Sous Vide BBQ Pulled Pork Shoulder Recipe - Cooking Frog (2024)

April 4, 2020

Sous Vide BBQ Pulled Pork Shoulder slow cooked for 24 hours, and finished a smokey barbecue leading to probably the most tender and juicy pulled pork you’ve tasted.

Like the majority of sous vide recipes, two-step cooking process is the thing. The two-step cooking is almost totaly hands-off and definitely stress free. First you’ll cook the pork shoulder in the sous vide water bath, and then end it either in a the oven or BBQ smoker.

Sous Vide BBQ Pulled Pork Shoulder

Finishing in the BBQ will result in a delicious smoky pulled pork. The beautiful thing about cooking a pork shoulder low and slow is that it’s nearly impossible to get it wrong; especially when cooking it in this sous vide method.

This technique is ideal for entertaining because it could be made in advance and then finished in a smoker or in the oven. The fun part is as soon as your guests are there and they smell what appears like has been cooking all day.

Ingredients

• 1 bone-in or boneless pork shoulder 5 – 7 pounds
• 1 tsp of liquid smoke ( this is optional)

Ingredients for Spice Rub (Optional)

• 1/4 cup of Paprika
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp of Kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp of yellow mustard seed (whole)
• 1 tsp of ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp of garlic powder (Granulated)
• 1 Tbsp of Dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp of coriander seed
• 1/2 tsp of Prague Powder
• 1 tsp of red pepper flakes

How to make Sous Vide BBQ Pulled Pork Shoulder Recipe

• Set the temp to 165F to your Precision Cooker, if you want tender pull-apart pork. And 145 F, for pork that’s tender but sliceable.

OPTIONAL: Create the rub, while your sous vide bath heats.

• Combine paprika, salt, brown sugar, black pepper, mustard seed, garlic powder, oregano, coriander seed and red pepper flakes in a grinder, and grind everything to a very fine powder.
• If you woul like your Sous Vide Pork to truly have a pink smoke ring, add a fraction teaspoon of pink curing salt to your mixture.
• Before adding the rub, reserve 3 Tbsp of the mix, you will use that to rub your shoulder before finishing again.
• Rub the rest of the mixture nicely all around the pork shoulder.
• Seal the pork shoulder utilizing a vacuum-sealer or, if utilizing a zipper-lock bag, using the displacement method.
• To achieve this, seal all but the final inch of the bag, then real slow reduce your bagged pork into a pot of water, and water pressure press air out through the opening of the bag.
• Seal the bag right before it totally submerges. It must be completely free of air.
• Place your sealed pork into the water bath, set a timer for 20 to 24 hours, and forget.
• For extended cooking similar to this, it’s advisable to cover the top of the container with foil or plastic wrap to avoid excessive evaporation that might result in the circulator turning off because of low water levels.

Sous Vide Pulled Pork Finish

• After the pork shoulder is cooked, you can cool it and refrigerate for approximately a week before continuing, or simply continue to the finishing steps.
• The very first thing to do to complete is eliminate the excess moisture by removing the pork and patting it down really good with paper towels.
• If you wish, you are able to take the nice juices in the sous vide bag, add them to your chosen barbecue sauce, and reduce it on the stovetop to offer your sauce extra pork flavor.
• The initial sprinkling of rub did an excellent job of having flavor into the pork. An additional coat of rub now provides you with a great foundation for building up that dark, crunchy, full of flavor bark.

Finishing in the Oven

• Take the pork and place it on a lined rimmed baking sheet with a wire rack on it.
• Place it in a preheated 300 F oven and cook till outside is a dark, mahogany bark, about 1 hour and 30 min.
• Take away from the oven and move on to the next step.
• The pork is ready to be pulled! I find this simplest to do using two forks, however if you have durable heat gloves to guard your fingers from the hot meat, then go right in and use your hands.
• I prefer to shred apart into, tender, big chunks, however you may also move the shreds to a cutting board and chop it finely with a chef’s knife or cleaver.
• After the meat is shredded nicely it’s ready to serve with your preferred barbecue sauce. It goes nicely with some pickles, creamy cole slaw, and a nice bun and you’ve got yourself an excellent meal.

Finishing Steps – Gas Grill or Smoker

• To complete your pork shoulder over live fire, light a smoker and set the temp to 300°F. Or light up a half chimney of coals, and spread them out over 1 / 2 of the coal grates.
• Add several chunks of hardwood, no need certainly to soak it and the moment it starts smoldering, place the meat in the smoker or on the grill, away from any direct heat.
• Now for a gas grill, light 1 / 2 of the burners and leave another half turned off.
• Put the chunks of wood in a foil boat directly on the hot side of the grill and place the pork shoulder on the cooler side.
• Cook it covered, adding a couple of bits of wood and coals as needed. And maintain the air intake valves to test and keep consistently cooker hovering at around 275F to 300F all the time.
• Continue cooking till pork has reached a deep, dark, mahogany crust and tears apart when you pick at it. This may take about an 1:30 hours – 2 hours.
• The pork is now ready to be pulled!

If you like this recipe, check this Instant Pot Pulled Pork