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Gloved hand holding smoked pork butt with a dark, crosshatched bark.

Overnight Brined Pulled Pork: Tender, Juicy, and Packed with Smoky Flavor

This overnight brined pulled pork recipe delivers tender, juicy meat with deep smoky flavor. A 10-lb pork butt is brined for maximum moisture, seasoned, and smoked low and slow on a Z Grills pellet grill with cherry pellets—perfect for sandwiches, tacos, or BBQ plates.
Servings 4
Prep Time 10 hours
Cook Time 10 hours
rest 2 hours
Total Time 22 hours

Equipment

  • Z Grills cherry pellets
  • Z GRILLS 10002B2E

Ingredients

  • 10 lb pork butt (bone-in or boneless)
  • Your favorite BBQ rub
  • Water (for spritzing)
  • Apple cider vinegar (for spritzing) Optional

Brine - You can use your preferred brine mixture. Here’s a simple base if needed:

  • 1/2 gallon  cold water
  • 1/2 cup  kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup  brown sugar
  • 1/2 Apple Cidar
  • garlic cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves Optional

Instructions

  • Brine the Pork (Overnight)
    Submerge the 10-lb pork butt in the brine and refrigerate for 10 hours overnight.
  • Prep the Pork
    The next morning, remove the pork from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels.
    Score the fat cap in a crosshatch pattern to allow seasoning and smoke to penetrate.
    Apply a generous coating of your favorite BBQ rub all over the pork butt.
  • Set the Z GRILLS
    Preheat your ZGRILLS to a steady 275°F. I used Cheery Pellets
  • Smoke the Pork Butt
    Once the pit is at temp, place the pork butt directly on the grates, fat cap up.
    Do not open the lid for the first 4 hours—let the smoke do its magic.
  • Spritz and Monitor
    At the 4-hour mark, begin spritzing the pork with water (or a 50/50 mix of water and apple cider vinegar).
    Continue spritzing every 2 hours until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 200°F—this took about 10 hours total on the pit.
  • Test for Doneness
    When the internal temp hits 200°F, probe the meat in several spots with a toothpick or thermometer. It should slide in like butter (toothpick tender).
  • Rest
    Remove the pork butt from the smoker and wrap it tightly in three layers of foil.
    Let it rest in an insulated cooler or warm area (like your “shack”) for 2 hours.
  • Serve
    After the rest, unwrap and shred the pork. Discard excess fat, and mix the bark with the juicy pulled meat.
    Serve on buns, in tacos, or on a plate with your favorite BBQ sides!

Video

Notes

Gloved hands holding a packaged fresh pork shoulder butt on a black cutting board.
Starting with a 10-lb fresh pork shoulder butt—the perfect cut for juicy, smoky pulled pork.
Water being poured into a metal mixing bowl with brown sugar, salt, and spices for pork brine.
Combining water, brown sugar, salt, and spices to create a flavorful brine for the pork butt.
Hands in black gloves submerging pork butt into a seasoned brine in a large bowl.
Fully submerging the pork butt in a seasoned brine for maximum flavor and moisture.
Gloved hands patting a pork butt dry with paper towels before seasoning.
Patting the pork butt dry after brining to ensure the seasoning sticks.
Pork butt with a scored fat cap being seasoned with BBQ rub.
Generously coating the scored pork butt with a flavorful BBQ rub before smoking.
Seasoned pork butt smoking on a pellet grill.
Pork butt developing a rich bark while smoking low and slow on a Z Grills pellet grill.
Thermometer reading 200°F inserted into smoked pork butt on a pellet grill.
Pork butt reaches 200°F internal temperature, ready for resting before shredding.
Gloved hand holding smoked pork butt with a dark, crosshatched bark.
A beautifully smoked pork butt, featuring a crisp, flavorful bark from hours of low and slow cooking.
Gloved hands pulling apart smoked pork butt into tender shreds.
Pulling the pork into tender, juicy shreds after a long, slow smoke.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Pork