A complete guide to making incredible Smoked Pork Shoulder (Pork Butt) and crowd-loving Pulled Pork. Learn the tips and steps for tender pulled pork on your smoker. Plus a full video tutorial on how to smoke pork shoulder.
We’ve cooked A LOT of pork shoulders, hundreds for our own personal consumption, as well as through our catering company, Ember and Vine.
So today we thought we’d share some of the biggest lessons we’ve learned throughout the years. Our key was experimentation, and that is what we want to encourage here for the perfect smoked pulled pork.
What is Pork Shoulder
Pork Shoulder is a dense muscle from the shoulder of the pig. The characteristics of the shoulder include pockets of intramuscular fat that are elongated and stringy in nature. Tucked inside the shoulder is another important muscle called the pork collar, or money muscle in competition barbecue.
The shoulder may be called a number of things depending on how they are cut and can come bone-less or bone-in. We prefer bone-in for smoking because it gives a more uniform shape.
- Whole Pork Shoulder – This is typically a 12 – 14 pound pork shoulder that includes the actual shoulder just off the spine, as well as the upper portion of the leg, or picnic.
- Picnic – The lower portion of the shoulder and the bone in upper portion of the leg. This is easy to spot because it tapers down toward the leg with a triangular shape. These average 6 – 8 pounds.
- Boston Butt/Pork Butt – This is the shoulder that has been separated from the picnic. This cut is typically 6 – 8 pounds. The butt is still the shoulder and not to be confused with the ham which is the rear of the pig.
- Partial Cuts – At times grocery stores will pre-slice pork shoulders into 3 – 4 pound cuts. We do not recommend using these for smoking.
- Boneless – Any of these cuts can be boneless. The butcher simply removes the bone and may tie the pork shoulder with butcher string.
Butchers Tip – When buying pork shoulder, if you see the word “Roast” be sure it is not Pork Loin. Pork Loin is a separate cooking process. Also if the cuts are small (3 – 4 pounds) ask the butcher if they have untrimmed whole shoulder or Boston Butt. Often they have them and you can trim them yourself.
The best way to cook pork shoulder is to braise or smoke low and slow to slowly render the pockets of fat.
Selecting Pork Shoulder
With beef, it is generally accepted that marbling is a key to flavor. So you have USDA cuts like choice or prime leading you to a “higher quality” beef. With pork, it’s not that easy. You have to go out of your way to get to the story behind the cut.
What to look for? Marbling, just like beef.
With pork shoulder or butt, the marbling is important to a long cook where you essentially are rendering all the fat out throughout the cook, in order to get moisture into the meat.
Look for fresh pink color with no odor. The fat cap and the meat should be firm. Our favorite purveyor of pork is Snake River Farms. Their Kurobuta Pork Shoulder is incredibly marbled and is the entire pork shoulder including the picnic.
Buy bone-in shoulder. The bone helps keep the uniform squared shape for a shoulder and allows for more even cooking. The bone also acts as a temperature gauge for when the pork is done when it can easily slide out from the shoulder.
How to Trim a Pork Shoulder
When looking at a shoulder there will be one side with the fat cap. That is the side that had the skin on it toward the upper portion of the pig. The remaining sides will have a few areas that should be cleaned up prior to smoking.
Many will say to leave a hefty fat cap on the top of the shoulder and make sure it’s bone-in. I have found that a super thick fat cap does not render out, resulting in a fairly large mass of fat when you’ve cooked it for 10+ hours and the loss of some potential surface area for bark (or that exterior flavor crust created by the smoke).
So my recommendation is to cut that fat cap to barely a ¼ inch on the topside. I actually prefer to shave it down to a razor thin layer. The fat inside the meat is what is more important.
The remaining fat will still melt, and you will get more flavor all around the meat. So don’t leave too much fat. Not to mention you still have fat inside the meat that is also rendering for flavor and moisture.
Trim the remaining sides of any excess fat. Sometimes you may see some glands on the non fat cap edges. They will be purple or red, those should come off too as the texture is not pleasant if you leave them on.
Should I Inject Pork Shoulder?
Yes. We prefer to inject (using a product like this). We use equal parts apple cider vinegar and apple juice or water to get moisture and flavor into the interior of the meat.
You can brine instead. But any way you look at it, adding an injection or brine adds superior moisture and allows you to infuse specific flavor.
You like heat? Add some hot sauce to the injection. But in the end it’s adding moisture into the meat, that when warmed up will try to escape the meat and add that flavor all throughout the interior of the meat versus just the rub on the exterior.
You don’t have to inject, but we found that adding more of that moisture allows the meat to sweat a bit as it cooks, adding more smoke, and keeps the interior of the meat moist and flavorful.
When injecting use a food injector and inject the liquid into 1-inch virtual cubes of space, you’ll see the pork expand or bulge. This is fine. Remember, you are going to be cooking this for several hours (10-14 hours depending on size), so that liquid will help keep the meat moist over that long duration of the cook.
Smoked Pork Shoulder Rub
Acidity matters for pork. So we start with a Dijon mustard slather to allow the rub to stick. You can use extra virgin olive oil, beef stock, or any liquid you like. We prefer mustard.
The dry rub will adhere to the slather. A good rub for pork shoulder will contain sugar and be slightly savory. Sugar helps with creating bark or the dark caramelization that happens when smoking the shoulder. Want more savory? Lessen the sugar and add more salt, garlic or onion powder. Just add all the ingredients into a bowl and mix.
Our Smoked Pork Shoulder Dry Rub contains some of the following:
- Brown Sugar (you can use dark or light)
- Kosher Salt
- Coarse Black Pepper
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Dry Mustard
- Cayenne
Inject the meat after trimming, and then add the mustard slather. Then add your dry rub generously (we love this one, or see the dry rub from the video below in the full recipe).
You can season the day of, or the day before. If you have time, do it the day before and then wrap the shoulder in foil or plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until ready to smoke.
How to Smoke a Pork Shoulder
There are phases to smoking a pork shoulder after it has been trimmed and seasoned. And generally we plan 1 hour and 15 minutes a pound for total cook time including the rest period. Better to be done early. The cooler will keep the shoulder warm for hours.
- Smoke – Target 250 degrees Fahrenheit for the first 3 – 4 hours.
- Spritz – After 3 – 4 hours of smoke, use a spray bottle to lightly spray the shoulder every 30 minutes until the internal temperature of the pork butt is 165 degrees F.
- Wrap – After the internal temperature of the pulled pork hits 165 degrees, wrap the shoulder in foil or butcher paper and reinsert your remote probe meat thermometer.
- Smoke Again – Place back into smoker at 250 degrees and continue cooking until the pork shoulder reaches a range of 190 – 205 degrees F. In this range you will insert an instant read thermometer and check the temperature. When the probe goes into the shoulder it should enter like it’s room temperature butter with no tension. If it is still a little tough, keep cooking. Another test for doneness is pulling on the bone, if it slides right out, it’s done. This process can take an additional 5 – 7 hours depending on the pork shoulder size. They key is cooking to temperature, not time.
- Rest – After the pork reaches the finished temperature, remove from smoker wrapped and store in a cooler (with NO ice) for an hour, covered. This will allow the shoulder to slowly cool and redistribute all that amazing flavor and moisture.
- Pull – Use your favorite tool and pull the pork into strings, that is when it becomes pulled pork. There will still be some cartilage and stringy fat. Be sure to discard those as you pull.
What is the Best Wood for Smoked Pulled Pork
Any fruit wood like apple, cherry, or peach is a great wood for pulled pork. Fruit woods burn sweeter with less of a campfire flavor.
Spritz for Pulled Pork
Make sure you have a food safe spray bottle. Fill it with equal parts apple cider vinegar and apple juice (or just apple cider vinegar and water, which is our preference to cut down on excess sweet. Or just get creative with your mixture).
After three to four hours of smoke, you spray with this spritz every 30 minutes until you wrap. This cleanses off any ash that may have developed, but also coats the pork with a small liquid layer.
As smoke travels through the cooking chamber it is attracted to moisture. So this adds a lot of smoke flavor as the smoke connects with the spritz. We will spritz until the wrap. It takes only seconds to spritz, so you won’t be loosing much heat when you open up your cooker.
Wrapping Pork Shoulder
Some choose not to wrap, which is fine, it just takes longer to smoke. I elect to wrap, and make sure I do so after the stall, which is when the shoulder internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Place shoulder in a large aluminum baking pan, or cookie sheet, or even a glass dish. Add a couple tablespoons of the spritz liquid into the pan and then wrap to top in foil. Insert the remote thermometer probe again through the wrap and then return to the smoker. Be sure the probe is not touching the bone.
This is the thermometer we used (Thermoworks Chef Alarm) as seen in this picture. Another option is the Thermoworks Smoke Unit which is a two zone remote thermometer. One for the meat, one for the cooking temperature.
What is the Stall?
The stall is when the meat sweats liquid while cooking. As the meat sweats from the cells, it cools the meat down again. The stall is represented when you see very little movement in the internal temperature of the pork shoulder. It may be hours and only moves 5 – 6 degrees.
You have to make sure to not overreact to the stall when cooking, instead embrace it and cook through it. As the moisture cooks out, which is all that intramuscular fat rendering out, the internal temperature of the pork shoulder will start to rise again at a faster pace. When the pork shoulder internal temperature reaches around 165 – 170 degrees F it is likely out of the stall.
Continue Smoking
Now that it’s wrapped, it’s now about getting it to the final cooking temperature. I cook the pork shoulder to 203 degrees Fahrenheit. Really when you insert your instant read thermometer like a Thermoworks Thermapen MK4, it should feel like it’s going into room temperature butter. This is where marbling comes in. Marbling is rendering out while cooking and becoming liquid awesome flavor. So if the probe goes into the meat smoothly, then you know all that fat flavor has melded into the meat. Another test is pulling the bone, if it slides right out, that is another good test the shoulder is done.
Let it Rest!
Pull the pork butt at 203 (or when probe inserts like butter) still wrapped. Place the smoked pork shoulder in a cooler, with no ice. This allows the pork to slowly come down in temperature.
This cool down period is so key! Letting the pork cool allows all the cells you just expanded while smoking due to the heat to contract and pull that delicious fat and moisture back into the cells for awesome BBQ flavor. Let it rest for about an hour. In a cooler it can last warm for four hours, in case you are done early. Just give it at least one hour to cool.
How to Pull a Smoked Pork Shoulder
- If you have given your meat enough time to properly cool to temperature, you can pull with your hands to make the smoked pulled pork. When we’re cooking at an event and have several to pull, we use this tool that attaches to a drill (it’s awesome). It makes it SOOO easy to finish the job.
- But when we’re cooking just one at home, we love these gloves. They make it very easy to pull, and the gloves are dishwasher safe.
- Remove the pork from the cooler and foil wrap. Take out the bone and start slowly shredding the meat with your fingers. As you pull you may find some minor pieces of fat or cartilage that you want to discard. Get it pulled to your desired consistency and then cover again until ready to serve.
- Want a little extra flavor? Add some apple cider vinegar after it’s pulled. Or add your favorite BBQ sauce if you want. The key is to enjoy that pork shoulder and flavor and not over-smoke it.
***Pork butts come in a variety of sizes and weights. They can get BIG! The “Boston Butt” is typically what we use, the nice rectangular shoulder meat. The “picnic” looks like a ham, it’s the upper part of the leg, with less meat. Usually if cooked, it’s cooked separately.
Smoked Pork Shoulder Recipe
Smoked Pulled Pork (Pork Shoulder, Pork Butt)
Ingredients
- 1 8-10 lb pork shoulder, or boston butt
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
For Rub:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 tablespoon dry mustard
- 1/2 tablespoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
For Injection:
- 1 cup of apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup apple juice
For Spritz:
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
Instructions
For the Pork Dry Rub
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Use about 1/4 cup of the rub and store the remainder in a mason jar for up to six months.
For the Spritz
- Combine the apple cider vinegar and water in a food safe spray bottle.
How to Smoke Pork Shoulder
- The night before cooking, prepare pork. Remove excess fat cap, and any glands. Pat dry with paper towel and then place onto a baking sheet, and inject the meat. Discard any liquid that pools in the pan and then pat dry the pork again.
- Apply mustard and then dry rub thoroughly. If you don’t have time to do the night before try to apply at least an hour before cooking. You’ll see the rub begin to liquefy as the moisture connects with the meat.
- Preheat smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. We use apple or cherry wood. Insert a thermometer if you have a remote probe, and leave in place.
- Place the pork fat cap side up (if you left the cap on) and smoke for about three hours. You’ll see a bark begin to develop, if it hasn't continue smoking one more hour. After you see a mahogany color and bark, spritz (or spray) every 30 minutes. After about five hours total, check the temperature. When the pork hits on or around 165 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s likely coming out of the stall and ready to wrap. This will change from meat to meat, you will see the temperature hover and only go up in a few degrees per hour. It pushes through the stall when you start to see the temperature increase in a much faster pace (between 165 to 175).
- As you complete the stall, (remove the thermometer at this point if you have one) place the pork shoulder into a pan, add a small amount (two tablespoons) of your spritz into the pan and wrap in foil tightly. Put the thermometer back in place.
- Continue cooking wrapped until the internal temperature is between 200 and 203. Use an instant read thermometer. It should slide right in as if it is room temperature butter.
- Remove from smoker (leave wrapped). Place into a cooler (with NO ice) and let it rest for an hour. It will act as a warmer and keep the pork warm for hours, so if you are planning an event, better to be done early and let it sit.
- After one hour, remove from cooler and begin pulling. Remove the bone (it will just slide right out clean), and then pull with your favorite tool or with your hands. It is likely there will be some cartilage or other fatty pieces, be sure to pull those out (it’s not a good texture).
- You may also opt to add a few tablespoons of BBQ sauce to mix in as well, or just top your pulled pork sandwiches with it. See BBQ sauce in notes, and also a link below the video.
Notes
How to Reheat Smoked Pulled Pork
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place pulled pork in an oven safe dish. Add 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar or your favorite barbecue sauce and then cover with foil. Place into the oven for 20 minutes. The liquid from vinegar will steam to re-hydrate the smoked pulled pork and the fat will re-liquefy.
The Video for How to Smoke a Pork Butt
If you have trouble viewing the video here, CLICK HERE to view it on Facebook.
Additional Recipes From the Video:
Our Favorite Tools for Smoking Pork Butt
The following are some of our favorite tools to help us make killer pulled pork! Most are pictured above.
- These Silicone Gloves by Ekogrips: (as pictured above) these are fantastic when working with hot meat. The best part of them is that they are dishwasher safe, so you are assured you are working with clean and safe gloves. There are several silicone gloves out there, but these are the ones we use.
- This Pork Puller: When we’re cooking several pork butts for a crowd we use this pork puller for speed and ease. You just attach it, just like a drill bit, to your drill and pull away. So easy and so awesome to make smoked pulled pork!
- A Good Digital Probe Thermometer: Temperature is key when cooking a large piece of meat like a pork butt. Every transition we make is determined by a specific temperature, so it’s vital to have a good thermometer.
- For injecting our meat, we use an injector, like this one.
Uses for Leftover Smoked Pulled Pork
When you’re experimenting with pulled pork, like we tend to do, you may find yourself with some leftovers. Here are a few favorite uses for leftover pulled pork:
- Pork Shoulder Tacos
- Pulled Pork Nachos
- Pulled Pork Spring Rolls
- Leftover Pulled Pork Wontons
- Smoked Pulled Pork Hash The ultimate brunch!
- And so much more! Try it on pizza, pulled pork sloppy joes, pulled pork mac and cheese. The options are endless!
*This post contains affiliate links for some of our favorite products. We’ve used and abused everything mentioned, and they’re still going strong! We only recommend products we think are totally worthy of your love and investment!
If you like this recipe we’d truly appreciate it if you would give this recipe a star review! And if you share any of your pics on Instagram use the hashtag #vindulge. We LOVE to see it when you cook our recipes.
This post was originally created in 2016 and has been updated March 2020 with more Q and A and reader questions answered.
Kelsey Schumaker says
Hi there! I am wanting to cook 2 pork butts with this recipe tomorrow. I was reading that you suggested injecting and putting rub on the night before and leaving in the fridge over night. Would that be okay? I read some of your comments and replys that said not to put rub on the night before. Or do I inject and marinate right before I put on the smoker. Just wondering what would be best for best flavor?
Sean Martin says
Kelsey, great questions. The main reason we inject and season the day prior – is so we can wake up and just start the smoker early and put them on. The injection and seasoning will add some minor flavor elements if done the night before. If you plan to wake up and do it all right before you cook it, that will also be just fine. But what we have learned is make it easy on us by injecting, and then seasoning the day prior. Wake up, get the smoker going, then throw them into the smoker.
Alli says
Hi! This recipe looks amazing!! I have a 4lb pork shoulder, since there are only two of us, will this still be ok if I just adjust time wise? I assume I would have to start spritzing after only and hour and a half or so? It will be my first attempt at smoking pork butt so any helpful tips on a smaller size piece of meat would be appreciated!
thank you so much for this recipe, so excited to make it tomorrow!
Sean Martin says
Alli – yes, the shoulder will cook slightly faster, but even a four pounder (assuming it’s boneless) will take at least 6 hours because the smaller cuts still need to cook through completely. It will still have a stall. So I would plan 6 – 7 hours and if it’s done early you can rest it in the cooler (no ice) until ready to pull. Can’t wait to hear how it turns out.
Serge says
I made this today. First time doing pork butt. I opted out of injecting. Everything else I did to the letter of the recipe. It came out great. The flavor profile of the rub is perfect. I will definitely be making this again.
Alex says
Great recipe, I used it on my first time smoking. I wished I would have done some stuff differently (over smoked it a bit) but it still tasted amazing. Love it
Sarah says
This is my go to recipe for smoking pork’! I’ve made it probably 5x now and can’t find anything that compares. I also never remember to prep the night before, I don’t have an injector so it’s mostly the rub and the timing that makes this so perfect! And that’s saying a lot coming from a KC girl who grew up on the the best bbq
Sean Martin says
Awesome!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share.
Dusty says
I have injected and rubbed down my butt. Wondering how long I can keep it in my fridge? Should I try to cook at 12 hours or will 36 be okay?
Sean Martin says
Dusty, great question. I would suggest keeping the fridge no more than 12 hours. And don’t be surprised if you see the rub liquefy and get pasty, that is normal.
Gerald BOGAN says
Read but havn’t tried yet Will so Sounds great
Cheryl Cooney says
Have tried several great barbecue recipes but this one is the bomb! Awesome!! I made the vinegar based sauce, wow, it’s good enough to drink. (I did add a little more brown sugar to my taste)
Sean Martin says
Awesome!!! I love that you modified to your flavor preference!!
Brittany says
Absolutely perfect! Used Worcestershire instead of Dijon mustard before rub. Spritz for mine was just apple juice! Best pulled pork I’ve ever had!
Sean Martin says
NICE!! Thank you so much for the feedback!
GEOFF says
Very good instructions, rub was awesome! Have have smoked several butts before. However, i like to try different methods and ideas. This was simple and thorough!
Cherie says
Am following this method for the third time – love it! I don’t have an injector and just do the mustard and a Costco rub the night prior. We get the shoulder from Costco (double pack) and smoke them both to freeze leftovers. Usually 14lbs and takes 16-17 hours from start to finish. The only time I welcome a 3:45am wake up call. 😉 Thanks for sharing!!!
Sean Martin says
Awesome!!! And you nailed it, you really don’t need to inject in a pork butt, we do to add a little extra, but it’s not necessary. Freezing is a perfect way to save those, and of course we have a number of leftover pork recipes 🙂
RAUL SORIANO says
Thank you for sharing your pork shoulder recipe I followed your recipe to the T I start on sep 1 at 3:30 am I used apple wood chips to smoke my family came over for dinner and it was a big hit that bark was even my mother in law loved and she is a big critic and she gave me thumbs up I will put this recipe in my book thank you again.
Sean Martin says
Raul thank you so much and very happy to keep your mother in law happy!!!! (I know from experience 🙂 )
Marc says
I have used this recipe multiple times a year for the past few years. I use a Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker with apple, hickory, and pecan wood. I am more of a purist and do not wrap. However, this has come out perfect every time. I had people over who worked at barbecue joints tell me this is way better than what they served at those place.
Thanks again for the recipe. I pass it onto everyone I know!!!
Sean Martin says
Thank you so much for the feedback, we very much hearing it!
Madrienne Crow says
I have made your pulled pork and it’s fantastic! Here’s my question: We are having a party next weekend for the 50th Anniversary of the first moon landing.
Should I just serve the pork it in a big bowl? It will come to room temperature after a while.
Or should I put it in the crockpot to stay warm?
I will have buns, bbq sauce, French Bread rounds, and mayonnaise for my guests to fix their own sandwiches.
Sean Martin says
Madrienne, we can keep a pork shoulder warm in a cooler (no ice) for up to four hours. So if you can do that you can pull right before, and can certainly use a slow cooker to keep it warm. I would add a little sauce/liquid. Another option is to go buy at a grocery store, the one time use serving trays and sterno to light up and keep it warm. Then you can keep it warm also, but sounds like you already have a slow cooker, so makes sense to just do that!
D. Propper says
I have never smoked a Pork Butt before this past Thursday (July 4th). As an avid follower of your Instagram page, I love most everything you show. Therefore, found your recipe and tips and gave it a go. The Pork turned out absolutely incredible. It was as good, if not better, than any pulled pork I have ever gotten at a restaurant…. and I love pulled pork. I loved the tip about letting the pork rest in the cooler longer than 1 hour, if needed. I kept the pork wrapped up and in the cooler for approx. 2 hours and then pulled it by hand just before eating. Everything was still hot, moist, and absolutely perfect. I usually follow recipes that I find online and look as to how I can improve it after the first run, but I see nowhere where I can make this any better. Thanks so much!
Sean Martin says
Thank you so much for the feedback!!
Erin says
Have you ever tried wrapping in butcher paper instead of foil? If so how did it turn out?
Sean Martin says
Yes we have, and we find it works just as well as foil We are now experimenting with all things wrap with pink butcher paper. Great question!!
Brent Davis says
Came out absolutely perfect. Never had done a pork butt before. Followed recipe to a “T” (except didn’t inject and wait over night – bought from store at 5 pm, in the smoker by 8 pm). Out of the smoker at 12 midnight – injected bourbon and maple syrup, double foil wrap, in the oven at 210 F until 6 am. 3 hr towel wrap in the cooler for resting. Awesome.
Sean Martin says
Awesome Brent!!!! Love the bourbon syrup combo for sure!!
Axel says
This was the absolute best pulled pork ever. Everyone loved it. I did not inject (yet). Maybe this coming summer. I will do many times over. Thank you for this information. I’ve done other recipes from you also. All of them amazing. My friends and I all thank you for the food heaven.
Sean Martin says
Awesome Axel, it means so much you would drop us a comment!!!! And thanks so much for sharing your experience. If you modify or add your own twists, that is where the fun begins, let us know too and share photos on Instagram or Facebook!
Wayne says
I picked up a pellet smoker this summer and this was the first recipe I tried. I have no previous experience smoking large pieces of meat.
I followed the steps as written and the results were outstanding. I injected, used the mustard, made the rub recipe. All these things helped me make the best pulled pork I ever tasted. Thanks for posting this!
Mary says
Wayne welcome to the smoker club!!!! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. We started this journey ourselves on a pellet grill and a kettle, we learn something every cook too. It never ends and so glad your on the journey too!!
Ron Kast says
This is my third time smoking a port butt per your suggestion. I am a true believer to the adage low and slow. I appreciate the step by step instructions. Thank you so much for posting your secrets.
Mary says
Ron thank you so much for sharing this, you made our day!!! We will keep the secrets coming!
BBQonMain.com says
Hey Mary, Just wanted to let you know we love your recipe so much we featured it as part of our 101 favorite smoker recipes! You can check it out here – https://bbqonmain.com/101-smoker-recipes/ The walk through on trimming and whether or not to inject is super helpful, and we love the idea of using smoked pork butt to make spring rolls!
Thank you for pushing yourself in the kitchen and sharing it with us all =]
– Team at BBQ on Main
Mary says
Thank you so much for the feature!!
Jim Button says
At what point do you switch from apple or cherry wood to oak or pecan?
Mary says
Jim, great question, so first we typically do this on an offset smoker. In this case we alternate logs (oak, then fruit wood, oak, then fruit wood).
If you are using a pellet smoker, then mix in the hopper equal parts.
If a kamado style like the Big Green Egg, we mix equal parts of the chunks with the charcoal.
Cathey Grossman says
I’m making pulled pork in advance for a party the following week.
How would you recommend maintaining quality. Thinking of cooking,
Shredding, vac seal, freeze then sous vide before serving.
Thoughts. Thank You
Mary says
Yes! That is exactly how I would do it. Or, you can re-smoke the pulled pork in a pan with a little apple cider vinegar covered. Or in the oven. We have done both.
oie says
I did just for kicks I cook my pork over an fire pit in a buch oven pot.
I used bloody Mary mix with night train as my injection basic .
Then basic dry rub I got from Savoy website took about four to six to fully cooked and smoke.
The favorite came out awesome.
Jillian says
I have learned so much from reading this!! Thank you so much, awesome post. Now, you may have listed this already and I somehow missed it, but three questions. You WOULDN’T inject with vinegar if leaving for a few hours to “marinate” before smoking? Would you lather with mustard, then rub, wrap and leave in the fridge overnight? I was told to leave the butt on the counter for a few hours before smoking to let it get to room temp as that is best – is this true?
Thank you!!
Mary says
Jillian thanks for the comment, lots of great questions. So we don’t marinate our meat for this, but if you do, I wouldn’t bother with the injection. And with pork shoulder, consider a brine versus a marinate. Brines have a specific salt to flavor and liquid ratio. You can certainly slather with mustard and leave in fridge. The salt in your rub will work into the outer layers of the meat and get good flavor.
As for the room temp, we are not a fan when smoking. We just take straight from fridge and put onto the smoker. As the meat comes to temp in the smoker it will sweat and I like the moisture as it takes on more flavor. Even with steaks if you have the right flame and a direct heat, you wouldn’t need room temp. Some even take straight from freezer to cook. Hope those help!
Jillian says
Thank you for the response!! Certainly helps. To clarify, when I said “marinate” I meant to inject and let it sit in the fridge over night. So back to that real quick, would you omit the vinegar in that case if injecting hours before smoking? Or would you just inject your sauce before smoking and throw it right on?
Mary says
You could totally do that, it’s like brining anyway and it won’t hurt the meat. You can also add some rub into the injection if you have the right injector too. If it’s BBQ sauce you are thinking of injecting, I would go with a vinegar based sauce, the tomato based are very thick and may jam and not permeate through the meat as easily. Take photos and post on FB for us!!!
Tim says
What can we coat the meat with if we don’t like mustard?
Mary says
You can easily substitute with olive oil. The point is to have something for the dry rub to bind to. We just love the flavor of mustard so it’s our default.
BBQBusch says
Suggest you try using the mustard even if you don’t care for it. Unless you’re absolutely major sensitive to mustard, you’ll never taste it if you use just the slightest glaze of it plus the rub and don’t heavily slather the mustard on your meat.
Jimmy cardwell says
Very well put , good information
Julie says
Question – approximately how many hours does it take to smoke a 7 lb roast? I am looking to try this technique and need to know what time to get up in the morning!
Mary says
Julie,
Plan 90 minutes per pound. That includes smoke time, time wrapped, and time in the cooler coming to temp.
Leo says
I will be doing this recipe this weekend. At what temp do you cook at after you wrap the the park?
Kimberly Kennedy says
Question, I just got a smoker so trying pulled pork for the first time. I am wanting to use Red’s Apple Cider. Have you ever tired it and is it any good? If you have do you have any tips to go with it?
Mary says
Kimberly we have not tried Red’s Cider, I would love to hear how it goes!!
MB says
Reds is not cider but apple flavored beer. Try a good, dry craft cider, that’s what I do with great results on the spritz.
Mary says
Love this idea!!!
Jamie Ostrowski says
Thanks for the great article. I’m pretty new to smoking meats – one thing really puzzles me. You mention you get the pork up to 203 degrees. That is much higher than the done temp of pork, which (and the USDA has just revised this) is 145 degrees. It’s my understanding that bringing the meat beyond around 145-165 degrees makes it begin to toughen.
How is it that you bring it up to 203 and it stays tender? Would it be better to cook just until the done temp of 145?
Given all your experience in cooking meat, I don’t doubt for a moment you are doing it correctly, but can you explain this?
Mary says
Jamie a great question. In this case you are correct, USDA recommends to cook pork to 145, that said, the pork shoulder is something special. Something with a lot of marbling and fat that needs to cook to a higher temperature in order to render that fat out so you can pull it and still get it moist. If you only cooked the pork shoulder to 145 – 165 it will not have gone through the magical phase of the fat rendering. And sliced pork is great.
Once the temp hits 165 and crawls to about 205 ish, that is the time that the juices flow from the rendering fat and liquefies in the meat keeping it moist and tender. Cook too much beyond 205 and the liquid begins to steam out of the meat and it will get dry. So in this case, the cut of meat and the type of fat or marbling matters in how long you cook it.
If it was a pork chop, you are spot on, cook to 140, pull the meat. While resting it will continue to heat up to about 145 and is right where you want the temperature.
Brett Merriman says
how long does it usually take to go from stall to 203?
Monica Louie says
Yes, I am officially hungry after reading this post! It looks so good, and I love all the ways that you can eat pork butt. 🙂 Thanks for the detailed step-by-step too! This will be great to reference in the future!
Warren @ Blog to Taste says
It’s after midnight, and I’m lying in bed, but I am starving after reading this. The pictures were perfect, and the end result…OMG! Plus I love how scientific this post got 🙂
Catherine says
It may be my inner 13-year-old, but I can’t stop giggling about this. “What I learned from pork butt!” 🙂
Pech says
I have never cooked pulled pork but I appreciate all the experience and expertise you shared here for anyone who is looking for tips. Those photos once you get to the The Pull section of this post though… man, food porn! I might just scoop the juices and meat and all onto rice and call it good… I’m also a big fan if I have leftover pulled pork for some reason I’ll use it in mac and cheese
Marlynn @ UrbanBlissLife says
What an excellent set of tips! I’m NOT at all versed in smoking food, so I truly appreciate all of these tips. The only way I’ve done pulled pork is the ol’ classic slow cooker method. Time for me to try something new, I think!
Brianne says
You are making me hungry! I love pulled pork and everything looks amazing (especially that hash). 🙂
Erin @ Platings and Pairings says
So much to learn!!! What a great informational post – From the pictures, to the detailed steps, I feel like I may be able to conquer pulled pork on the grill now!