Smoked bbq pulled pork is one of my favorite cooks – it’s got everything you could want. For starters and to state the obvious, it’s delicious. Second, it’s a fairly straightforward process and a pretty forgiving cut of meat which leaves you with a wider margin for error. Finally, it’s HUGE. A typical pork butt weighs anywhere between 6-10 lbs (although you can buy smaller cuts). Even after discarding the fat cap and the bone you’re left with enough tender, juicy, smoky pork to feed a small army.
What cut of pork should you use for smoked BBQ pulled pork?
Pork butt, or “Boston Butt” is not located in the rear of the animal. In fact, it’s located right above the shoulder, another cut which it’s often confused with. Either the butt or the shoulder will work for barbecued pulled pork. I typically recommend the butt as it’s got more fat marbling to ensure a juicy finished product. Ready to cook? Let’s get going.
Ingredients
- One 6-10 lb Pork Butt or “Boston Butt”
- Olive Oil or Hot Sauce
- Your Favorite Pork Dry Rub
Equipment
- 1 Offset Smoker, Pellet Grill, Ceramic Grill, or Charcoal Grill
- Disposable Aluminum Roasting Tray
Prep the Pork
Honestly, not a whole lot of prep work to do here. Your typical pork butt from the supermarket or butcher shop should come pretty much ready to go. That being said, let’s cover some basics. First, do a quick check for any small pieces of meat or fat that are loosely attached to the larger hunk of meat, and trim them off. You’ll occasionally get these as a byproduct of the butchering process. As with any big piece of meat and a long cook, they have a tendency to dry out or burn.
Next, if you’ve purchased a pork butt with the skin still on, remove the skin. You’ll be able to tell if this is the case because well, it looks and feels like skin – tough and somewhat leathery. Most butts from the supermarket will already have this taken care of, but I’ve mistakenly purchased skin-on shoulders before. While it adds some time and complexity to the prep process, consider it good knife skill practice.
Lastly, leave that fat cap alone! This pork is going to be cooking for a long time, and we want all that lovely fat to slowly render and baste the meat as it cooks. This helps keep the pork moist and flavors it along the way. After the cook, it’s very easy to remove the fat cap and discard it (or eat it if you want, I’m not going to tell you how to live your life).
BBQ Prep Knives
Season the Pork
Again, pretty straightforward process here. Grab your favorite rub or spice blend, and some sort of binder (a sauce or oil that helps the dry rub stick to the meat). As far as seasonings, sweet/honey mixes or sweet & heat rubs tend to go great with pork. For binders try a mustard or your favorite hot sauce. If you’re not feeling adventurous, a light coat of standard extra virgin olive oil will do the trick as well. The combinations here are endless, so get creative. Just make sure you give that butt a liberal coat of seasoning on all sides.
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10% OffSmoke the Pork
Get your BBQ or smoker humming around 225 and place the pork butt inside. If you’ve got a temperature probe (you should have one of these – very important) now’s the time to insert it into the pork. Make sure that the tip of the probe is roughly in the center-most point of the meat, and not touching the bone.
Our goal internal temp is between 200-205. Hitting that range means the collagen and connective tissues in the meat will be broken down enough that the pork will fall apart and shred easily. How long it takes to get to the target internal temp depends on a number of factors (size of meat, outside temperature, humidity, etc.) but obviously how hot you’re cooking matters most.
Meat Temperature Probes
How long should you smoke BBQ pulled pork?
My method? Smoke the pork around 225 (for maximum smoke) for as long as your timeline allows, but at least 6-8 hours. This allows the pork to develop that beautiful bark and a deep smoke ring. If you’re still not at an internal temp of 200-205 after that (you likely won’t be), increase the temp to 250 – 275 and finish out the cook. Every cook is different, but at 225 cook temp I’m usually in the 170 internal range by about hour 8 or 9. After than, if I increase the cook temp to around 250, I’ll arrive at 200 internal in roughly 3 more hours. Call it 12-13 hours start to finish.
Typically, I’ll start cooking the night before I plan to eat and let the pork run at 225 overnight. I’ll check the internal temp in the morning and increase the cook temp if needed. The, I’ll also place a foil pan under the meat to start to collect the juices that run off. Once you hit 200-205 internal temperature, pull the pork off the barbecue. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes. If you’re finished ahead of time and need to wait longer, cover the pork with foil and place in the oven (turned off) or a cooler. When you’re ready to serve, go to the next step.
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Pull the Pork
Now we’re ready to pull/shred/chop the pork. There’s no wrong way to do this, but I’ll give you my method. Keep the pork in the foil tray or place it on a large cutting board to give yourself room to maneuver. Using your hands or a knife, remove most of the fat cap from the top of the pork. This should easily slide off. Next, pull out the bone. If you cooked the pork long enough, this should come out with little-to-no resistance. If it’s perfectly clean of meat, you’re golden – and there’s no better feeling than a clean bone. After this, you’re ready to shred. Use Wolverine-style BBQ claws, standard forks, a knife, or your bare hands to pull the meat apart. Any tool should do just fine, as the meat should basically fall apart. If you have to slice it, you didn’t cook it long enough.
Fun Meat Shredders
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How to Serve Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork
As for serving this up, the sky’s the limit. Here are some ideas:
- Pour some of the juices from the tray back onto the shredded meat, and plate it up with sides.
- Douse it with tangy & spicy vinegar-based Carolina-style BBQ sauce.
- Pile it on to mini Hawaiian rolls and top with coleslaw for some killer sliders.
- Serve it on soft flour tortillas with white onions, cilantro, and hot sauce for BBQ pulled pork tacos.
Or, my go-to option: eat it immediately with your bare hands, standing up in the kitchen, because why are you waiting?
More Great BBQ Recipes
Easy Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork
Description
Smoky, tender, juicy BBQ pulled pork is a mainstay of barbecue in the Southeast United States. Time is the key to success with this straightforward cook, but that first bite makes every minute of waiting worth it.
Things You Need
Ingredients
Equipment
Instructions
-
Prepare the Pork
Rinse the pork butt with cool water and pat dry. Use a sharp trimming or boning knife to remove any loose pieces of meat or fat. If the pork has skin on it, remove this. Leave the fat cap on the top of the meat.
-
Apply Dry Rub
Apply a light coat of olive oil or hot sauce to the pork to help the dry rub stick. Sprinkle your favorite pork rub evenly to all sides, and lightly pat it down so it sticks to the meat.
-
Barbecue the Pork
Barbecue the pork butt on indirect heat at 225-250 degrees until an internal thermometer reads between 200-205. Allow the pork to cook at 225-250 degrees for at least 8 hours to develop dark brown bark on the outside. After 8 hours, increase the cook temp to speed up the process if necessary, but no higher than 275 degrees.
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Let it Rest
Remove the pork butt from the barbecue and let rest for 30 minutes.
-
Shred the Pork
Use forks, shredding claws, or your bare hands to shred the pork, removing large chunks of fat as necessary. Serve with sides or on buns to make sliders and sandwiches.
Note
Let us know how this recipe turned out for you! Leave a rating and drop a comment below - we love to hear from our readers.
Smokey, juicy, and completely fell apart!
I’ve tried it wrapped in butcher paper and got similar results. love pulled pork
These were SO GOOD. Super easy to make, and a real crowdpleaser. Not to mention fun to tear into with shredding claws!
These made for easily the beat pulled pork sliders I’ve ever had. Can’t wait to make them again.
could shred it with a spoon! so good!
Kids loved this!!
Who knew pulled pork was so simple!! It was delicious, and a huge crowd pleaser! This will be a go-to recipe for me for sure.
Sooo mouthwatering. Couldn’t wait to actually make a sandwich – I just ate it straight!
Delicious! Making this a staple for dinner night 🙂
So juicy! Pair this with some hawaiian rolls and you can’t go wrong!
awesome flavour but this didn’t seem to shred as easily as in the video
Sooo good. This is the right way to do BBQ pulled pork. Make sure to plan ahead and leave yourself plenty of time. I like to serve mine on full size buns with vinegar sauce topped with a heap of coleslaw.
I tried this recipe with fried onions on top – it was a total crowd pleaser! Can’t wait to make it again.
absolutely fell apart. love pulled pork
I like to crisp these up in a skillet and serve on tortillas with bbq sauce, onions, cilantro, and cheese. BBQ pork tacos.
got that perfect clean bone pull from this!
Best pulled pork I’ve made!
absolutely cannot go wrong with pulled pork
just absolutely fell apart with nice crust on the outside
put this on brioche buns with cole slaw, incredible
This impressed everyone at the party
I like to mix in the pork with the drippings I collected during the cook