Smoked Pulled Pork
Servings
8-10
Cook Time
8 hours(Approx)
Difficulty
Medium
Prep time
20 minutes
Pulled Pork is commonly made using either a Boston Butt or a Collar Butt. Both of these cuts are from the shoulder area of a Pig, with a Boston Butt containing the blade bone whilst the Collar Butt is boneless.
Due to the high levels of intramuscular fat, these cuts require cooking at a low temperature for a long period of time in order to break down the muscle fibres and rendering the internal fat.
Once cooked and rested, the juicy meat is pulled apart, served and enjoyed!
INGREDIENTS EQUIPMENT
Pork Boston Butt or Collar Butt
Rub of choice – We recommend using 2 for maximum
flavour
flavour
50/50 Water & Apple Cider vinegar/Apple juice
Rib Glaze – or your preferred BBQ sauce
Butter – Unsalted
EQUIPMENT
Barbecue
Thick foil
Foil Tray
Internal read thermometer
Spritz Bottle
Gloves-Cotton + Nitrile
Method
How to smoke a pork shoulder or pork butt
Take your pork cut out of the fridge and remove from packaging. Pat dry and begin to trim any excess fat or silver skin present.
Once happy with your trim it’s time to season. We recommend applying 2 rubs, the first being a ‘base layer’ containing more salt & garlic to work on the meat first. These are finer rubs to be applied lightly all over the pork and left for 5-10 minutes to begin drawing the moisture to the surface. Then it’s time to apply the second rub being the ‘Flavour layer’, applied liberally all over the pork which will then be drawn into the meat. This rub will give it the colour and flavour profile you want to achieve. Click here for suggested combinations.
Get your BBQ of choice to run steadily at 250f/120c. Whilst this is happening, it gives the meat time to absorb the flavours and ready to go straight on once the temperature is achieved.
Place the cut of pork on the BBQ indirect of the heat source and leave for an hour. Prepare your spritz bottle with 50/50 water & apple cider vinegar or apple juice. TL@A TIP Ensure the nozzle is set to a light mist and not a jet once the trigger is pressed! Once the hour has passed, check the pork isn’t looking dry and if so, use your spritz bottle to spray & cool off any spots. Continue smoking & checking every 45 minutes to an hour, repeating this process until the bark has ‘set’ and you’re happy with the colour.
Once the bark has set, the internal temp should be around 165f/74c which means it has hit the stall. Get an aluminium or metal tray and place 4 large knobs of butter inside, as well as 1/4 bottle of The For Saucemen Rib Glaze, or your favourite glaze/sauce. Remove pork from the BBQ, place inside the tray and cover with thick aluminium foil, wrapping tightly to seal the edges. Place back on the BBQ.
Once the pork is back on the BBQ, the temperature can be increased to 275f/135¢ to help speed the cook up, however, it is not necessary if time is not an issue. Every 30 minutes, probe the pork in 3 spots (Left side, Centre, Right side).
Once it reaches around 195f/90c, begin checking every 15 minutes until the probe slides in and out of the pork without resistance in all 3 spots (See tips below). When this happens, remove the pork from the BBQ and leave at room temperature for 15minutes. Ideally it should then rest in an insulated cooler for around 1 hour.
Once rested, remove the foil from the tray. Grab yourself some cotton gloves, then put a pair of nitrile gloves on top and pull the juicy, tender meat apart inside the tray. Mixing in the butter and rib glaze for some mouth-watering, delicious pork to serve in Taco’s, Burgers or as part of a platter!
Recipe Notes & Tips
Choose your cut:
Depending on how much time you have and how many people you want to feed will help determine which cut to use. Boston Butts are larger and therefore will cater for more people but will take longer. An average 4-5kg Boston Butt will feed a large crowd whilst an average 2-3 kg Collar Butt will feed a family with leftovers or a small group.
Season your meat:
We recommend using 2 rubs for maximum flavour, however, feel free to use your preferred pork rub on its own. If using 2, here are some well paired combinations to try out.
Smoke Flavour:
Depending if you are using a Pellet, Charcoal or Offset smoker, you will have different options regarding smoke flavour profile. For pellet smokers, our range of fruit wood pellets work really well with pork, or maybe try something new with our charcoal hardwood blended pellets for a unique flavour and colour. If using charcoal, our range of slow burn wood chunks work really well when used during a cook. 2 to 3 chunks is normally enough to get good smoke flavor for a full cook.
Wrap:
You can get away with not wrapping the pork at all. This will result in a much firmer Bark and the cook taking significantly longer. You can also just wrap in thick aluminium foil with some butter or a few sprays from the spritz bottle for moisture, ensuring the foil is wrapped tightly around the pork.
Doneness:
The best way to judge is by feel. The probe will give you an indication but feel will tell you for sure. A reading between 205-210f /95-100c is normally when the pork is ready to remove from the smoker.
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