One of our favorite things to make in the smoker, this one isn’t fast but the payoff is incredible. When you want an affordable but delicious crowd-pleaser, this smoked pork butt recipe is your answer. Tasty bark, buttery soft and tender meat, rich flavor, and easy eating make it a clear winner for parties and family meals alike.
Let’s be honest here. Not every smoke needs to be an all day affair. I still work a full time job and smoke on the weekends and there are times when I just want to get it done. Upping the temperature to smoke is the easiest way to do that WITHOUT SACRIFICING. You will be shocked at how delicious this turns out in a fraction of the time.
🍽️ Why This Works
👉 Inexpensive Meat. Pork butt, also known as Boston butt is typically sold in large portions from 8 to 15 pounds in one package. It can be as little as $1.50 per pound so you get a lot of bang for your buck. If you don’t need as much meat as the package contains, you can take half and freeze it for later.
👉 Fall-Apart Tender. Perfect for sandwiches, smoked pulled pork made with a pork butt will literally fall off the bone when cooked slowly to 205ºF. One way seasoned cooks know that the meat is ready is when they can pull the bone out and it comes out easily. You can use boneless meat as well, but the concept stays true.
👉 Simple, walk away cooking process. We don’t like to get too complicated when smoking meat, and it doesn’t have to be complicated to be good. Add mustard and a dry rub and put this hunk of meat in the smoker. Come back later to wrap it and then pull it apart once it reaches the final temperature. It’s not very hands-on, so you can do chores, get work done, or just relax while the meat cooks itself.
📝 Ingredients
🛒 Pork Butt – This particular cut of meat doesn’t come from a pig’s butt at all. In fact, it is made up of parts of the neck, shoulder blade, and upper arm of the pig. If you cannot find a pork butt, you can use pork shoulder instead, and the two cuts are very similar. The differences between pork butt and pork shoulder are minimal.
🛒 Mustard – Yellow mustard adds flavor and also helps the dry rub stick to the pork butt and form a flavorful bark as the meat smokes.
🛒 Dry Rub – We used a fantastic homemade pulled pork rub you can make with staple herbs and spices. Our combination includes dark brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, ground mustard, oregano, onion powder, coarse ground pepper, seasoning salt, and Kosher salt.
It’s very easy and economical to make your own and it can be customized with the herbs and spices you love. You can also use your favorite store-bought pork rub if preferred.
⏲️ Equipment and Tools
✔️ Smoker – We have had our Big Green Egg for about 14 years. It remains our smoker of choice. We’ve also used a Traeger and Masterbuilt, which are both excellent. Any smoker will work. Dialing in the temperature and keeping a steady temperature is key.
✔️ Meat Thermometer – A wireless meat thermometer is an essential tool for smoking pulled pork. You need to check the temperature of the meat without opening the smoker.
✔️ Food Safe Gloves – Keep from getting your hands and clothes an absolute mess. Use plastic gloves to handle raw meat and apply the mustard with the dry rub.
✔️ Smoking Wood Chunks – We used oak this time, for a nice medium smoke intensity. Apple and cherry wood also pair well with pork.
✔️ Disposable Pan – If you want clean-up to be a breeze, use a disposable pan to transport the raw meat out to your smoker. Use a different disposable pan to collect the meat when it is finished and contain the smoked pulled pork for serving. You can pull it right in the pan.
✔️ Butcher Paper – Make sure the paper you buy is safe for use in cooking.
✔️ Paper Towels – You need to pat the excess moisture off the pork butt before adding the mustard so that you don’t end up with a smeared mess and a dry rub that won’t stick.
🔥 Instructions
Full disclosure: most pork butt’s are smoked on a lower temperature of 225°F. We have done this and it’s fantastic! We bump our temp up a bit and the end result is the same. There can be some heated debates on the pitmaster forums but we love a quicker smoke that yields about the same results of tender and juicy pull apart pork.
🔸 Step 1. Pull your pork butt or shoulder out and let it rest on the counter for 30-40 minutes before you are ready to start.
🔸 Step 2. Add the dry rub ingredients to a bowl and mix well.
🔸 Step 3. Preheat your smoker to 275ºF. While it is preheating, place the pork butt on a sheet pan you can use to carry it outside to your smoker. Remove the pork from its packaging, and pat the pork butt dry with paper towels.
🔸 Step 4. Smear the pork butt with your favorite mustard. I like to use food-grade gloves because this is a very messy job.
🔸 Step 5. Cover the pork butt in a pulled pork rub. You will need about 2 tablespoons of rub per pound of meat.
🔸 Step 6. Place the pork butt on your preheated smoker and let the meat smoke for about 90 minutes. Insert the thermometer probe in the thickest part of the meat and close the lid.
🔸 Step 7. When the internal temperature reaches 165ºF, move the pork butt to a clean sheet pan and carry it to a surface where you can wrap it easily. You are cooking to temperature here, not time. We like to check the temp on our about every 30-40 minutes. Wrap it in butcher paper and double-wrap it if it is very large. Don’t forget to insert the thermometer probe back! The time it takes all depends on how well your smoker keeps the temperature but expect it to be 90 minutes or so for a small 5lb pork butt.
🔸 Step 8. Place the pork butt back in the smoker and continue smoking it until the internal temperature reaches 205ºF. It may stall and take a while to reach this temperature. This total time to cook is 4-5 hours is all.
Note: If you want to serve your pork butt sliced, smoke it only until the internal temperature reaches 175ºF. In this case, you can wrap the meat faster (at 150-155ºF internal temp).
🔸 Step 9. Rest the pork for at least 20 minutes and up to 1 hour (or even more if you need to). Pull the pork using a fork.
Look at how juicy the pulled pork becomes after allowing it to rest. It simply melts in your mouth and you didn’t have to spend 12-15 hours to do it.
❗Recipe Tips and Tricks
📌 Bone-in vs. boneless | Bone-in will cook slower and be more moist. Boneless is easier to handle and serve. Take your pick!
📌 Trim the fat | If the pork butt has an excessive fat cap, it is a good idea to remove some of it. If the silver skin is still attached it should be removed as well.
Do not remove all of the fat, because it does add moisture and protect the meat from drying out.
📌 Oil the grates | Spray the cooking grill with non-stick spray to make getting the pork in and out to wrap it or serve it easier. Bonus – it also helps with clean-up.
📌 Maintain smoker temperature | Try to keep your cooking temperature consistent. If you have a pellet smoker, this is relatively easy and of course, an electric smoker makes it a piece of cake.
If you have a charcoal smoker you will need to keep track of the heat more closely and work to keep it consistent.
Close your vents at least halfway on the smoker once it comes up to temp so that the smoke spends more time inside the machine with your meat.
📌 Keeping the meat moist | Add apple cider vinegar, beer, apple juice, or another fruit juice to the drip container of your electric smoker to add moisture to the heat at the beginning. The steam will also help carry the smoke.
📌 Spritz during smoking | If you notice that your pork butt is starting to dry out in the early stages consider using a spray bottle to add moisture to the outside.
This will caramelize and add goodness to the bark. Don’t do this too closely to wrapping the pork though, or your bark will turn to mush.
📌 Wrapping the pork butt | Not everyone does this but it helps reduce the total cooking time for large cuts of meat.
We wrapped the pork butt when its internal temperature reached 165°F. Technically, the meat is safe to eat at this point, but for pulled pork, we need an internal temperature of 202-205°F.
It takes a lot longer to reach it without wrapping, enter the Texas crutch method. You can read more about when to wrap pork butt in our comprehensive guide.
📌 Sliced, not pulled | Do you want to smoke a pork butt and serve it sliced? Cook it only until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 175°F.
At this temperature, the meat will be very well cooked, and most of the fats rendered, but it will still have some integrity for you to slice it.
📌 Let it rest | Make sure your meat rests for at least 20 minutes. The longer the better.
I’ve seen people suggest upwards of 2 hours as the minimum. Of course, that means you have to have 2 hours to spare so it may not always be practical.
📌 Keep it warm | It can sometimes be difficult to predict when a pork butt will reach the finish line. If it finishes before your side dishes are ready, you can wrap it in aluminum foil and clean bath towels.
Then, place it in a clean and dry cooler and close it. The pork butt will stay hot for a good amount of time in the cooler.
🐷 How To Pick A Good Pork Butt
👍 Source and quality | Look for the best grade of meat you can afford when choosing pork butt. Fresh is always better than frozen.
👍 Marbling | Ideally, the meat will have a nice marbling of fat spaced evenly throughout because as this breaks down, it will keep it moist and tender.
👍 Color | Fresh pork meat is bright pinkish-red, and the fat should be white or cream-colored. Yellow-tinted fat and pink pale meat or areas with discolorations are signs it might have been sitting there for a while.
👍 Freshness | The smell of fresh pork is very mild and subtle. There should be no strong or off-putting odors. Check the sell-by date to make sure the pork butt is fresh.
👍 Size | A whole pork butt can weigh between 5 and 10 pounds. Think about how many servings you need before purchasing. At the very least, if you end up with leftovers it should be something you planned for.
How much pulled pork per person is a question many of us have. I recommend you read our guide to find out the best way to calculate servings for your situation.
A general guideline is to serve ⅓ pound of cooked pork per person, which is equivalent to ⅔ pound of raw boneless pork butt. This means you’ll need 6.6 pounds of raw pork butt to serve 10 people.
👍 Bone-in vs. boneless | Bone-in cuts are usually more tender and flavorful but take longer to cook. Boneless cuts will cook faster and you don’t have to worry about removing bones before serving.
You’ll need a bigger serving for bone-in pork butt. ½ pound of cooked meat per person is a good baseline. This means you’ll need one pound of raw bone-in pork butt per person.
🧑🍳 Storage And Reheating
❄️ Fridge | Go ahead and pull all of the pork and store the leftovers in an airtight container in your refrigerator.
According to the USDA, refrigerated pulled pork (and cooked pork in general) will keep for up to 4 days if kept at 40ºF or less. You can also keep it in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge.
🧊 Freezer | If you have plenty of extra meat, you can freeze leftover pulled pork in freezer-quality bags or an airtight plastic container for up to 3 months for the best quality, according to the USDA.
♨️ Reheating | Reheat leftover smoked pulled pork to 165ºF in a skillet, oven, or microwave. It can also be reheated directly in the soup, stew, or casserole if that is your dish of choice.
To reheat pulled pork in the skillet, heat your skillet over medium heat and add a little oil or butter. Add the meat and spread it out evenly on the skillet. Flip it over using a spatula or stir it to make sure all parts of the meat are hot.
To reheat the smoked pulled pork in the oven, preheat your oven to 400ºF and place the meat on a sheet pan or disposable pan. Heat the meat in the oven until it is hot and sizzling on the edges. If you are reheating a large amount, stir occasionally.
To reheat the pork in the microwave, place an individual-sized portion on a glass plate and heat it for 1 minute. After 1 minute, heat in 30-second intervals until the meat is hot through. You do not want to microwave the meat for too long because it will become tough and chewy with this method.
🌶️Additions and Substitutions
🔹Switch up the rub | If you need convenience, using a pre-mixed rub is legit. Try different flavors and spice levels to change things up.
There are so many premade rubs to choose from, but honestly, making one at home is a matter of minutes.
With simple ingredients like salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, herbs such as thyme and rosemary, chili powder, and other pantry staples you can make a fabulous rub in no time at all.
For this pork butt, we used a homemade pulled pork rub, but there are other options we love. The best dry rub for ribs and our all-purpose dry rub for grilling are also fantastic choices!
🔹Use a pork shoulder | Pork butt and picnic roast are smaller cuts of the pork shoulder. All three can be smoked for pulled pork and you can use the instructions from our pulled pork temperature chart to cook any of these cuts on the grill or smoker, oven, slow cooker, or instant pot.
We have also tried grilled pork shoulder in the past and it was fantastic! Or skip the pork and make smoked pulled chicken!
🔹Try different types of smoking wood | You have so many options here! We wanted a medium smoke so we used oak wood this time.
Other excellent choices include fruit woods like apple, cherry, and peach, although more intense flavored woods like hickory and pecan also complement the flavor of pork.
It’s also possible to make a custom blend in which case you can consult our free smoking wood chart to find your favorite mix.
🔹Marinate or brine the meat | Pork butt usually has enough fat to remain tender during cooking but using a brine or a marinade can infuse flavors deeper into the meat. It can also help keep the meat moist if you trimmed all the fat or if your pork butt is on the lean side.
The brine we used for smoked whole turkey works for pork and other meats. Simply maintain the water, salt, and sugar ratios, and add your favorite herbs and spices!
Another option is to use a pork marinade which is also great for tenderizing and flavoring your pork butt.
🍴Serving Suggestions
Both sliced and pulled pork butt can be served as a main, or used in various dishes. Hopefully, the suggestions below will help you make the most of this wonderful BBQ meat!
🐷 As A Main Dish
⭐ Classic BBQ sides | Smoked pork butt goes well with traditional BBQ sides like grilled baked beans, cornbread, coleslaw, grilled corn on the cob in the husk, and smoked potato salad.
⭐ BBQ Sauce | Add a good sauce. Buns or no buns, it’s always nice to have a variety of different BBQ sauces for your guests to choose from.
Some of my favorites are the whiskey BBQ sauce for its rich flavor profile, this tangy cherry bourbon BBQ sauce for the wonderful fruity scent and the Bourbon smoked pumpkin barbecue sauce for the delicious fall flavors it adds to smoked meat.
⭐ Salad sides | When serving smoked pork butt as a main dish, the simple meat and salad combination will never fail you.
A fresh salad is the best option here, as it will help balance the satiating smoked pork butt. There’s nothing wrong with opting for a tomato, cucumber, and onion salad, or another simple mix.
However, I enjoy exploring more interesting combinations from time to time, like this grilled peach and arugula salad. It certainly makes pulled pork a new experience every time!
⭐ Veggie sides | Another way to create a well-adjusted meal for a pork main dish is to serve it next to a lighter, veggie side dish.
For smoked pork butt, I highly recommend grilling or smoking the side too. When it comes to vegetables there are a lot of types and added flavors you can try.
Some of the recipes my family keeps asking for include smoked asparagus bundles, grilled broccolini, grilled carrots with balsamic glaze, and grilled patty pan squash.
⭐ Potato sides | Let’s face it: everyone loves potatoes! If you’re serving multiple sides having a safe choice will give you some peace of mind. (Also a good excuse to eat some potatoes!)
The grill and smoker add a magic touch to the humble potato. Smoked fingerling potatoes with garlic butter will drive everyone crazy!
Grilled sweet potatoes in foil and grilled baby potato skewers are fast and delicious. These are the types of sides to rely on when you don’t want to sacrifice too much time cooking.
If you’re like me and always looking to give a twist to classic foods, check out our pulled pork sides selection for more inspiration.
🍲 Recipes Using Pulled Pork
⭐ Sandwiches or sliders | No one can refuse a classic American pulled pork sandwich when the meat used is also smoked. Our guide on the best buns for pulled pork can help you make an informed decision and discover new ways to enjoy this saucy meat.
Top with BBQ sauce, cheese, coleslaw, pickles, and onions, or create a sandwich bar for your guests with a variety of toppings they can choose from.
Mini pulled pork sliders are the perfect appetizers for game day, cookouts, and parties. The small size will make them a favorite with the kids too!
⭐ Breakfast hash | Pulled or sliced pork butt mixed with eggs, potatoes, bell peppers, onions, and other veggies makes a hearty breakfast with a delightful smoke flavor.
This has to be one of the best pulled pork leftover recipes!
Loaded potatoes | Use smoked pulled pork as a baked potato filling along with melty cheese, sour cream, chives, and other add-ons you like to make it taste heavenly.
Any loaded potato recipe can take some pulled pork. Some of my favorites are grilled potato skins and smoked baked potatoes. These are always fun to customize!
⭐ Pulled pork nachos | I absolutely love making nachos with pulled pork, as well as other meat leftovers when I’m not in the mood to cook or I have a large crowd to feed.
Some assembly required is the best description for my sheet pan pulled pork nachos, and you can also make cast iron skillet pulled pork nachos on the grill.
⭐ Tacos or burritos | There’s no better replacement for the usual ground beef I use for tacos than some yummy smoked meat.
Smoked pulled pork is a great filling for tacos or burritos and if we’re talking leftover meat, this dish can help you feed your family on those days when you didn’t plan anything.
⭐ Pizza and salad topping | We use all sorts of protein on pizzas and in salads and there’s no reason not to use pulled or sliced pork too.
While you can definitely go for the classic mozzarella and tomato sauce, I suggest you try BBQ sauce, red onions, and some cheddar cheese if you plan to also use smoked pulled pork as a topping for pizza.
This combination really makes an outstanding grilled pizza!
⭐ Mac and cheese | I thought the bacon bits I used for this smoked mac and cheese added amazing flavor, but using smoked pulled pork in this classic BBQ dish sounds even better.
Apply this logic to other dishes that you’d cook with meat: beans, casseroles, stuffed peppers, and the list goes on (forever!).
🐖 More Smoked Pork Recipes
Isn’t it wonderful that each pork cut has a unique flavor and texture? Even so, any of them will taste so much better after you smoke them. Your pork smoking adventures certainly don’t have to end here!
👉 Smoked pork crown roast is another large cut on which the magic of the smoker works fantastically. It’s perfect for special occasions and large gatherings
👉 Another recipe we love to make for the holidays and other events is this twice-smoked ham. After 3-4 hours in the smoker, you’ll get the best ham you ever tasted!
👉 If you need a hands-off recipe you can’t go wrong with this smoked pork loin. The prep is minimal and it’s ready in about 2 hours in the smoker.
👉 The bacon-wrapped smoked pork tenderloin is ready even faster as this tender meat doesn’t need much time to cook.
👉 Speaking of bacon, one way to put your smoker to good use is to make your own. Once you read our guide on how to cure and smoke bacon, it will become clear this is not rocket science.
👉 Ready in about 1 hour, smoked Tomahawk pork chops is one of those quick smoker recipes you can enjoy in no time at all!
👉 Let’s not forget about the yummy pork ribs. Whether you make smoked country-style ribs, smoked baby back ribs, or smoked St. Louis style ribs they will be met with so much enthusiasm!
❓ Recipe FAQ
The varies depending on the size of the pork butt, the density of the meat, the temperature of your smoker, and other factors.
Therefore, you should cook to a temperature and not a time. The pork butt needs to hit about 202-205ºF to have all of the fat rendered and broken down so that the meat is pull-apart tender.
To get an estimate, plan on 1.5 to 2 hours per pound of meat if smoking at 250ºF.
3-4 days, according to the FDA. Always inspect your meat for discoloration, slime, and smell.
I like to smoke it fat side up. As the fat renders, it comes down through the pork and adds flavor and moisture.
At 165ºF, it should be wrapped with butcher paper. The meat is cooked to a safe temperature at this point, and wrapping it helps to prevent it from drying out as it cooks to the point that all the fat and connective tissue renders and the meat becomes tender.
6 ounces of cooked pulled pork (or about 1/3 of a pound) per person is just enough for everyone to have a sandwich.
The amount of cooked meat will be roughly half the number of pounds from what you start with because of all the fat that cooks out. So if you need to end up with 3 pounds of pulled pork to serve your people, start with 6 pounds.
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Smoked Pork Butt
Ingredients
Smoked Pork Butt
- 8 lbs Pork Butt
- ½ cup Yellow Mustard
Pulled Pork Rub – 8 ounces (or BBQ Rub of your choice)
- ¾ cup Dark Brown Sugar
- 2 tbsp Chili Powder
- 2 tbsp Paprika
- 2 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Ground Mustard
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 2 tsp Coarse Ground Pepper
- 2 tsp Seasoning Salt
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt
Instructions
- Remove the pork butt from the refrigerator about 30-45 minutes before starting to smoke.
- Mix dry rub ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Heat up the smoker at 275°F. Add in your favorite wood chunks for smoking. We used oak this time.
- While the smoker is heating up, pat dry with paper towels the entire butt.
- Rub the entire pork butt with yellow mustard, sprinkle the rub on the pork and massage into the meat.
- Place the pork butt on your preheated smoker and let the meat smoke for about 90 minutes. This is an estimate as all smokers are slightly different. Insert the thermometer probe in the thickest part of the meat and close the lid.
- When the internal temperature reaches 165ºF, remove the pork butt from the smoker and wrap (or double wrap if it's too large) in butcher paper. Insert the thermometer probe back.
- Place back on the smoker until the internal temperature of the pork butt reaches 205°F. During this time, the meat will "stall" and stop rising in temperature for a while. Total time for the smoke will run 4-6 hours total for us. Yours may vary slightly as each smoker calibrates a little different. If your stall lasts longer, this will also delay. We have smoked butts up to 300°F and they turn out fantastic. So if you need to increase the temperature to get it done, go for it.
- Remove from the smoker and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes, ideally 1 hour. Pull or shred the pork apart to serve or use in your favorite dishes.
Notes
Nutrition
Jason’s been firing up the grill for over 30 years after graduating from the US Coast Guard Academy. His love of finely-grilled steak and chicken led him to buy his first Weber grill to put on his apartment patio in 1992. Each military move led to a new grill (a mixture of gas and charcoal) until he fell in love with the Big Green Egg in 2008. Since then, he has added another 4 grills to the collection. Yes, he has a problem. Jason loves smoking in the ceramic BGE with exotic woods including olive wood from Egypt and hard to find varieties such as sassafras and orange wood. Jason takes the term “foodie” to a whole new level, jumping at the chance to take food tours and cooking classes during foreign travels. These have provided inspiration to incorporate new ideas into recipes when he gets back home. He has been featured in Fox News, Parade, Yahoo News, Kansas City Living and more. After retiring from the military and moving to southwest Florida, he has focused grilling and smoking locally sourced meats and fish (read: he likes to catch his own fish!)
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