Saturday morning (7 AM): Pull the pork butts out of the brine, pat down with a paper towel, and inject with some of the brine liquid. Cover liberally with my Signature Sweet Rub (homemade or you can buy your own bottle). Place the butts on the smoker preheated to 225 degrees F. Bring 6 cups of the brine to a boil (to protect against cross contamination) and then refrigerate. Mop the butts once per hour with some of the reserved brine.
- Saturday morning (10 AM): Transfer the pork butts to disposable aluminum pans and fill the bottom of each with 1 cup of the reserved brine. At this point, you can return to the smoker and increase the heat to 250 degrees F, or you can place it in your oven at 250 degrees. If at any point during the day, your pork starts to look a little too dark for your liking, cover it tightly with heavy duty foil.
- Saturday afternoon (about 3 or 4 PM): Start checking your temperature. Always use an internal thermometer to check your pork butts. Aim for 195-200 degrees F. This can take anywhere from 6-9 hours after you place them in the foil pans . If your pork butts are done before dinner time, no problem! Just pull the whole foil wrapped tray and place it in a cooler with some towels to keep it hot!
- Saturday evening (10 minutes before chow time): It’s time to shred your pork. Pour the excess cooking liquid into a large measuring cup and set aside while you shred. You can use 2 forks, some Bear Paws (my personal favorite), or whatever you love to get that pork shredded and the extra fat/gristle removed and discarded. Once your pork is shredded, grab your cooking liquids. The fat should have risen to the top, so skim that off with a spoon or a fat separator, and drizzle some of the juices onto the pork to moisturize everything and make it extra yummy! Now serve as much as you want to your family!
Pulled Pork Recipes
I like to plan at least 2 meals for the upcoming week with pulled pork and freeze the rest for future meals. If you need inspiration for your pulled pork leftovers, look no further!
Pulled Pork Huevos Rancheros
The Smoky Cuban Sandwich
Loaded Baked Potatoes
Cider Brined Pulled Pork Recipe
Watch the video below, and let’s make some really good food! I’m all about helping you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a BBQ hero. Head on over to YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook for more behind the scenes action!
Cider Brined Pulled Pork
Video
Ingredients
- 1 bone-in pork shoulder or Boston butt 5-7 lbs
- 1/4 cup Signature Sweet Rub for seasoning the pork butt after the brine
- Buns and BBQ sauce for serving (if desired)
Cider Brine
- 6 cups apple cider
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 1/3 cup Signature Sweet Rub for use in the brine
Instructions
- In a large plastic container or food safe bucket, combine all of the brine ingredients and stir until the salt and sugar crystals have completely dissolved. Be sure the pork is almost fully immersed in the brine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, but no more than 12 hours.
- When ready to cook, start your smoker going at 225 degrees F and preheat, lid closed, for 10 to 15 minutes. While the grill gets up to temperature, remove the pork from the brine and set on a large cookie sheet with raised edges. Do not discard the brine liquid. Pat the meat dry with a paper towel. Using a meat injector, inject the pork with some of the remaining brine about every two inches across the entire roast. Pour about 6 cups of the remaining brine into a pot and bring to a boil to kill any raw pork germs and discard the rest.
- Now that the meat is brined and injected, it is time to rub. Rub the Sweet Rub liberally onto your pork butt, using your hands to massage the rub across every surface of the meat.
- Put the pork directly on your grill grate, fat-side up, and cook for 3 hours, mopping with your reserved brine every hour after the first hour.
- After 3 hours, the pork is going to have taken on as much smoke flavor as it can, so it is time to turn up the heat! Transfer your roast to a large disposable aluminum foil pan and pour about 1 cup of the brine liquid in the bottom of the pan. Increase your grill temperature to 250 degrees F, and cook for 6 to 8 additional hours, or until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat (but not touching bone) registers 195 to 200 degrees F. If the pork starts to brown too much, you can cover it loosely with aluminum foil. I usually put foil on after the pork has been on for 6 hours or so, but that is personal preference.
- Once your pork is up to temperature, remove it from the grill and carefully transfer it to a large cutting board or serving dish and let it rest for at least 20 minutes. Pour the juices from the bottom of the aluminum pan into a liquid measuring cup and separate any fat that rises to the top. Now it's time to pull the pork into lovely shreds. You can use your hands, Bear Paws, or whatever method you like Discard the bone and any lumps of fat, including the cap. Season the pulled pork with additional rub (if desired) and moisten with the reserved pork juice.
- Serve on buns with BBQ sauce, if you like! Freeze any leftovers in labeled gallon freezer bags. Will keep in the freezer for at least a month for your future use.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
**This post was originally published in November 2015. It has since been updated with more tips, but the recipe remains the same as the original**
Tried this recipe today and it is absolutely divine. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
I’m not seeing apple cider in my grocery stores, only the alcoholic stuff in the liquor stores (Canada). I assume you don’t mean for an alcoholic cider to be used in the brine? (I did see the earlier comments about subbing apple juice in but just wanted to clarify the alcohol part)
Thx for your site – this looks like a delicious recipe.
Apple cider has more spices added to it. If you can’t find apple cider, apple juice is a great alternative.
My nephew wants me to make Dr Pepper pulled pork yet I’m finding this bribe intriguing. Can you bribe it apple cider and then Add half a can of Dr Pepper to the bottom of a crockpot for sweetness?
I would take that bribe too. You can follow my Cherry Cola Pulled Pork recipe and substitute the cola for Dr Pepper
This recipe is AMAZING. I did one tweak though – I held it steady at 225 throughout (electric smoker), but did everything else as described. The results….no Thanksgiving leftovers. Next year, I’m smoking two pork butts.
On another note, love your site!
Do you have any suggestions on cooking without a smoker? I would love to use the brine and rub and cook the pulled pork recipe. Could I possibly use a slow cooker?
This recipe can easily be adapted for the crock pot! Just follow the steps for the brine and seasoning and put in a slow cooker with a couple cups of the brine liquid. Cook over low heat for 8-9 hours or high for 5 1/2 hours.
200 degrees is overcooking the pork…just saying
Maybe if you were cooking a loin or pork chop, but not for this cut.
Where is the slaw recipe ????????????
I just like to do a simple slaw recipe of cabbage mixed with BBQ sauce. You can find the recipe on this post. https://heygrillhey.com/carolina-style-pulled-pork/
Have made the apple brined pork three times now, unbelievable. Everyone loves it. Your sweet bbq rub works great for pork ribs. Using cherry pellets today and can’t wait.
Thanks so much for your comment!
this recipe looks fantastic. I’m making it to serve next weekend for family. Does it make any sense, have you had any experience on whether to leave them unshredded, freeze them, then reheat and shred? Or shred it and freeze it now, after having some ourselves?
I always shred and then freeze in a zip top bag, when I am ready to reheat I just place it in a pot of hot water to thaw. That way it doesn’t lose any of the juices.
Do you add the sweet rib into the brine also?
No, in the section above in the post I give step by step instructions for how to make this one. The rub will actually go on after it has brined.
I must have read the recipe wrong, I added the 1/3 cup of rub to the brine. The recipe said to mix all ingredients together and the rub was on e of the ingredients. Hope I didn’t mess up. Hope it still tastes ok. Some of what I pulled off the bottom of the foil pan was pretty salty.
Michael- I’ve put the rub in with the brine before and it was fantastic! No worries!
I made this the other night. Hands down, the best pulled pork I have ever made and possibly the best I’ve ever eaten. The brine is delicious. The only critique I could offer is to use the Texas crutch when the shoulder plateaus on temperature. Otherwise, very tasty and very easy to make!