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**
This is great! I’ve tried basic apple cider brines before and it never did much for my butts. However when I saw you’re Apple Cider Brined recipe, I knew it was going to be different (I never thought of the vinegar), and I was right! All I had to do was follow someone else’s recipe for a change. I even injected after I brined for about 12 hours. No alterations….no tweaks…..just followed your directions. It was my best butt yet! The only thing I’ll do differently next time, is extend my brine times a little. Hey, that’s a big hunk of meat to have to penetrate.This recipe is wife approved too!
This turned out great, we had pulled pork tacos! Definitely going to keep this as my standard recipe for pulled pork from now on, thanks!
Am I using mustard before the rub as a sticking agent or will the moisture in the meat from the brine suffice?
Mustard not required!
Hi. What if I can only get pork shoulder WITHOUT the bone? Costco sells it without the bone and I usually tie it before I throw it on the grill. Can I still brine boneless pork shoulder? Or since there is more surface area for the brine to touch it will over-brine? Or should I cut down on brine time, or alter the brine recipe?Thank you.
Boneless will work perfectly fine!
Could I use a pork loin instead of shoulder? That’s what I have in my freezer. Sounds delicious!
Loin is generally too lean for pulled pork. It works fair, but not great.
I used your brine and injected it with Tony’s injection into the pork loin. When done I sliced it about 1/2 inch or thicker, then covered it with frozen peach slices, wrapped it in foil, and allowed it to rest on the warm grill. It turned out awesome.
Awesome brine, I also use this same brine when I smoke my ribs. They turn out delicious!
This has been my go-to for pulled pork. My family as a whole loves it, even the ones who aren’t all that into BBQ. Recently I did one minor twist – I used Honeycrisp Apple Cider instead of regular apple cider … oh man, it leveled up! Added a nice additional sweetness to the pork!I tell anyone who will listen about your site – I’ve tried 3-4 recipes and they’ve all been great!
Yes, I use the raw honeycrisp apple cider too, and it is wonderful.
Made this for the first time this past Easter weekend and it was a hit! Turned out super moist and very flavorful. I did make a few adjustments to the recipe though, cutting the vinegar amount in half, using Meatchurch Honey Hog rub instead of the Hey Grill Sweet Rub and finally, adding a bacon weave on top. Turned out awesome
I made this once before and it was the most incredible pulled pork I’ve ever had and I make a lot of Hawaiian style pulled pork but this is the best!Aloha Kona Jimmy
Can I brine a pork shoulder roast and then freeze it to be slow-cooked at a later date?
Absolutely. Just make sure (as with any meat) you should not freeze and thaw meat more than once. The flavor could be too over the top with freezing it though, you only want to brine for a set amount of time or it can over power the pork. Freezing it will stop the brine process or at least significantly slow it, but when you go to thaw it, it’s going to take up to a couple days possibly, to thaw again…. meaning your pork will undergo a second amount of marinating… I like bold flavors so I’d probably try it… Maybe if you do try it, cut all the ingredients in half but keep the same amount of water. Less concentrated