How to Smoke Pork Butt
A basic method for perfectly smoked pulled pork
I have a BBQ life coach. His name is Gary. I’m lucky that he took me under his wing and mentored me from a barbecue neophyte (“Seth — stop futzing“) to a capable home pitmaster. Gary designed a five-step BBQ curriculum to help new smokers learn to smoke meat (it’s conveniently available in book form!). In his five lessons, students start with a basic marinated smoked chicken and progress to increasingly difficult meals, culminating with a smoked pulled pork butt.
Pork butt (aka pork shoulder) is a big tough hunk of meat, requiring a long cooking time (as much as 12-15 hours!) and a few advanced techniques. But the rewards of a well-smoked pork butt are legion. There’s no BBQ meal more satisfying than a pulled pork sandwich: unctuous shreds of glistening meat, piled high on a soft bun with a shot of pepper-flake-laced Carolina BBQ sauce and an optional scoop of coleslaw.
I’m no Gary, but I aim to provide a primer for home cooks who want to master smoked pork butt. While I recommend going through all five of Gary’s lessons to build your BBQ skillset step by step, when you’re ready to tackle pork butt, this guide can serve as an additional reference. I‘ll aim to answer all of your pork butt questions: how to navigate the dreaded stall, whether to wrap your butt in foil or butcher paper, and how to tell when your pulled pork is ready to eat! Once you’ve mastered pork butt, you’ll be ready to scale even higher BBQ mountains: smoked beef brisket, here we come!
Jump ahead to:
Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about pork butt but were afraid to ask >>
Step-by-step method for smoked pork butt >>
A few great smoked pork butt recipes >>
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Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about pork butt but were afraid to ask
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Is a pork butt the same as a pork shoulder?
The cuts of meat labeled pork butt, “Boston butt,” blade roast and pork shoulder all come from the same general part of the animal — the top part of the front legs just behind the neck. A cut of pork from this part of the animal is well marbled with fat, flavorful, and full of collagen and connective tissue.
How much pork butt do I need?
Let’s do the math! Pork butts come in a range of sizes — from 5-10 pounds or more. You can expect the pork butt to weigh about 40% less after cooking — so your 10 lb pork butt will only produce 6 pounds of cooked pork. Typically, each pound of cooked pulled pork will serve 2-3 people. Ergo, a good rule of thumb is to buy 1 lb of raw pork butt for every 1-2 guests. That said, cooked pork butt freezes exceptionally well, so I usually buy more than I need and plan for leftovers.
What if my pork butt has a bone?
Some do! Because you’re cooking the pork for so long, a bone doesn’t usually make a huge impact on the cooking time; it can add 10% or so. Other than that, starting with a bone-in pork-butt or boneless doesn’t make a big difference in the finished product.
My pork butt has skin!
That also can happen. For slow-smoked pork butt, skin can be an impediment. It blocks the smoke from penetrating and can develop an unpleasant texture. Ask your butcher to remove it or sharpen up your knives and trim it off yourself.
There’s a lot of fat on my pork butt!
That’s the good stuff. Most pork butts have a thick fat cap. You’ll want to trim some of it off leaving a ¼”-½” layer — just enough to make the pork butt self-basting!
What should I put in my dry rub?
Our basic method recommends seasoning your pork butt with a dry rub — a mix of dried herbs and spices designed to make your pork butt delicious and to contribute to the natural build up of flavorful bark. Some pitmasters stick with a “Dalmatian” rub of kosher salt and cracked black pepper; others throw in paprika, dried mustard, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, seasoned salt — the whole spice cabinet is fair game.
At what temperature should I smoke pork butt?
Our smoked pork butt method suggests setting your smoker at 225°-250°F. A leave-in digital thermometer like the Yummly Smart Meat Thermometer can help by sending back real-time readings about the ambient temperature inside your cooker, so you can make adjustments on the fly.
How long am I supposed to smoke a pork butt at 200°/225°/250°?
It depends! Any recipe that claims to have a cut and dried schedule for BBQ is leading you down the garden path. While certain ballpark rules of thumb can be useful for planning purposes (like 90-120 minutes per pound of raw pork butt at 225°-250°F), the best way to know when your pork butt is done is with a leave-in meat thermometer, especially on your first time. We happen to love the Yummly Smart Meat Thermometer — just choose pork butt from the meat options in the Yummly app, insert the probe into the thickest part of the butt and wait until the app tells you your meat is ready to remove from the smoker.
How long does it take to smoke a 5/6/7/8/9/10 lb pork butt?
In these topsy-turvy times, we’re all starved for certainty. But BBQ is not susceptible to fixed predictions about questions like how long, how hot, how much. I can say with confidence that a five-pound pork butt will cook faster than a ten-pound one. But that confidence breaks down when I try to predict exactly how much total time it’ll take for your 8 lb pork butt to start to wobble, indicating it’s ready to come off the smoker. Might be 8 hours, might be 12-15! You’ll have to rely on your trusty meat thermometer and your experience to tell you when your pork butt is done.
How do I know when my pork butt is cooked?
When the internal temperature has reached 195°-200°F, smoked pork butt is ready to come off the smoker. There are other indicators — a slumped appearance, the meat starts to separate from the bone (if there is one), a sharp knife will slide in with no resistance. But the temperature of the meat is the most important factor, so the thermometer is your best guide, especially as you’re learning.
Do I smoke pork butt fat side up or down?
Based on Gary’s advice, I start my pork butt fat-side up and flip and rotate the meat about 4-5 hours into the cook so it finishes fat-side down.
To wrap or not to wrap?
Some recipes suggest wrapping a pork butt in tin foil or butcher paper for several hours in the middle of a long cooking session. A tightly wrapped pork butt will cook a little faster. This is a comfort when the pork butt enters the “stall”, a normal period during the cooking when the internal temperature plateaus around 150°F for a while before starting to climb again. I consider wrapping optional. It’s true that it can abbreviate the stall, but it can also come at the cost of less flavorful bark — the crusty exterior that develops over the course of cooking.
How long does smoked pork butt last?
Refrigerated, smoked pulled pork butt can last up to four or five days. Frozen in tightly sealed zip-loc bags with the air pressed out, cooked pork butt can last for 6 months or even longer.
What’s the best way to store smoked pork butt?
I like to freeze smoked pulled pork butt in one-quart ziploc bags. They last forever and make for handy portions for a quick last-minute BBQ meal.
What’s the best way to reheat leftover pork butt?
Low and slow is the way to go! Preheat your oven to 300°-325°F and put your thawed pork butt in a pan with some apple juice or chicken stock. Cover it tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 15-20 minutes until it’s heated through. Then uncover and bake five minutes more till the top is crispy and the smell is irresistible.
Step-by-step method for smoked pork butt
Time to get cooking!
Step 1: Prep the pork butt
Rinse your pork butt under cold water and dry it with paper towel. Trim excess fat from the exterior of the pork butt - but not too much! Remember, we want a ¼” to ½” layer of fat on top.
Step 2: Slap on a binder
To help our rub adhere, we need a thin layer of something wet! I use regular yellow mustard as a binder. Squirt a little on and rub it all over the pork butt until there’s an even layer on all sides.
Step 3: Season with a dry rub
With such a long cooking time, you’ll want an aggressively flavored spice rub and plenty of it. Whether you go with simple salt and pepper, a pre-mixed commercial rub or your own patented formula with paprika and ginger, don’t skimp. Apply a generous layer to all sides of the pork butt. For extra credit, apply the rub in advance and refrigerate the butt overnight.
Step 4: Choose your smoke flavor
Different regions tend to rely on local hardwoods that contribute their own distinctive smoke flavor to a smoked pork butt. I’m partial to hickory and applewood, but you may prefer peach, cherry, pecan or post oak. I like to use chunks, but use the format that works for your smoker; if you’ve got a pellet grill, chunks won’t help.
Step 5: Get your smoker going low and slow
There are lots of different kinds of smokers and as many ways of controlling smoker temperature. Whether you’re setting up a pellet smoker or a traditional charcoal fueled bullet smoker, you’ll want to get your cooker going at 225°-250°F for a true low and slow pork butt cook.
Step 6: Add the meat and monitor your progress!
Place the butt on the smoker grate, fat side up. Use a digital leave-in meat thermometer to monitor the internal temperature of your pork butt and the ambient temperature inside the cooker. Make adjustments as needed to maintain your cooking temperature at the low and slow sweet spot.
Step 7: Flip after a few hours … but don’t futz
After 4-5 hours, open up the smoker and flip your butt (top to bottom) and rotate it (around the axis). It should now be fat-side down and with a new edge toward the outside of the smoker. Close the lid again and try not to open it for another few hours — remember the pitmaster’s mantra, “if you’re lookin’ you ain’t cookin’”.
Step 8: Optional: Mop with a tart wash
Toward the end of the cooking time, you may want to combine cranberry juice, neutral oil and some extra spice rub in a spray bottle or squirt bottle and spritz the pork butt with it every 20-30 minutes. It’ll add fresh spice rub to the developing bark and keep the cooking chamber moist.
Step 9: Remove the pork butt from the smoker when its internal temperature reaches 195°-200°F
When your meat thermometer tells you your pork butt is smoked, take it off the smoker! It should have a dark burnished exterior with crunchy bark. It should seem to almost slump under its own weight and a knife should slide in easily.
Step 10: Rest the meat
Transfer the cooked pork butt to a cutting board and drape with a sheet of aluminum foil. Let it rest at room temperature for a minimum of 15-20 minutes and up to an hour.
Step 11: Pull the pork butt into shreds
Using your hands or a pair of forks, pull apart the pork butt, discarding large pieces of connective tissue. Make sure to mix in pieces of bark with tender shreds of interior meat.
Step 12: Add sauce and serve
I like to use a basic Carolina vinegar sauce for pulled pork, but you can do whatever you want! Add your favorite barbecue sauce and mix it up. Serve your pulled pork to your ravenous dinner guests and give yourself a pat on the back. You did it!
A few great smoked pork butt recipes
Time to put theory into practice. Try out our method with these terrific pork butt BBQ recipes.
Simple Smoked Pulled Pork Butt (Smoked Pork Shoulder)
A great basic pulled pork recipe from Hey Grill Hey that follows our method and adds a tasty brown-sugar based rub recipe.
Smoked Pork Butt
This rendition of pulled pork butt adds an overnight dry-brine with a salt rub to intensify the flavor.
Smoked Pork Butt
This recipe features molasses and mustard for an extra flavorful binder and a great recipe for Carolina BBQ sauce spiked with apple cider vinegar.
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