Sous Vide Pork Butt (Shoulder Roast)

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Prepare to be blown away by the incredible tenderness of this sous vide pork butt! This incredible flavor packed slow cooked pork effortlessly falls off the bone and melts in your mouth.

While the cooking process may require a bit more time, trust me when we say that the exceptional results make it all worthwhile!

This sous vide pork butt is FIRE guys. When creating the recipe, I chose flavors that slightly mimic a Filipino adobo.

The tangy vinegar, spicy pepper and touch of umami packed soy sauce give the pork an amazing flavor, while the sous vide water bath cooks it to melt-in-your-mouth perfection!

Jump to:

• Why This Recipe Works
• What is Sous Vide?
• Favorite Sous Vide Pork Recipes
• Ingredients
• Step By Step Instructions
• Expert Tips
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Storage and Reheating Instructions
• Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Why This Recipe Works

• It's a set it and forget it kind of recipe - so while it takes a long time to cook, you can just leave it to do it's thang.
• The flavors meld perfectly with the richness of the pork, making for a droolworthy comfort food meal.
• Pork butt (shoulder) in a relatively inexpensive cut of meat so you can keep your costs down.
• It's great to make ahead and reheat when you're ready to serve for meal planning or entertaining.
• The pork comes out totally fork tender and so moist and juicy.

What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide is basically a method of cooking using what is called an immersion circulator (i.e. the sous vide machine). This immersion circulator circulates water in a temperature controlled water bath at a certain temperature to perfectly cook your food every time.

Because the temperature doesn't change, and it keeps your meat (or dessert, veggies, etc.) at the same temperature, your risk of overcooking becomes very minimal.

To learn even more about sous vide cooking, head over and read "what is sous vide cooking and the benefits of sous vide cooking."

What is the Water Displacement Method?

The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).

Use a clip (I use sous vide magnets) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.

Tools Used

• Anova Precision Sous Vide Cooker
• 12 quart container
• Vacuum sealer
• Vacuum-seal bags

You will also want to check out these posts on the best sous vide containers and the best sous vide bags for more information!

If you don't have a lot of experience cooking sous vide yet, you may want to pop over and read what sous vide cooking is and the benefits of sous vide cooking.

Favorite Sous Vide Pork Recipes

• sous vide pork belly
• sous vide pork roast
• sous vide pork tenderloin
• sous vide pork chops
• sous vide pulled pork
• sous vide pork ribs

Ingredients

The full list of ingredients and amounts is included in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Pork butt, also called Boston butt or pork shoulder (try this sous vide pork shoulder recipe too), is a flavorful and well-marbled cut of meat from the upper part of the pig's shoulder, perfect for slow cooking and barbecue.

You can use boneless or bone-in for this recipe. Boneless can be more convenient, but bone in has a little extra meaty flavor from the bone.

One of my favorite ingredients in this dish is the palm vinegar. Palm vinegar is a type of vinegar made from the sap of palm trees, known for its mild, tangy, and slightly sweet flavor.

If you're worried about buying a whole bottle of this for this recipe, don't be. It's an amazing vinegar and you'll want to use it on everything. Plus you can us it to make this Instant Pot chicken adobo.

You'll also need bay leafs for their herbal, floral flavor (it really makes the dish sing) and smoked paprika for just a hint of smoke.

Step By Step Instructions

Season the pork butt with the salt and pepper and let it sit in the fridge, uncovered, overnight.

Heat a sous vide water bath to 145°F (62.5°C) degrees. This gives you a ultra tender sliceable pork. Check out the temperature chart below for more cooking options.

Doneness	Temperature	Time
Ultra Moist and sliceable	145°F (62.5°C) Degrees	36-48 Hours
Starting to fall apart	155°F (68°C) Degrees	24-36 Hours
Shredable (pulled pork)	165°F (74°C) Degrees	18-24 Hours

Combine the pork with the remaining ingredients (except avocado oil) in a vacuum seal bag or a Ziploc bag if using the water displacement method.

Cook for 48 hours (my preferable time).

Remove from the water bath and reserve the liquid in a saucepan.

Heat the saucepan and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add additional broth if needed to make a sauce.

Thoroughly pat the pork butt dry with paper towels.

Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until smoking, then add the avocado oil.

Add the pork butt and brown on all sides, about 60 seconds per side.

Remove, slice and serve drizzled with the simmered bag sauce and/or one of the options below.

Serving Options

• We have been loving this served alongside this Instant Pot sushi rice - you can also serve it with one of these rice options:
  • Instant Pot jasmine rice
  • Korean purple rice
  • Nasi kunyit (really good here)
  • Coconut jasmine rice
  • Instant Pot wild rice
• Serve it with these cheesy grits or in this congee
• Use it on sliders or pizza
• LOVE this on sandwiches with some pickled vegetables, crisp lettuce and maybe even some sliced Swiss cheese!

Expert Tips

1. Add additional pepper if you want it to have more of a punch like traditional adobo.
2. Add additional broth to the bag sauce if needed to make more or dilute the flavor (unlikely).
3. You can cook the roast straight from frozen also. However, you miss out on the overnight salting which helps the pork become ultra flavorful.
4. If your pork has a bone it in, I recommend using the water displacement method to avoid the bone puncturing a hole in the bag.
5. As the pork cooks for 24-28 hours, water may start to evaporate from the water bath. If this happens, just top up the bath with more water.
6. If the pork shoulder starts to float in the water bath, use something heavy to weigh it down. I like to use a sous vide sinker weight.
7. Instead of searing it, you can smoke it - just make sure the internal temperature of the roast doesn't rise above 145°F (62.5°C) and start to overcook.

Frequently Asked Questions

Storage and Reheating Instructions

You can make this pork butt ahead and store it in the fridge for 5-7 days. Just reheat in a 145°F (62.5°C) water bath for about 60 minutes to warm through. Sear then serve per the recipe instructions.

It can also be frozen and served later. Reheat straight from frozen in a sous vide water bath at 145°F (62.5°C) for 1-2 hours, until heated through.

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can eat leftovers as is, or use one of these ideas:

• Shred it up and make quesadillas, tacos or put it in burritos;
• Serve it on sandwiches
• Mix it with rice or pasta or even in grits

If you love this recipe, leave a comment below and let us know your favorite thing about it. We'd also love to connect on Instagram! Follow us at @went_here_8_this for awesome recipes and all sorts of fun food stuff 🙂

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