Smoked Pulled Pork

Written by Updated on March 7, 2022 in BBQ, Main Course
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Perfect Smoked Pulled Pork
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Perfect Smoked Pulled Pork

Recipe by Johnny BeaversCourse: BBQ, Entrees
Prep time

10

minutes
Total cook time

5

minutes
Resting time

30-60

minutes

I’ve been perfecting this one for a long time now. This simple recipe yields a consistently tasty pork shoulder and guarantees that it will fall apart and melt in your mouth.

Ingredients

  • 1 Pork Shoulder/Pork Butt – Untrimmed with a nice fat cap. Tell the butcher it’s for the smoker.
    *This can be bone in or bone out, whole or halved.

  • Kosher Salt

  • Coarse Ground Black Pepper

  • Garlic Powder

  • Yellow Mustard

  • 6-8 Beers

Instructions

  • The Night Before…
  • Evenly coat the entire surface of the pork shoulder in a generous amount of black pepper, kosher salt and garlic powder (sometimes onion powder).
    Take it easy on the salt. Cover and refrigerate.
  • The Day Of…
  • Get your smoker rolling at about 250° F. It’s important to ensure that you maintain a temperature between 250° and 285° throughout the cooking process. I usually use cherry wood for pulled pork but oak or hickory will do just fine. I recommend getting your fire going an hour in advance so that your heat is good and steady and you’ve generated some good coals.
  • Keep that smoke blue! You’ll know when your fire is rolling where it should be when your smoke is semi-translucent with a bluish hue. White smoke will create an acrid and extra smoky flavor on the meat. This is less than optimal.
  • Coat the shoulder in yellow mustard and huck it in the smoker with the fat cap side facing up. Don’t open the lid for at least the first 2 hours.
  • Start drinking. It’s going to be a long day and well, you’ve earned it.
  • You may choose to spritz the shoulder with apple cider vinegar throughout the cook. I keep a basin filled with water inside the chamber as well.
  • If smoking a full shoulder, I recommend that you halve the meat to save some cook time and increase surface area for flavor and bark (i.e. cut an 8 lb shoulder into 2, 4 lb pieces).
  • Cook approx 1.5 hr per pound. Example: 4 lb shoulder = 6 hours.
  • After about 4 hours or when the meat reaches about 165° internal temperature, I generally choose to remove it from the smoker, wrap it tightly in foil, and finish at about 265° in the oven. 4 hours is plenty of smoke for the shoulder and will keep those folks that aren’t so into the smoky flavor quiet.
  • Once the meat reaches an internal temperature of 210°F, remove it from heat and allow it to rest, still wrapped for 30-60 minutes.
  • Unwrap and pull the meat apart. Careful, it’s probably good and hot. Separate the fat and discard.
  • I highly recommend you make the Butt Stuff™ Vinegar Sauce and the Bourbon BBQ Sauce AND Ol’ Yeller for this meal as they were designed specifically for it.

    I like to add a generous amount of Butt Stuff™ directly to the pulled pork before serving and put both sauces on the table. Adding the Butt Stuff™ to the meat just after it’s pulled really puts the flavor profile on a different level.