Pork Butt Brining

[good eats]

The last 3 or 4 pork butts that I've cooked on my Timberline grill, I've brined for 24 hours prior to cooking, using a brine recipe incorporating apple juice, lemon and orang slices and some other stuff that I found in the Traeger Youtube video recipes for pulled pork. My question is, do you all think that brining makes a significant difference in the finished pulled pork? Is it worth the time and effort?

 

[traeger860]

For me, it's not worth the extra time and cleanup. I just use a binder and a rub.

 

[Murphy's Law]

I have never brined a pork butt for pulled pork.

 

[Shedd]

I’ve cooked hundreds of butts, never brined one. They have plenty of fat content to keep them moist and rub and smoke for flavor. However I’m from SC and I slather mine in mustard base bbq sauce mostly. I got a friend that has brined them when he’s wanting something like Kalua Pork , more sweet than smoky.

 

[RayClem]

Brining or a marinade works quite well on protein that has a low fat content and needs to be cooked beyond medium rare for safety. Chicken, turkey and pork chops are prime candidates. A chuck roast and a pork shoulder have sufficient fat and are often cooked long enough to fully render the fat and connective tissue. Thus, they do not benefit a much from brine as the cuts with lower fat content. There is certainly nothing wrong with using brine or marinade, but it is not normally required. Since something like an eye round roast is quite lean, a brine or marinade might be helpful.

 

[Clint62]

I'm making my first one for Moms day and was wondering about brining. Glad I can bypass it!

 

[Shedd]

I'm making my first one for Moms day and was wondering about brining. Glad I can bypass it!

If it’s a bone in butt (Boston Butt) you don’t need to brine it. Just allow yourself plenty of time for it to cook to temp and at least a couple hours wrapped in foil and in a cooler. We’ve been noticing that depending on the source of the meat the stall times vary a good bit. My friends and I usually get our butts and ribs from a local meat processor that uses local hogs. Then when we catch a deal at the grocery store we can tell a big difference. I cooked two butts about 9 lbs each that was from a grocery store that had “Swift” on the label. They cooked for a little over 15 hours where the local meat would have been 12. That added 3 hours would mess up plans had I been short on time thinking they would cook in 12. Since I’m self employed and semi retired I’ve gotten to where I cook a day or two ahead. I put it in vac bags then heat up using Sous Vide. So much easier and stress free. Good luck with the Mothers Day meal, hope everything is a hit! My mom requested my burgers so I’m lucky.

 

[Clint62]

Mine is from a lowly supermarket I'll just start it wayy ahead of time

 

[RayClem]

The nice thing about pulled pork is that is freezes and reheats exceptionally well. Thus, you can cook it days or weeks in advance, I divide the meat into meal size portions, seal it in vacuum bags, and then reheat it in a Sous Vide circulator, but a pot of hot water would also work. Because pulled pork is usually cooked to around 205 F +/-, you cannot overcook it when you reheat it. If you are not feeding a crowd large enough to consume everything at one sitting, freeze the remainder and enjoy it in the weeks to come.

 

[good eats]

The nice thing about pulled pork is that is freezes and reheats exceptionally well. Thus, you can cook it days or weeks in advance, I divide the meat into meal size portions, seal it in vacuum bags, and then reheat it in a Sous Vide circulator, but a pot of hot water would also work. Because pulled pork is usually cooked to around 205 F +/-, you cannot overcook it when you reheat it. If you are not feeding a crowd large enough to consume everything at one sitting, freeze the remainder and enjoy it in the weeks to come.

Thanks Ray, I do the same thing. I put it in food saver vac bags and use the sous vide to warm it up. I use the sous vide a lot.

 

[Russells]

I brine every time and everyone likes it. As others have said, it’s optional.