How to Make Smoked Pork Butt That's Fall-Apart Tender

If you want to get into smoking, but are intimidated by tough cuts like brisket, smoked pork butt is the perfect place to start.

This article was published in partnership with 5-hour ENERGY

Smoked pork butt is a staple of barbecue in America and one of the easiest cuts of meat for those new to smoking (you'll want to invest in one of the best smokers). This oversized cut has enough fat to stay moist and tender through the long cooking process required to break down its copious, flavor-infusing connective tissue.

Because pork butt is large—usually between six to 10 pounds—it’s also great for feeding a crowd, which is another reason for its ubiquity at backyard barbecues. If there’s a downside, it’s the extended cooking time, which requires planning a day in advance.

“Pork butt” is sometimes used interchangeably with “pork shoulder” despite them being two different sections of the foreleg quarter of a hog. The characteristics and preparations of the two cuts are fairly similar.  

Whatever you call it, it’s the raw material for some of the best low-cost meals on the planet, including pulled pork sandwiches and carnitas tacos. Read on for expert tips on the best ways to make crowd-pleasing smoked pork butt at home.

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The Benefits of Smoked Pork Butt

Easy for Beginners to Cook

Smoked pork butt is hard to screw up, which makes it a favorite for beginners and experts alike.

“People want to start with brisket and I'm like, ‘Whoa, whoa,’ ” says BBQ enthusiast and fire fanatic Jordan Morris. “You can cook pork butt in so many ways, try to screw it up, and still get great results. There’s lots of room for error, thanks to all the fat and connective tissue.”

The time scales involved also help. When you’re searing a steak, the difference between medium and overdone can be minutes, if not seconds. When smoking a pork butt for eight to 15 hours, it takes a criminal level of neglect or absentmindedness to take it too far.

The price to be paid for this ultra-high margin for error is the time and effort. Running a smoker for 10 hours—especially manual wood or charcoal smokers—can be therapeutic time spent outdoors, but it’s a commitment to all-day cooking. Computer-controlled and WiFi-enabled pellet smokers require less management, but you’ll still need to make occasional check-ins.

“Think of it as the kind of meat that rewards patience,” says Serge Krikorian, executive chef and managing partner at Vibrant Occasions catering. “When you cook it low and slow, you get incredibly tender, juicy meat.”

It Stays Moist and Tender

While pork butt is fattier than pork loin or tenderloin, it’s not nearly as rich as pork belly and bacon, but there’s enough to keep the meat moist over long duration cooks on a smoker or in a slow cooker. The fairly neutral-tasting pork fat also adds tongue-coating flavor and readily absorbs the flavors from rubs and marinades.

Pork butt’s flavor personality and profile are very rich, savory, and slightly fatty, but don’t think this is a very fatty cut, says Alejandro Najar, executive chef at The Butcher’s Cellar in Waco, TX. 

It Packs Flavor

“The pork shoulder packs some umami flavors, and that’s due to the shoulder being closer to the pig's head so it makes it more succulent.” Connective tissue gets a bad rap for making meats “tough” when quick-cooked on a grill, but that same connective tissue breaks down when cooked low and slow to bring massive flavor that leaner cuts can’t provide.

Related: The Chef-Approved Trick to Make the Best Grilled Chicken

How to Prepare Smoked Pork Butt

Spice Rubs

Jordan Morris and the professional cooks we spoke with almost always use a generous spice rub on pork butt rather than the brines you might use on other big pork cuts, such as hams. The size of most pork butts means it’s actually rather difficult to overseason with a rub.

Salt is an essential ingredient, but also adding some kind of granulated sugar will help create the characteristic “bark” or “crust” of quality barbecue pulled pork. The bark packs a flavor punch, but it also provides a variation in texture by contrasting the crunchy, crispy bark with moist and tender inner fibers.

Morris recommends a binder rubbed on the meat’s exterior to help hold the spice rub, but says not to believe the hype around the supposed powers of different binding agents. “Some people use mustard and claim it tenderizes the meat, but I promise you the binder will have a minimal impact,” he says. “You can lather a ton of mayonnaise on and after six-plus hours, you won't taste mayonnaise. There’s a famous Texas barbecue place that just uses water.”

Jed Hanson, executive chef for PS Seasoning, recommends liberally applying hot sauce as a binder for a little extra heat, then coating in a spice rub such as PS Seasoning’s Notorious P.I.G., made especially for smoking pulled pork. Morris says to make your spice rub appropriate to how you’ll ultimately serve the pork, but to keep in mind that you’ll almost always be adding additional seasoning—think BBQ sauce (think outside the box with Alabama white sauce) or salsa—later since it’s difficult to season a pork butt enough just by spice rubbing the outside.

Marinade

If you want to try something a little different with your pork butt, Najar’s current favorite preparation for taco filling from a pork butt starts with a marinade.

“The marinade consists of orange and lime juice, bay leaf, lots of garlic, rice wine vinegar, and some salt and pepper,” Najar says. “Cook the meat at 275 degrees until tender, then give it a good shredding, and serve with a side of tortillas and all the best taco fixings.” 

The bonus of this method is that if you choose to braise (rather than smoke) with the marinade liquid in a Dutch oven or slow cooker, the fat and meat juices create a rich broth or sauce that minimizes the need for additional seasoning after cooking.

Related: Best Grill Brushes and Tools of 2024 to Master Any Flame

Smoked Pork Butt Temp: How to Smoke Pork Butt

There are tons of smoker brands and smoker setups on the market these days. Whether it’s a Kamado-style charcoal grill or a $3,000 fully automated pellet smoker, the goal for a smoked pork butt is the same: hold a low temperature with mild smoke for a long time.

Most pulled pork recipes will call for smoking at 225 degrees, which is usually at minimum an eight- to 10-hour process, depending on the size of the butt. You should plan on at least 1.5 hours of smoking per pound of meat at 225 degrees, which math wizards may have already calculated to require 15 hours on a larger 10-pound butt.

Morris likes to speed things up just a little bit by smoking between 250 and 275 degrees on his Kamado-style charcoal grill. When the internal temperature hits at least 165 degrees (usually after six hours), he wraps the butt in foil to let the meat braise in its own internal moisture—colloquially called a "Texas crutch." 

“Some add liquid inside the foil, but I think it makes it mushy. I want the bark. The existing meat juice and fat is sufficient,” he says. Once wrapped, an average butt will cook for another 2 to 3 hours for a total cook time of 8 to 9 hours. Just be careful not to let your smoker go much above 275 or you risk burning the spice rub and creating bitter or burnt flavors.

The key number, however, isn’t how many hours or your smoker’s settings, but the internal temperature and texture of the meat. Morris says the generally accepted “perfect” internal temperature for smoked pulled pork is 203 degrees, but he recommends probing the meat with your probe thermometer or a utensil as well. “You gotta feel it. It should be easy to probe. It should feel like butter,” he says.

Once you get to that finger-licking, fall-apart pork, all you have to do is let it cool for 20 minutes or so. Then you can start shredding it with forks or Bear Paws The Original Meat Shredder Claws. Two people can use them to process a big hunk of butt in about 10 minutes. Thick rubber gloves may be needed if you and your guests get impatient. After that, how you choose to eat it is up to you: in tacos, on potato rolls, mixed with mac and cheese, stuffed into a burrito...or just straight out of the pan with your bare hands. 

Smoked Pork Butt Recipe

Honed in the heart of the Mississippi, this pulled pork recipe comes from Killer Hogs Barbecue, and is as close as one can get to perfect southern barbecue, without actually being ankle-deep in Old Man River.

Ingredients

• 1 8- to 10-pound Boston butt pork roast
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup Killer Hogs championship rub
• 1 32-oz bottle apple juice
• 2 sweet yellow onions
• 10 lbs charcoal
• aluminum drip pan
• plastic spray bottle
• hickory and apple wood chips
• 2 cups baste*

For the Baste

• 1 cup apple juice
• 1/4 cup garlic–red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup water

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients and pour into plastic spray bottle.

For the Rub

• 1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika 
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 6 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (sugarcane extract)
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon Jamaican jerk seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon tomato powder

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients in a bowl until lump-free.

Instructions if Grilling With Charcoal

1. After washing, coat entire roast with mustard. 
2. Massage rub into meat and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. 
3. Soak wood chips in water, fold into foil packet, and make holes for smoke to escape. 
4. Heat charcoal and divide, adding more periodically. 
5. Place drip pan in middle. 
6. Fill pan three-quarters with apple juice and water. 
7. Place chip packet on hot coals, then add peeled and quartered onions. 
8. Center meat on rack over drip pan and grill for 3 to 4 hours, spraying hourly with baste. 
9. Check temperature with meat thermometer; when 175°F, remove and let cool for 30 minutes. 
10. Pull chunks of meat with a fork and serve on buns. (Feeds: an army.) 

Instructions if Smoking

1. Follow instructions indicated above under Smoked Pork Butt Temp: How to Smoke Pork Butt.

Best Gear for Smoking a Pork Butt

Lavatools Javelin Instant Read Digital Thermometer

An instant-read meat thermometer gives highly accurate probe temperature readings in a few seconds and is essential equipment for proper grilling. Lavatools Javelin is the very affordable model Morris uses. “The revolution from my parents’ generation to my generation is cooking to temperature instead of cooking to time,” says Morris.

ThermoPro Twin Temp Spike Meat Thermometers

There’s nothing wrong with one of the many cheaper single probe meat thermometers available, but having a dual probe setup like ThermoPro Twin Temp Spike Meat Thermometers gives you a more balanced picture of your meat’s internal temperature. The Bluetooth functionality also lets you keep tabs from your phone up to 500 feet away.

Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco Drum Smoker

Selected as the best overall smoker from our 2024 Grilling Awards, Bronco Drum Smoker costs less than most charcoal or pellet smokers and takes up less square footage in your outdoor kitchen with its vertical barrel design. It’s a manual charcoal- and wood-fired option that requires more attention than an automated pellet smoker, but when set up properly, it’s nearly as hands-off—plus will get you a better smoke for more satisfying results.

PS Seasonings Notorious P.I.G. Spice Rub

Creating a spice rub for smoked pork butt isn’t rocket science, but it adds time to an already time-consuming process. PS Seasoning’s Notorious P.I.G. is formulated with pulled pork in mind, mixing heat from peppers with sweetness from white and brown sugars.

Ooni 12-Inch Pizza Peel

Trying to wrangle a 10-pound pork butt with tongs is like trying to grab a softball with tweezers. Morris employs a metal pizza peel (you may already have one if you make pies at home in a pizza oven) to get underneath the butt for moving it to and from the smoker and around the grates, if needed. We love this light Ooni 12-Inch Pizza Peel; it's light and made of aluminum.

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