Get ready for some of the BEST smoked pulled pork you'll ever have with this Easy Smoked Pork Butt recipe! This pork butt roast is smoked low and slow until it's fall-apart tender and extremely flavorful. But don't eat it all! Save some to make my Easy Chile Relleno recipe!
In the past, I've prepared Instant Pot Pulled Pork. It's a great option when you are short on time and still want to have a tender and juicy pulled pork. However, sometimes going the extra mile had its benefits, especially when you're looking for a great smoky flavor, as in this smoked pork butt recipe!
Smoking a pork butt on a pellet grill or a Traeger pellet smoker adds even more complexity to the already amazing flavor! Yes, it takes a long time, but it's so worth it!
We'll start by rubbing the pork butt with balsamic vinegar, then we will pierce and fill it with a ton of garlic slivers. To season it, we'll use my delicious pulled pork rub which has the perfect blend of spices.
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🧐 Why This Recipe Works
- When you make smoked pork butt, the smoker does all the work, while you sit back and enjoy a cold one!
- This is one of those recipes that keeps on giving. You can make so many different things with leftover pulled pork!
- You can experiment with different spice rubs and wood chips to make this recipe your own!
- Although good bark (a chemical reaction that forms a crust from the combination of spices and the bbq smoke) is not really required for pulled pork, it still develops. The taste is out of this world!
🛒 What You Need for This Recipe
🔖 Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions
- Roast: Choose a bone-in pork butt (a.k.a. Boston Butt). A pork butt or shoulder that's been deboned will be butterflied open and hard to work with. The pork shoulder roast should be around 8 pounds. A smaller or larger one will affect the cooking time.
- Vinegar: If you don't have balsamic vinegar, you can use red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar instead.
- Beer: I chose a nice, dark, stout, with chocolate and coffee tones. If you don't have stout on hand, use your favorite beer instead. If you prefer not to use beer, use non-alcoholic beer, apple juice, or beef or chicken broth.
- BBQ Sauce: Serve the pulled pork with your favorite BBQ sauce or make your own, like I do!
- Pulled Pork Seasoning: Use your favorite pulled pork seasoning, or try my pulled pork dry rub which adds a delightful flavor. It's made with brown sugar, salt, black pepper, chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, sage, and cloves.
🔪 Helpful Tools
- Traeger or another pellet smoker
- Probe Thermometer (sponsored links)
🍖 How To Smoke A Pork Butt
Step 1: Rinse the roast and pat dry with paper towels. Brush with balsamic vinegar and pierce all over with a sharp knife. Fill holes with slivers of garlic. Brush with vinegar and season with spice rub. Wrap with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
Step 2: Bring roast to room temperature a few hours before you plan on smoking it. Crack open a beer, give it time to go flat before pouring some of it into a spray bottle. Add your favorite pellets, then fire up the smoker to 225° F. Select Super Smoke if you have that option.
Step 3: When the smoker is ready, spritz the pork butt generously with beer, then insert the probe deep into the thickest part (make sure the probe is not touching the bone). Place on the grill grate, fat side down. Set the probe temperature to 160° F.
Pro Tip: If your smoker does not have a probe, you may want to purchase a meat thermometer that has an alarm feature and is Blue Tooth compatible like this one. It will notify you when the proper temp is reached.
Step 4: Spray roast every hour until the briskets' internal temperature reaches 160° F. It should take approximately 5 hours. Place the roast in a few layers of foil or on butcher paper. Pour approximately ¼ cup of beer over it, then seal well to lock in the juices.
Step 5: Reinsert the probe, then turn up the smokers temperature to 250° F. Smoke the pork until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 205° F. This will take another 3 hours or more.
Step 6: When it's ready, pull the roast off the grill, cover it with a towel, and allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes. Shred with two forks or meat claws to make pulled pork.
Pro Tip: If you need to wait longer than 30 minutes before serving it, you can wrap the foil-wrapped roast in a large towel and store it in a cooler (without ice). This will keep the roast warm until you serve it.
Step 7 (optional): If you prefer your pulled pork slightly crispy, add the shredded pork to a large aluminum pan or a large baking sheet. Drizzle with some of the rendered juices and smoke, uncovered, at 450° F for 15 minutes until slightly crispy.
Pro Tip: You can also broil it in the oven for a few minutes to get it crispy instead!
🍞 Pulled Pork Serving Suggestions
Serve smoked pork butt in hamburger buns and drizzle with your favorite barbecue sauce. To accompany your sandwich, serve a side of beans, oil and vinegar coleslaw, healthy broccoli salad, or this classic coleslaw.
🌮 Smoked Pulled Pork Leftovers
So now that you have some wonderful pulled pork leftovers, what do you do with them? Well, I would start with pulled pork nachos, pulled pork quesadillas, and pulled pork tacos (similar to carnitas).
I would also try pulled pork Instant Pot tamales and my Chile relleno recipes. If you still need more ideas, check out my 20 Ways to Use Leftover Pulled Pork post!
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
When choosing a pork roast, plan for ½ pound of meat per person. It's always better to have leftovers than not enough food to feed your guests.
Typically, a pork shoulder will take 1.5 to 2 hours of smoking time per pound, depending on many factors. This includes the size of the pork, the starting temperature of the pork, the outdoor temperature, and how many times the grill lid is lifted.
The best wood or pellet flavors to use with pork are cherry, apple, maple, hickory, mesquite, oak, and pecan. Use your favorite from the list or try them all and see which one you prefer. I used Traeger's Signature Blend (affiliate link) in this recipe. It features a combination of hickory, maple, and cherry hardwoods.
The best temperature to smoke pulled pork is anywhere between 225-250 degrees F. Deciding which temperature to choose depends on how much time you have to smoke the roast. A lower temperature is always preferable, however, it will lengthen the cooking time.
A whole pork shoulder is comprised of two parts; the picnic shoulder and the pork butt. Either one can be used to make smoked pulled pork. For more on the differences between a pork butt and a pork shoulder check out this informative post.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- When seasoning Traeger pulled pork, spoon the seasoning over the meat without touching the meat to avoid cross-contamination. You'll want to save any remaining rub for other uses.
- Some people like to inject the roast with beef broth or apple juice prior to putting it on the grill. This is not really necessary when it comes to a pork butt or pork shoulder since it's already marbled with fat.
- A pork butt roast doesn't usually need to be trimmed of excess fat. Most of it will render as it cooks.
- Instead of basting the roast with balsamic vinegar, slather the roast with yellow mustard or baste it with hot sauce.
- Resist the temptation to lift the lid frequently while the pork is being smoked. This will reduce the grill's temperature and prolong the cooking time.
- The smoking time will vary greatly, so use the suggested times as a reference point and not exact times. It's always better to give yourself extra time when smoking pulled pork. If it's ready before you plan on serving it, you can always keep it warm in a cooler.
🥩 More Smoker Recipes
If you enjoy this smoked pork butt recipe, try these other reader-tested and approved Traeger recipes!
- Perfectly Smoked Traeger Prime Rib
- Smoke A Traeger Brisket Like A Boss!
- Traeger Smoked Turkey Breast
- Traeger Smoked Potatoes
- Smoke Traeger Ribs Like A Pro!
🍗 Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Easy Smoked Pork Butt
Equipment
- Smoker
- meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 8 lb bone-in pork butt roast (or picnic shoulder)
- 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 8 cloves garlic (slivered)
- ⅓ cup pork rub Pork Rub Seasoning
- 1 bottle beer
Instructions
- Rinse the roast and pat dry with paper towels. Brush with balsamic vinegar and pierce all over with a sharp knife. Fill holes with slivers of garlic. Brush with vinegar and season with spice rub. Wrap with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
- Bring roast to room temperature a few hours before you plan on smoking it. Crack open a beer, give it time to go flat before pouring some of it into a spray bottle. Add your favorite pellets, then fire up the smoker to 225° F. Select Super Smoke if you have that option.
- When the smoker is ready, spritz the pork butt generously with beer, then insert the probe deep into the thickest part (make sure the probe is not touching the bone). Place on the grill grate, fat side down. Set the probe temperature to 160° F.
- Spray roast every hour until the briskets' internal temperature reaches 160° F. It should take approximately 5 hours. Place the roast in a few layers of foil or on butcher paper. Pour approximately ¼ cup of beer over it, then seal well to lock in the juices.
- Reinsert the probe, then turn up the smokers temperature to 250° F. Smoke the pork until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 205° F. This will take another 3 hours or more.
- When it's ready, pull the roast off the grill, cover it with a towel, and allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes. Shred with two forks or meat claws to make pulled pork.
Optional Step
- If you prefer your pulled pork slightly crispy, add the shredded pork to a large aluminum pan or a large baking sheet. Drizzle with some of the rendered juices and smoke, uncovered, at 450° F for 15 minutes until slightly crispy.
Notes
- If your smoker does not have a probe, you may want to purchase a meat thermometer that has an alarm feature and is Blue Tooth compatible like this one. It will notify you when the proper temp is reached.
- When seasoning the pork roast, spoon the seasoning over the meat without touching the meat to avoid cross-contamination. You'll want to save any remaining rub for other uses.
- Some people like to inject the roast with beef broth or apple juice prior to putting it on the grill. This is not really necessary when it comes to a pork butt or pork shoulder since it's already marbled with fat.
- A pork butt roast doesn't usually need to be trimmed of excess fat. Most of it will render as it cooks.
- Instead of basting the roast with balsamic vinegar, slather the roast with mustard or baste it with hot sauce.
- Resist the temptation to lift the lid frequently while the pork is being smoked. This will reduce the grill's temperature and prolong the cooking time.
- The smoking time will vary greatly, so use the suggested times as a reference point and not exact times. It's always better to give yourself extra time when smoking pulled pork.
- If you need to wait longer than 30 minutes before serving it, you can wrap the foil-wrapped roast in a large towel and store it in a cooler (without ice). This will keep the roast warm until you serve it.
- You can also broil the roast in the oven for a few minutes to get it crispy instead!
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you, David, I really appreciate the review and am glad you enjoyed the pulled pork!
David H. Israel says
great recipe