Smoked Pork Butt (Smoked Pork Shoulder)
on Nov 14, 2019, Updated Oct 07, 2023
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When I’m invited to a cookout or want to host a next-level BBQ blowout, I’ll always whip out this smoked pork butt. Not only is it ridiculously tender (seriously, the bone pulls right out!), but the pork shoulder is smoked low and slow for all those multi-taskers out there. Throw in a slightly sweet injection to keep everything moist and a sweet-n-spicy pork butt rub, and you’ll have the best smoked pulled pork in town. Goodbye, dry and boring pulled pork – hello, Traeger pulled pork goodness!
Table of Contents
- ❤️ This Pulled Pork Recipe Is Awesome!
- 🗒️ Grab Your Smoker And Ingredients
- 👨🍳 Make Traeger Smoked Pulled Pork
- 😉 Tips For A Successful Smoked Pork Butt
- 🐷Pork Butt or Pork Shoulder… OR?
- 🐖 Pig Out on These Pork Recipes
- 🤔 Substitutions and Variations
- 🥫 How to Sauce Pulled Pork
- ⏱️ Store and Reheat Your Smoked Pulled Pork
- 🛠 Tools and Equipment
- 🤤 What to Serve with Smoked Pulled Pork
- ❓ FAQ
- 🎁 Wrap Up
- 💬 Tell Me What You Think!
- CONNECT WITH A LICENSE TO GRILL!
- Smoked Pork Butt – Easy Pulled Pork Recipe
What makes this smoked pork butt a firm favorite in my BBQ binder is the cooking method. The smoker gives it a warm depth of flavor that you just can’t beat. And that beautiful bark on the exterior from the slow smoke? Glorious! To make things even better, the smoker does almost all of the work, and cleanup is a breeze.
Nothing quite says barbecue like some smoky and juicy smoked pulled pork. You’re going to want to stock up on the beer and get ready to dig into the best pulled pork you have ever had!
So, gather around Grill Masters, as you’ll want to take notes on this one and put it in your summer BBQ rotation!
❤️ This Pulled Pork Recipe Is Awesome!
- The meat falls off the bone and melts in your mouth! After it is smoked to perfection, you can pull the bone out, smooth like butter!
- The prep work is minimal, and once it is on the smoker, you can relax and wait for deliciousness.
- The recipe is easy enough for beginners, but the technique and finished product can be mastered with repetitive cooks.
- The glorious injection is rich, slightly sweet, and satisfying (plus, it keeps the meat moist!).
- It stores well for sandwiches and leftovers throughout the week if you’re pressed for time.
🗒️ Grab Your Smoker And Ingredients
For the Pork
- Pork butt. Also known as a Boston butt and pork shoulder. Usually, if you ask your butcher for pork shoulder, you will get a pork butt. So you really cannot go wrong here. Go for a cut that is about 8 to 10 pounds. Grab a bone-in butt for added flavor. You can select a larger cut, but it’ll add to the smoking time!
- Pork butt rub. Needed to give the meat a wonderful bark on the outside while adding a sweet and spicy flavor to your pulled pork.
For the Pork Butt Injection
- Apple juice. You can also use apple cider or pineapple juice. Actually, you can get creative and try different sweet liquids to see what hits right.
- Pork butt rub. The same rub you will use to coat the butt!
- Water. We are making a marinade to inject into the butt, so water helps!
- Apple cider vinegar. To tenderize the pork and add a tangy flavor.
- Butter. We need some fat, of course. The butter adds richness and moisture.
- Worcestershire sauce. For a hit of umami and savory flavor that really lifts the injection.
👨🍳 Make Traeger Smoked Pulled Pork
Prepare the Pork Butt
- Preheat your smoker.
- Pat the pork butt dry and wipe away any excess moisture or bone fragments.
- Trim any excess fat from the pork, and be sure to remove any areas with a hard fat cap on the butt.
- Sprinkle the pork butt rub over the meat and rub it in to cover all sides and crevices.
- Combine the ingredients for the injection marinade and incorporate the ingredients.
- Inject the marinade into the pork butt. Work in a grid-like pattern and inject the marinade until it oozes out of the butt.
Smoke The Pork Butt
- Place the pork butt on the smoker and leave it to cook by closing the lid.
- Check your smoked pork butt regularly until it reaches the right internal temperature, and remove it from the smoker. The butt will need to smoke for about 1.5 to 2 hours per pound of meat.
- Optional: once the pork butt reaches an internal temperature of 160°F, you can wrap the pork in butcher paper. This is called the Texas Crutch and helps to skate past the stall and speed up the cook.
- Let it rest for an hour. I like to wrap it in a towel and place it in a cooler. It will maintain a safe temperature for hours with this cooler method.
- Shred the smoked pork butt and serve with your choice of added seasonings or BBQ sauce. Use some of the extra pork butt rub to season the pulled pork and drizzle on some Kansas City-style BBQ sauce.
😉 Tips For A Successful Smoked Pork Butt
- Focus on internal temperatures, not time! Smoked pork butt takes a long time to cook, and the temperature of your smoker might fluctuate slightly. For the absolute best smoked pulled pork, it’s best to use a meat thermometer to smoke it until it reaches about 203°F. Low and slow is the key here.
- Consider using the Texas Crutch. This is 100% optional, but I find wrapping the butt can help to trap moisture and accelerate the cooking time. When you hit the stall (AKA: when the internal temperature plateaus during the cook), the Texas Crutch will cut this period in half and get the smoked pork shoulder on the table sooner!
- Don’t be afraid to over-season the meat. This might sound nuts, but the pork butt is a huge cut of meat. The injection infuses a lot of flavor into the butt, but the pork butt rub is still needed. Once you pull the pork butt apart, the seasoned exterior will mix into the interior, but you still may need to add additional pork butt rub seasoning to the pulled pork to make sure it passes the vibe check.
- If you’re putting a pan underneath your smoked pork shoulder to catch the drippings, reserve the juices to make a glorious gravy down the line.
- The Texas Crutch wrap speeds things up a bunch, but you’ll get a better bark on the exterior without any wrapping.
🐷Pork Butt or Pork Shoulder… OR?
Is pork butt the same as pork shoulder? Kinda…
You will often see the two terms used interchangeably, and in general, if you ask the butcher for pork shoulder, you will get a pork butt. And that is fine because it makes sense! Really, the pork shoulder is a cut that contains the pork butt.
To really understand the difference, we need to talk about primal cuts first.
What are the Primal Cuts of Pork
- Ham
- Loin
- Pork shoulder
- Belly with spare ribs
Most people observe the pork shoulder as a primal cut, but sometimes people refer to the pork butt and picnic shoulder as separate primal cuts. These are the two cuts of meat that come from pork shoulder.
The pork shoulder is the cut of pork that comes from the front shoulder of the pig, from the shoulder blade down to the hocks. The pork butt comes from the upper section of the pork shoulder primal cut, towards the shoulder blade, and the picnic shoulder comes from the lower section, just below the pork butt.
Pork butt is also called Boston butt, and you may notice that some butchers or grocery stores may label their pork butt as “Boston Style” or “Boston Pork Butt.” It is the same thing! Now you are armed with the info you need to get the best cut of meat for your smoked pork shoulder!
🐖 Pig Out on These Pork Recipes
🤔 Substitutions and Variations
- If you want to add a slight tang to your pulled pork, use mustard as a binder. After patting the butt dry, squirt on a healthy helping of mustard and rub it all over the pork. Then season the meat as normal with pork butt rub.
- Give it a punch of yum with a hit of bourbon! Add a ¼ cup of bourbon to the marinade. The liquor will cook out, but the wonderfully sweet, smoky, and vanilla notes of flavor will linger and infuse the meat.
- Use your favorite wood pellets. Fruit woods like Apple and cherry are perfect for pulled pork. I usually always mix in a hardwood pellet like hickory or maple. My favorite Traeger pulled pork is done with a blend of apple and hickory with competition pellets.
- Don’t feel like injecting? Instead, marinate the pork butt. Follow the recipe for the injection, but place it in a large bowl or pot. Then toss in the butt and let it marinate overnight or for about 24 hours. After you remove it from the marinade, pat it dry and continue with the recipe as normal.
🥫 How to Sauce Pulled Pork
Sauce the pulled pork after you have smoked the pork butt, let it rest, and pull it apart. Once you have a heaping pile of pulled pork, you can decide how you would like to sauce it.
If I am cooking for a large crew, I will typically keep it simple and add the pulled pork to a large bowl and sauce it with the Kansas City-style BBQ sauce. If you add too much sauce, it will become a soggy mess. But it is a preference thing, so gauge it as you go.
⏱️ Store and Reheat Your Smoked Pulled Pork
You can keep this delicious smoked pork butt in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
If you need longer, place the pulled pork in a vacuum-sealed bag and throw it in the freezer for up to 6 months. Be sure to thaw it in the fridge overnight before you plan to eat it again.
If you want to reheat the pulled pork, you can get away with reheating it in the microwave. Microwave on high in the 30-second bursts until heated throughout.
You can also reheat the meat in a slow cooker. Be sure to add some liquid to keep it from drying out. You can use our Kansas City-style BBQ sauce to keep things moist as it reheats.
If you keep the pork butt in a vacuum-sealed bag, try reheating the frozen or thawed pulled pork using Sous Vide. Set the water temp to 165°F and heat it until warmed through.
This smoked pork butt is glorious with potatoes and classic dinner sides, but you can also assemble some killer sandwiches topped with a delicious slaw your use the leftovers in an amazing chili.
🛠 Tools and Equipment
- Traeger Timberline
- Masterbuilt Gravity
- ThermoWorks Thermapen and ThermoWorks Signals
- John Boos Butcher Block
- Pepper Cannon
- Competition pellets
- OXO Meat Injector
🤤 What to Serve with Smoked Pulled Pork
Side Dishes
Smoked Baked Beans
Traeger
Smoked Cauliflower
Traeger
Smoked Brussels Sprouts
Traeger
3-2-1 Ribs
Side Dishes
Traeger Au Gratin Potatoes
❓ FAQ
Its name might confuse you, but pork butt is a cut of meat that comes from the shoulder of the pig. This cut of pork is often used for pulled pork, but it’s also glorious roasted, braised, or stewed! Pork butt is also known as Boston butt, and most times, it is simply known as pork shoulder. Read the section above about the difference between pork butt and pork shoulder.
If you’re dealing with overly chewy or tough pork, it probably wasn’t smoked for long enough. The goal is to get meat that falls off the bone, and that’s always going to be a labor of love! You need to render the fat and break down the connective tissue in the smoked pork shoulder.
If you pulled the meat from the Traeger too early and it is still tough, you can save it! Hopefully, you realize quickly that it is not pulling apart, and you can simply place it back on the Traeger to smoke for longer.
If you’re cooking the meat at around 225°F, you can expect it to take around 12 to 16 hours to cook completely. This will vary if you’re cooking at a slightly different temperature (or you’re using a particularly large cut!). Give yourself about 1.5 to 2 hours per pound of pork butt.
I don’t like to pull my pork butt until it reaches at least 200°F internally. For the perfect pulled pork, remove the butt from the Traeger when it reaches an internal temp of 203°F to 205°F.
Absolutely not! You can use a pellet grill, gas grill, charcoal grill, oven, or anything, really. You will just want to be sure that you maintain a consistent temp around 225°F. If you are using charcoal, be sure to pile on more bricks throughout the cook to keep the temps up. Pull the butt when the internal temperature reads 225°F.
🎁 Wrap Up
Tender, juicy, and super versatile, this smoked pork butt is more than worth that long cooking time. This smoked pork shoulder is perfect for everything from backyard parties to Superbowl gatherings. It’s sure to make you incredibly popular, and it will definitely be on your BBQ rotation year-round!
💬 Tell Me What You Think!
Did you try out this recipe? Please leave a comment below and let me know how you liked it. Also, snap a picture and post it to your favorite social platform. Be sure to tag me at @alicensetogrill and let me know how you liked it!
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Smoked Pork Butt - Easy Pulled Pork
This smoked pork butt will be a game changer for you, and I am sure it will be on your BBQ rotation, especially when you have a large crowd to feed during parties and gatherings.
The pork butt is injected with a flavorful marinade. The injection infuses tons of delicious flavors into the meat and keeps it juicy and moist while it smokes low and slow on the Traeger. The pork butt rub enhances the flavors and brings on some sweet heat, making those pulled pork sandwiches absolute perfection!
Grab your pork butt, rub it down, and throw it on the smoker! Prepare those pulled pork sandwich ingredients and get ready to feast! You might want a beer or two lined up, also.
Ingredients
- 1 8-10 pound pork butt (bone-in or boneless)
- 1 cup pork butt rub
Injection
- 1 cup apple juice (or cider)
- 1 tablespoon pork butt rub
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker to 225°F.
- Remove the pork butt from the packaging and pat it dry. Be sure to wipe away any excess moisture or bone fragments.
- Trim any excess fat or areas with a hard fat cap. You will want to keep most of the fat, so only remove any hard and firm areas.
Rub and Inject
- Sprinkle the pork butt rub all over the meat and rub it in. Be sure all sides and crevices are seasoned.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the ingredients for the injection marinade. Use a whisk or fork to incorporate all of the ingredients.
- Use a marinade injector and inject the marinade into the pork butt. Go in a grid pattern and inject enough until the marinade flows out of the meat before moving to the next position.
Smoke The Pork Butt
- Place the pork butt on the smoker in the middle of the grate. Use a thermometer to monitor the internal temp throughout the cook.
- Close the lid and smoke the pork butt until the internal temperature reaches between 200°F and 205°F. This will likely take 14-18 hours, depending on the size of your pork.
- Optional: Use the Texas Crutch. Once the pork butt reaches an internal temperature of 160°F, remove the pork butt from the smoker and wrap it in pink butcher paper or foil. Place the pork butt back on the smoker until it reaches an internal temperature of 200°F to 205°F.
- Remove the smoked pork butt from the smoker and let it rest for about an hour. Place the pork butt directly into a cooler to help it stay warm while it rests.
- Shred the pork butt and serve. Add additional seasoning or BBQ sauce to the shredded meat. Use it to build some amazing pulled pork sandwiches or top some macaroni and cheese with the pulled pork.
Notes
- Cook according to internal temperature, not time. Pork butt takes a long time to cook, and your smoker temperature may fluctuate or be slightly inaccurate. So Use a thermometer to monitor the internal temperature of the pork butt and remove it from the smoker when it reaches the desired temperature, around 203°F.
- The Texas Crutch is optional, but I usually always use it for my longer cooks. Wrapping the pork butt in foil or butcher paper helps to trap the moisture and accelerate the cook. When you hit the stall (when the internal temperature plateaus for a couple of hours), the Texas Crutch will cut the stall time in half and help you get dinner on the table sooner.
- Modify the injection marinade to fit your taste. If you add fresh herbs, be sure to use a blender to ensure that the marinade is still able to pass through the needle of the injector. Add some heat by adding some cayenne powder or habanero powder.
- Hot and fast. If you are on a time crunch and cannot cook the pork butt overnight, you can smoke your pork butt in about 5 hours. Instead of cooking at 225°F, smoke the pork butt at 300°F until it reaches the desired internal temperature. This should shave off nearly 10 hours of cooking time. You can still use the Texas Crutch once the meat reaches an internal temp of 160°F, but you may not need it because the higher temperature in the smoker means you don't have the typical stall like you see when cooking low and slow.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 638Total Fat: 45gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 201mgSodium: 188mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 52g
Nutrition information is a guideline only, is calculated automatically by third party software, and absolute accuracy is not guaranteed.
