Manor Vail Lodge and Resort in Vail, Colorado has shared their recipe for their pork butt brine. It makes the most melt in your mouth, tender, remarkable tasting pulled pork. This brine recipe for pork shoulder makes a mean pulled pork sandwich, without using a smoker.
This post was first published in 2009 and updated with step by step instructions August 2021.
A couple of weekends ago we attended a large outdoor party a birthday celebration. Our host Greg uncovered a large tray of the most delicious looking pulled pork.
Not only did it look scrumptious, it was scrumptious. The most melt in your mouth, tender, wonderful tasting pulled pork that I have ever had. So full of many different flavors. Being the opportunistic foodie that I am, I asked for the recipe.
Greg is in the hotel management business. It seems he was in Vail visiting one of their properties, the Manor Vail Lodge Resort. He mentioned to the chef about cooking for Connor’s birthday party crowd and this recipe was offered up.
This pork butt brine to make pulled pork is compliments Executive Chef, Richard Bailey, at Manor Vail Lodge Resort in Vail. I did get permission from Chef Bailey to reprint this recipe and share it all with you. Thank you Chef Bailey.
Creating Brine For Pork Shoulder
In order to cook the best pulled pork, it’s essential to have an excellent pork butt brine recipe. Which means to plan a couple days in advance. A day for the for the brine time, and a 10 hour slow roast time.
Both of these steps will create a pork roast where the meat literally falls apart and with with divine flavor
What’s The Best Pork For Pulled Pork?
To make the best pulled pork, purchase a whole pork shoulder. A whole pork shoulder is a relatively tough piece of meat and it’s inexpensive and can be purchased for about $3 – $4 per pound.
Pork shoulder comes layered with fat and can be labeled pork butt or Boston butt. It can be sold bone in or boneless and you’ll also find it cut into smaller pieces that weigh about 5 pounds each.
This brine for pork shoulder recipe is for using 10 pounds of pork butt shoulder roast. You can easily half this recipe if you purchase a 5 pound roast.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Pork Shoulder Brine:
- Water, 2 gallons
- Brown sugar, 2 cups, Sugar has little to no effect on the texture of the meat, it simply adds a sweet flavor
- Coarse Kosher Salt, 1 Cup, Kosher salt is preferred for brining because of its purity and pure salt flavor. Either Morton and Diamond Crystal are recommended.
- Black pepper, 12 Tablespoons, or 6 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
- Cinnamon sticks, 6
- Sage, 8 teaspoons
- Carrots, 2
- Onion, 1
- Celery, 2 stalks
- Bay leaves, 8
- Oranges, 2
- Limes, 2
- Lemons, 2
- Pork shoulder roast, 10 pounds
How To Make This Pork Butt Brine
- Step 1: Place the brine ingredients in a large soup pot. I used my canning pot. Bring the brine mixture to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let stand until liquid is at room temperature. It will take about an hour and a half to come to room temperature.
- Step 2: When the brine has cooled, add the pork shoulder. Refrigerate and let cure in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- Step 3: Cook the pork. The next morning preheat oven to 225 degrees. Ladle about four cups of the brine solution in the bottom of a roaster pan to create a flavorful steam bath. I use my turkey roaster pan.
- Remove the roast from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. At this point, you can season the roast with a rub mixture. I usually don’t.
- Step 4: Heat a large fry pan over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add about two tablespoons of canola oil. Sear the roast, or roasts on each side, about 5 minutes per side.
- Place the seared brined pork shoulder on roasting rack, cover the entire pan with heavy duty aluminum foil and bake 10 hours.
- Step 5: Once the pork roast is cooked, remove to a large cutting board. Using two forks, shred meat as soon as it is cool enough to touch. Now you’re ready to devour that brined pulled pork meat.
FAQs, Brine For Pork Shoulder
Hands down, a pork shoulder roast. It’s ideal for pulling pork. It has an optimum fat content to produce tender, fall apart pork. It’s important to cook it low and slow for the protein to break down properly.
Absolutely. Just store portions in a freezer safe container. Zip Lock freezer bags, or a vacuum sealer work good because you can press the air out of the container before freezing. This will prevent freezer burn.
If you don’t have a skillet large enough to easily sear that pork roast, fire up that grill. Just heat it to 450 degrees, pat the pork roast dry, add some dry rub or seasoning (if using) and use the grill to sear each side of the pork shoulder. It will save you from kitchen cleanup and you won’t have to deal with the smoke from the stove-top sear. Then place it in your roasting pan and finish in the oven at 225 degrees for 10 hours.
Once it’s all said and done and the fat renders and the bone is removed, a 10 pound pork roast will yield about 6 pounds of finished meat. And serve about 18 people.
Ways to Serve Pulled Pork
Now that you’ve got all of this tender pulled pork meat, here are some ways to use it other than the popular pulled pork sandwich.
- Pulled Pork Tacos, add some shredded pulled pork to a warmed corn tortilla. Top with some pickled onions and a drizzle of Jalapeno Aioli.
- Pulled Pork Enchiladas, Make some enchilada sauce, fry and dip corn tortillas and roll into a casserole dish. Top with a healthy amount of shredded cheese for easy enchiladas.
- Pulled Pork Burrito. Warm a flour tortilla, add some warm shredded pulled pork, warm black beans and a slice of avocado. Try a drizzle of Chipotle Peach Salsa with this burrito.
- Pulled Pork Nachos: Grab some tortilla chips and top with grated cheese and pulled pork. Bake until cheese has melted and pork is warm. Top with sliced sweet onions, sliced black olives, some salsa and a drizzle of Mexican crema.
- How To Eat Pulled Pork Without Bread? Add the shredded meat on top of a tossed salad. Creamy blue cheese dressing would be divine here.
Pro Tip: Let The Brine Cool! After cooking the brine, let it cool to room temperature. If you place the raw meat in the hot brine, it will toughen the pork.
Pork Butt Brine Recipe
As you can see, I had fun making little pulled pork slider sandwiches. I love playing around with toppings for pulled pork sandwiches.
- Sweet and spicy pickles, are a simple pulled pork topping idea. Sweet and spicy makes a great flavor combo with the savory pork.
- Always a favorite and classic topping is Cole Slaw. I like this slaw recipe from Bobby Flay that he uses on his Slaw Burgers.
- Seems I always have a jar of pepperoncini in the fridge. Throw a few slices on top of pulled pork sliders for a WOW flavor combo. It makes absolutely delicious little sandwiches.
- Chow Chow: I pick up a few jars of Colorado made chow chow at our farmer’s market towards the end of the season. Keep a stash of this sweet, salty, spicy condiment to top pulled pork sandwiches. It’s divine.
Again, this brine for pork shoulder turned out the most delicious, moist, tender recipe I’ve ever had. I hope you give the recipe and try, and if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating. And leave a comment about your experience with the recipe.
And if you have a favorite pork butt brine recipe, let me know, I’m always looking for a new culinary adventure.
And if you’re looking for more pork recipes, don’t miss my Pork Category. You’ll find lots of luscious savory recipes, including the most popular on my site for Crock Pot Country Style Pork Ribs.
Manor Vail Lodge Pork Butt Brine Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 pounds pork shoulder roast 2-5 pound roasts or 1 8 – 10 pound pork shoulder roast, bone in or boneless
- 2 gallons water
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup kosher salt Mortons or Diamond Crystal
- 12 Tablespoon black pepper or 6 tablespoons whole peppercorns
- 6 cinnamon sticks
- 8 teaspoons sage dried
- 2 carrots cut into chunks
- 1 onion peeled and cut into wedges
- 2 stalks celery cut into chunks
- 8 bay leaves
- 2 oranges washed and cut into wedges
- 2 limes washed and cut into wedges
- 2 lemons washed and cut into wedges
- 24 hamburger buns or 3 packages of slider buns
Instructions
- Add all brine ingredients to a large soup kettle. I used my canning pot.
- Bring the brine mixture to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let stand until liquid is at room temperature. This will take oven an hour. NOTE: you place the meat in the hot brine, it will toughen. When the brine has cooled, add the pork, refrigerate and let cure for 24 hours.
- The next morning preheat oven to 225 degrees. Ladle about 4 cups of the brine in the bottom of the roaster pan. A turkey roaster works great here. The seasoned brine will create a flavorful steam bath.
- Sear the roast (s) on each side. Place roasts on the roasting rack, cover with heavy duty foil and bake 10 hours.
- Shred meat as soon as it is cool enough to touch. While shredding, remove any of the chunks of fat that didn't render off. Once the pork is shredded, If you'd like, add a scoop of the drippings from the roasting pan to the shredded pork. It will add flavor and moisture.
Notes
- Sweet and spicy pickles, are a simple pulled pork topping idea. Sweet and spicy makes a great flavor combo with the savory pork.
- Always a favorite and classic topping is Cole Slaw. I like this recipe from Bobby Flay that he uses on his Slaw Burgers.
- Seems I always have a jar of pepporoncini in the fridge. Throw a few slices on top of pulled pork sliders for a WOW flavor combo. It makes absolutely delicious little sandwiches.
- Chow Chow: I pick up a few jars of Colorado made chow chow at our farmer’s market towards the end of the season. Keep a stash of this sweet, salty, spicy condiment to top pulled pork sandwiches. It’s divine.
Nutrition
Manor Vail Lodge Pork Butt Brine … It’s what’s for Pulled Pork Sandwiches
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It appears very few cooks commenting on this brine, roast recipe are from my area. I’m a “transplant” from the Washington DC area to the inner banks, Eastern NC. 19 years ago was ignorant of these traditions here. Whole pigs, roasted on huge cookers/grills. The “party” is called “A Pig Pickin.” A mop-mixture is patted onto the roasting pig, both sides, and there’s a difference, Nationally & even within the State of NC. Tomato based BBQ sauce vs Eastern NC vinegar based sauce. Cole slaw on a pulled pork Sammie is acceptable here too. Imma going to brine a 7lb-er but I’m going to sear, then sous vide the meat. I need a conversion time from oven roasting 10 hours to Sous Vide. And I’ve only guessed at the local Mop & then ENC sauce recipes. Anyone from Eastern NC, please feel free to divulge. I won’t “Out you” I promise. These recipes are quite top-secret from Transplants, even tho I’m here now, 19 years as of May 2024. Lol.
OMG! This sounds wonderful! We’ve never wet brined a pork shoulder before, only dry brined. The ingredients in this brine sound incredible and the idea of a pulled pork sandwich has me dreaming. I can also see using this in enchiladas, tacos and on a pizza. YUM!
LOVE pulled pork! And this is such a terrific looking recipe. Gotta try this next time I make pulled pork — thanks.
Your brine recipe sounds very good and I believe we have eaten your delicious pulled pork.