# Brining Pork Shoulder!



## tiny-g-n-kc

Has anyone out their ever brined a pork -butt (shoulder)?  A guy at work was telling me this is his method.  I thought i would throw this out their & see what responses i got.


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## forluvofsmoke

My experience has been that if you can get your hands on fresh, unenhanced pork, brining will increase the products finished moisture content to some degree, and you can add layers of flavor deep into the pork that can't be created with wet or dry rubs alone.

Both of these recipes are an original matched set for brine and dry rub:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/fo...-rub-2-butts-recipes-q-view-1-sliced-2-pulled

Very unique flavor, and highly recommended by my wife and kids. I liked it, too...a lot!

Eric


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## mballi3011

Well let's see I personally brine my poultry to help keep it moist and to also add the flavors that I want to add to the bird. Now I have smoked a many a pork butt/shoulder and everyone of them have seemed to be quite juicey and moist. Now I really don't see any any reason to brine a shoulder.


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## SmokinAl

Why don't you give it a try & let us know how it turns out. I have thought of trying it before, but like Mark said they are so juicy without the brine I never bothered.


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## tiny-g-n-kc

Thanks Al!  I always appreciate your in-put. Over the summer you gave me information on the stuffed pork loin, & now i see you have a link. I did everything the same, except i didn't pre-cook the sausage or use onion, &  garlic, & it came out pretty amazing.  I took some to work & wowed people. I'm even smoking one for someone at work while i'm doing the pork-butt. Now that i see your link it can only get better.


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## petewoody

In many parts of the world this is known as pickled pork and is readily available at the butcher's dept. or shop.

Growing up in Australia, pickled pork was always a part of our Christmas dinner and I understand from my family still in Australia, pickled pork is readily available.

I often obtain a 3 or 4 pound shoulder roast and make a wet brine and brine the shoulder for around 7 days depending on the weight/thickness et al.

After rinsing, I smoke (apple and oak) until it reaches 160 degrees. We eat hot and slice the remainder for use in sandwiches.


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## rbranstner

Are you going to use your buddies method? Care to elaborate on that method a bit?


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## marengobill

Petewoody what recipe do you use for your wet pork brine? The method your talking about pickling or brining is the way the old German's I used to do Pork when I was growing up. Have been looking for the brine recipe for a long time.


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## ribcage

My brother and I have brined and smoked a few pork shoulders. Brining is great. i usally use a half cup kosher salt half cup light brown sugar with bay leaves ground pepper 1/2 tblsp 1 tblsp cayenne pepper one 12oz. beer good micro brew two oranges sliced with peel on.a sprig of rosemarry off the stem,For the brine add 2 cups boiling water mixing into the salt/sugar/herb bath to dissolve add 1&1/2 trays ice cubes to chill, add shoulder to a 8cup of water bath to fill mix well refrigerate for 24hrs. this includes the 2 cups of boiling water that was chilled by ice to equal 10 cups water. Juicey stuff


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## eschlis

Ribcage, tried your brine on a shoulder, EXCELLENT! Shoulder is normally juicy, but the depth of the flavor was excellent with the brine. I didn't use a rub when I smoked the shoulder, this was because I wanted to see how well the brine worked, and it was great. Thanks for sharing. 
Thumbs Up


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## marengobill

I brine all my pork for anywhere from 2 days to 7 days. I usually always like to eat the finished smoked pork cold or in a cold pork sandwich. Everyone has their own preference!


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## petewoody

Marengobil. I missed your post of 12/30/11. I use a standard brine (Pops et al) of 1 cup salt/3/4 cup brown sugar/1 tablespoon of #1 cure per gallon of water). I have a butt brining at the moment and it will be smoked in about 10 days and I will post some pices.


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## eschlis

I should have noted that I think the key is, as always, time.  I brined it for 5 days.  Just my thoughts....


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## oldschoolbbq

I never Brine Pork and get thes results:













Betty 004.JPG



__ oldschoolbbq
__ Nov 1, 2012





  consisteng doneness ad ...













holiday for 2012 024.JPG



__ oldschoolbbq
__ Oct 17, 2012





  A clean Bone pull. Juicy too; and no foiling...


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## turnandburn

oldschoolbbq said:


> I never Brine Pork and get thes results:
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> Betty 004.JPG
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> __ oldschoolbbq
> __ Nov 1, 2012
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> consisteng doneness ad ...
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> holiday for 2012 024.JPG
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> __ oldschoolbbq
> __ Oct 17, 2012
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> A clean Bone pull. Juicy too; and no foiling...


oldschool i never get tired of that first pic! amazing!! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





..alright threadjack over..lol..carry on!!...side note..talk about a thread revival..


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## marengobill

Good looking smoked pork! What brine mixture did you use for a receipe? Here is the one I use!

1 Gallon Apple cider

1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar

1 and 1/3 of Kosher Salt

4 Tablespoons onion salt

2 Tablespoons Garlic salt

2 Tablespoons of Celery salt

1 Tablespoon white pepper

1 Tablespoon of either Thyme or Rosemary

add water or Apple Cider to cover all the meat. Brine for 7 or more days depending how salty you like the meat to taste. Sound any good to you? Love cold pork sandwiches!


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## 1stlink

marengobill said:


> Good looking smoked pork! What brine mixture did you use for a receipe? Here is the one I use!
> 
> 1 Gallon Apple cider
> 1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar
> 1 and 1/3 of Kosher Salt
> 4 Tablespoons onion salt
> 2 Tablespoons Garlic salt
> 2 Tablespoons of Celery salt
> 1 Tablespoon white pepper
> 1 Tablespoon of either Thyme or Rosemary
> 
> add water or Apple Cider to cover all the meat. Brine for 7 or more days depending how salty you like the meat to taste. Sound any good to you? Love cold pork sandwiches!


Hey Bill, is that kosher salt measurement in cups? Guessing that it is. 
Thank U


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## marengobill

Yes the Kosher Salt is in cups (11/3) sorry I missed that!

Thanks and Good smoking!


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## daveinflorida

So then what is your prep steps if you don't brine? Also, what is your rub, mustard, what temp you let it get to before pulling to pull? About to try one for my birthday on 19 Apr.


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## twotwentyfive

I have never tried a brine, not even on a turkey. Quick question, does the brine need to be changed regularly for sanitary reasons or no? Thanks for the help


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## noboundaries

twotwentyfive said:


> I have never tried a brine, not even on a turkey. Quick question, does the brine need to be changed regularly for sanitary reasons or no? Thanks for the help


I brine all poultry and most cuts of pork.  I do it for flavor profile but it does help with the moisture too.  I see above that someone brines for 2 to 7 days.  I've never brined anything longer than 3 days and no, I did not change the brine.  Brining poultry longer than 24 hours is not recommended but I have brined both chicken and turkey for 48 hours with no problems.

When I brine I also inject at the start of the brining period.  On poultry I just inject the breast meat.  Then into the brining bag, seal it up air tight, then in the refrigerator or a cooler filled with ice.

By injecting you can get away with much shorter brining periods, like 12 hours, but I can tell the difference in the taste between a meat that has been short brined compared to 24 hours or longer.

I use Ziplock bags for brining.  I have 2, 3, and 10 gallon sizes.  The 2 gallon gets the most use.  3 gallon next most used.  The 10 gallon I use just for big turkeys.  The 3 and 10 gallon sizes are actually storage bags but they are food safe.


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## twotwentyfive

Will try injecting as well, thanks much for the help


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## daveinflorida

I brined a pork roast and a pack of wings last nite.  Put the roast on at 0830 this morning. Check out first pic. I'll be posting more pics throughout the smoke today.


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## bluewhisper

Once I brined a pork roast with some aromatics like cardamom and coriander, and it turned out tasting like a giant frankfurter.


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## forluvofsmoke

BlueWhisper said:


> Once I brined a pork roast with some aromatics like cardamom and coriander, and it turned out tasting like a giant frankfurter.


If the taste reminded you of a frankfurter, that would be off-putting, unless it was your intention and you expected it, of course...assuming this was not your intent, lesson learned, and we learn what we do or do not like by trying new things.

Some spices just don't go well with certain preparations or meats, while others can make it shine. Keep your ingredients simple and basic if you want to experiment with a brine or dry rub. Taste and smell the blend as you build it, before settling on trying it...this will tell you much about the blend, and you can modify it to suit your preference. I never use a spice blend without smelling and tasting it first, bearing in mind the mingling of flavors from meat and smoke.

Realizing the subtle flavor characteristics, some spice blends may not suit your taste for a particular cut/species of smoked meat (or a specific type of wood) while it may give a better match for char-grilling. That same blend may be too bland when grilled over a gas flame where additional layers of flavor and aroma may be to your liking, as an example. So, if you really want to build a specific flavor profile, you need to consider the cooking method, type of (or lack of) smoke, and any additional flavors you will get from the fuel source, such as hardwood lump or charcoal. When grilling, I stay away from gas, mostly due to the lack of additional flavor potential.

I don't brine often...usually it's a spur of the moment situation where my previously frozen meat has thawed too early or will thaw too late for my original planned cooking date, which isn't normal for me...but when I do brine it is generally to extend the refrigerated life of the meat, and I try to follow a flavor profile which will enhance my final seasoning (dry rub and/or finishing sauce [which I also rarely use]) and intended cooking method. As for use of brines for enhanced moisture retention in the pork, yes it does help to some degree, but I noticed this mostly with pork that was not previously enhanced (not cryovac packed). I have refined my smoking method just to give me that extra assurance for moisture retention, and that is what I use faithfully now.

Eric


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