Pulled pork is the first thing I became really comfortable smoking and being able to achieve a consistent end product. Dare I say perfect? I mean, the recipe is made the way, I really like it so I guess it’s perfect for me. And it’s become pretty popular with whomever, I have made it for or gifted it to. The most surprising (although I’m not sure why) is Tory. I gave her a bunch when she was pregnant as an easy meal after my niece was born. I expected her to like it, I didn’t expect it to be the favorite thing I gave her!
I think what makes pulled pork so popular is that while its great on a sandwich or a meat plate right when you finish pulling it. It’s also an amazing leftover with options for using it that are reminiscent of how many ways you can cook shrimp from the movie Forest Gump. Pulled pork sandwiches, mac and cheese, tacos, pizza, loaded fries, salad, baked potatoes, you get the idea!
This pulled pork recipe yields pulled pork that’s smoky, well-seasoned (from an overnight salt) and moist. I’ve shared my pulled pork recipe with many friends, often after I have learned they just bought a smoker as a way to initiate them into the world of smoking meat. Our good friends have nicknamed my rub – which I can’t take credit for – “Dana’s Butt Rub”.
Like I mentioned in my brisket recipe, good smoked meat is a low and slow process that is done when it’s done. Pulled pork typically takes me about 22 hours on the smoker using approximately 7.5 lb roasts. Plan for at least an hour rest (ideally two) in a faux Cambro and for salting overnight.
Since smoking is such a low and slow process and you are going to burn the same amount of fuel for one pork butt or several. We usually cook a minimum of 2. Partly because Costco sells them in a 2 pack. Our smoker will fit up to 4 and if we don’t cook 4, then we’ll often put something else on the smoker like a brisket (as you’ll see in the pictures for this recipe), ribs, garlic (smoked garlic is a great twist on roasted garlic), smoked braised onions, or even salt!
I like to buy a de-boned pork butt and have never smoked one bone-in to be able to advise how the cook time might differ.
Start by laying overlapping long strips of plastic wrap on your counter. Top with the pork butt, fat cap up. I like to score the fat cap just until I can see the meat to help the salt penetrate into the meat.
Salt the meat with ½ t kosher salt per pound. Make sure to get into all the nooks and crannies. You’ll find flaps of meat where the bone used to be when you used a deboned cut. Get in there with the salt.
Wrap the meat tightly in the plastic wrap.
Place in a large (2 or 2.5 gallon) plastic bag or set on a sheet tray to catch and stray juices. Put in the fridge overnight.
When you are ready to start smoking, it’s time to put the rub on the pork. Dana’s Butt Rub is actually Meathead’s Memphis Dust from the cookbook Meathead (#EarnsCommissions) which is also available on his website Amazingribs.com. It’s a mix of dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper (fresh ground), ground ginger, onion powder and crushed dried rosemary (I crush it in a mortar and pestle until pretty small).
Rub approximately 1/3 c of rub onto each roast.
Remember when I said to get in all the nooks and crannies with the salt. Do that with the rub too.
Place a probe thermometer into the pork, try to get it into one of the thickest parts of the meat and avoid where the bone was cut out.
Place the pork on a cold smoker. Add a water bath by pouring water into a chafing dish. In the pictures below we used bread pans because it was so full!
Turn the smoker on to Smoke and let smoke for an hour, before turning up to 225 degrees.
You can see we are cooking a brisket at the same time. If you read my brisket recipe, you might have noted that we smoked at 180 degrees for an hour to get more smoke in by leaving it lower for a little longer. I typically don’t do this with my pulled pork as it cooks longer and has always been as smoky as we wanted it, but it’s forgiving enough that it didn’t hurt it when we did that with the brisket.
Check out that bark we are developing? I try not to open the smoker while the meat cooks but snuck in a quick picture when I was returning the crutched brisket to the smoker.
Take the meat off when it’s reached 203 degrees F. Place the meat in chafing dishes and then cover tightly in foil.
I recommend holding the meat in a faux Cambro for at least an hour before pulling. This lets the collagen continue to melt/soften and helps the meat stay juicy and tender. A faux Cambro is basically just a cooler and I like to wrap the pans in towels for additional insulation.
When you are ready to eat, pull the pork. You can use your hands or even forks but I highly recommend some version of meat claws (#EarnsCommissions).
Dig in and enjoy!
Any leftovers freeze beautifully. We vacuum seal the pulled pork in ½ lb portions which is perfect for a meal for two. I already mentioned the Forest Gump number of ways you can use the leftovers. In fact, most years we smoke some pulled pork in the early fall to stock up our freezer with an easy to use protein for quick weeknight dinners during the cold Minnesota winters.
- De-boned pork shoulder roast (also called pork butt or Boston butt)
- ½ t kosher salt per lb
- ⅓ c Memphis Dust rub per roast
- Place overlapping long strips of plastic wrap on the counter. Place pork roast on plastic and rub with salt. Ensure you set into all the crevices where the bone was removed. Wrap tightly. Place in a large plastic bag or on a sheet tray in the fridge overnight.
- Remove pork from plastic and rub with Memphis dust, making sure to get all the nooks and crannies.
- Place pork on a cold smoker. Fit a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. Add a chafing dish full of water.
- Set the smoker to smoke. Smoke for 1 hour.
- Increase heat in the smoker to 225 degrees.
- Smoke until meat reaches 203 degrees F.
- Transfer pulled pork to a chafing dish and cover tightly with foil.
- Place in a faux Cambro for at least one, ideally two hours (or more if needed).
- Using meat claws, pull the meat.
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