Sous Vide Pork Shoulder: Time and Temperature

Sous vide pork shoulder for pulled pork cooks at 165°F (73.9°C) for 18 to 24 hours. For pork that slices instead of shredding, use 145°F (62.8°C) for 18 to 36 hours.

The bath makes the meat tender but does not brown it. Bark comes from a second step in the oven, on a grill or in a smoker.

Pork shoulder, pork butt and Boston butt

Pork butt and pork shoulder both come from the shoulder of the pig. America's Test Kitchen describes pork butt, also sold as Boston butt, as the part higher on the foreleg: well marbled, rectangular, and often sold with its fat cap. Pork shoulder, also sold as picnic shoulder, sits lower on the leg, has less marbling, tapers to a triangle and is frequently sold with the skin on.

The calculator uses one setting for both cuts. Douglas Baldwin's pulled pork recipe names either a Boston butt roast or a picnic roast. America's Test Kitchen prefers the butt for pulled pork because of its marbling and its more uniform shape.

Both are tough cuts that need a long cook. A lean cut such as pork loin works differently: its time is set by thickness, not by tenderizing. Pork belly is the other fatty pork cut with a long tenderizing cook, 24 to 48 hours at 150°F (65.6°C).

Temperature and doneness

The three settings differ in how the meat holds together.

• 145°F (62.8°C), tender and sliceable. Moist and tender, and it holds together for slicing. It will not shred. Anova's pork shoulder guide describes pork cooked at this temperature as sliceable and extra moist, with a firm texture close to a steak.
• 165°F (73.9°C), pulled pork. The default. The meat pulls apart and stays juicy.
• 176°F (80°C), traditional. Very soft, and it shreds on its own like a braise. This setting comes from Baldwin's guide and takes 8 to 12 hours.

Two things happen as a shoulder heats. Baldwin's guide says collagen, the tough connective tissue in the meat, begins to dissolve into gelatin above 122°F to 131°F (50°C to 55°C). It also says muscle fibers shrink and lose a substantial amount of water above 140°F to 150°F (60°C to 66°C), and that the loss increases with temperature.

So every setting here is hot enough to soften the collagen if you give it time, and a hotter bath pushes more juice out of the meat. Anova's pork shoulder guide makes the same point: lower, steadier temperatures give tender meat with less moisture loss.

Choose 165°F (73.9°C) for pulled pork, 145°F (62.8°C) if you want slices, and 176°F (80°C) if you need the pork the same day. The pork temperature chart puts these settings next to the ones for chops, loin and tenderloin.

Time and piece size

These are tenderizing times. Thickness changes them very little, so the calculator does not ask for it.

There is still a size limit. The times are for pieces up to 3.75 in (9.5 cm) thick, measured through the thickest part including any bone. Thicker pieces heat too slowly and are not covered. Baldwin's guide gives the reason: the center of the food should reach 130°F (54.4°C) within 6 hours.

J. Kenji López-Alt's barbecue pork shoulder recipe on Anova's recipe site cooks a whole shoulder of 5 to 7 lb (2.25 to 3.25 kg) for 18 to 24 hours at either 145°F (62.8°C) or 165°F (73.9°C). His carnitas recipe on the same site gives 24 to 36 hours at 145°F (62.8°C). The calculator's 145°F (62.8°C) window of 18 to 36 hours covers both.

To stay inside the calculator's limit, cut a shoulder that size into pieces no more than 3.75 in (9.5 cm) thick.

At 145°F (62.8°C), use the long end of the range if the pork is not yet tender. The maximum is 36 hours at 145°F (62.8°C), 24 hours at 165°F (73.9°C) and 12 hours at 176°F (80°C). The calculator gives the time for each setting, from chilled or from frozen.

How to sous vide pork shoulder

1. Cut to size. Cut the shoulder into pieces no more than 3.75 in (9.5 cm) thick. Measure through the thickest part, including any bone.
2. Season. Anova's guide calls for a generous coat of salt and pepper on all sides, or a spice rub. It adds that a small amount of liquid smoke in the bag gives a mild smoky flavor.
3. Bag. Seal each piece in its own bag, or lay pieces side by side in a single layer. If you do not have a vacuum sealer, the water displacement method pushes the air out of a zipper-lock bag.
4. Heat the bath. Set it to 165°F (73.9°C) for pulled pork. Keep the bags in a single layer, fully under the water, and not overlapping. Crowded or overlapping bags heat more slowly, and the times shown will be too short for them.
5. Cook for 18 to 24 hours. At 145°F (62.8°C) the window is 18 to 36 hours, and at 176°F (80°C) it is 8 to 12 hours.
6. Finish. Move the pork to the oven, grill or smoker to build bark, then shred it.

Finishing in the oven or smoker

The pork comes out of the bag fully cooked, with a wet surface and no bark. López-Alt's recipe gives two ways to finish it.

• Oven. Set the pork on a wire rack in a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Cook at 300°F (149°C) for about 1.5 hours, until the outside is a dark mahogany color.
• Grill or smoker. Hold the temperature at 275°F to 300°F (135°C to 149°C). It takes 1.5 to 2 hours to form a dark crust.

Shred the pork with two forks after it comes off the heat. Pork cooked at 145°F (62.8°C) gets the same finish and is then sliced. Sous vide ribs use the same 300°F (149°C) oven for a shorter time.

Keep the liquid from the bag. The recipe adds it to barbecue sauce and reduces the mixture on the stove. Baldwin's guide also suggests searing the pieces before shredding for a Mexican-style result.

A vegetable side cannot share the bath. Corn on the cob cooks at 183°F (83.9°C) for 30 to 45 minutes, so it goes in after the pork comes out and the bath is turned up.

You can stop between the bath and the finish. Anova's guide says to chill the sealed bag thoroughly in ice water before it goes into the refrigerator. The meal prep guide covers cooking ahead, chilling and reheating.

Cooking pork shoulder from frozen

The calculator adds 3 hours 30 minutes to allow the center to thaw and heat. That makes the window 21 hours 30 minutes to 27 hours 30 minutes at 165°F (73.9°C), 21 hours 30 minutes to 39 hours 30 minutes at 145°F (62.8°C), and 11 hours 30 minutes to 15 hours 30 minutes at 176°F (80°C).

The size limit from frozen is 3.75 in (9.5 cm) at 165°F (73.9°C) and 176°F (80°C). At 145°F (62.8°C) it drops to 3.25 in (8.3 cm). Cut the shoulder into pieces before you freeze it, because the limit applies to the frozen piece. The guide to cooking from frozen covers the method for other foods.

Safety

The USDA safe minimum internal temperature for pork is 145°F (62.8°C). FoodSafety.gov lists it with a 3 minute rest. All three settings are at or above that temperature, and the pork is pasteurized at the minimum time for each one.

That holds only if the pieces are inside the size limit and the bags are in a single layer under the water for the whole cook. The article on whether sous vide is safe explains pasteurization and the limits on slow heating.

Common problems

The pork will not shred. Pork cooked at 145°F (62.8°C) holds together by design. Use 165°F (73.9°C) or 176°F (80°C) for pulled pork.

The pulled pork is dry. Water loss from the muscle fibers rises with temperature, according to Baldwin's guide. Use 165°F (73.9°C) instead of 176°F (80°C), and add the bag liquid to the sauce as described above.

The pork is still firm at 145°F (62.8°C) after 18 hours. Leave it in. The window runs to 36 hours.

There is no bark. The surface stays wet in the bag. Bark forms in the dry heat of the oven or smoker step, so do not skip it.

Some pieces are less tender than others. Crowded or overlapping bags heat more slowly, and so do pieces over the size limit. Cut pieces to size and give each bag room.