SmokeBarbecue
Pulled pork shoulder
A forgiving all-day smoke. Collar, picnic, or Boston butt — cook to probe-tender, rest hard, then pull.
Made it?
10 hr · 35 min hands-on · pull 203°F · rest 60 min
Ingredients
8 lb on the fire · ~4.4 lb to the table · 9 plates at 8 oz
- bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt)8 lb
- kosher salt3 tbsp
- black pepper2 tbsp
- paprika2 tbsp
- brown sugar1 tbsp
- cayenne1 tsp
- apple cider vinegar, for spritz1/2 cup
Method
- 1
Score the fat cap in a crosshatch. Mix the rub and coat every surface. Dry brine overnight if time allows.
- 2
Smoke at 250°F. Place fat-cap up. Spritz every hour after the first two, just enough to keep the bark from drying, not to wash it off.
- 3
At about 165°F internal, wrap in foil or butcher paper if the bark is set. Continue until 200–205°F and a probe slides in like cake.
- 4
Rest at least 1 hour, wrapped. Pull while warm, discarding large veins of unrendered fat. Season the pile with a spoon of the drippings and vinegar.
If you don’t have it
- Bone-in Boston butt → Boneless pork shoulder or picnic. Boneless cooks a little faster. Picnic has more skin — score it or trim.
- Hickory → Apple, pecan, or a competition blend. Fruitwood reads sweeter. Mix 50/50 with oak if the bag is strong.
- Vinegar finish → Cider-mustard sauce or a dry rub toss. Do not drown pulled pork. Season the pile, then offer sauce on the side.
Same cook, different day
Crispy carnitas-style
Tacos the next day. Pull, spread on a sheet pan, and broil or skillet-crisp in its own fat until the edges go brown.
Hot and fast picnic
You need pulled pork in 5–6 hours. 300–325°F, wrap at 165, pull at 203. Slightly less smoke, still shreds.
Whole hog pieces
Feeding a crowd. Run two butts. Stagger by an hour so you are not wrapping both at once.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making vinegar slaw.
Anytime. Better after an hour in the fridge. Cabbage, carrot, cider vinegar, a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper. No mayo if the meat is already rich.
20 min
- With this dish, try making pinto beans.
Start when a packer wraps, or at the beginning of a shoulder. Soaked beans, smoked hock, onion, chili. Simmer until creamy. Salt late.
2 hr 30 min
- With this dish, try making pot liquor collards.
On with a shoulder or a ham. They want time, not a grate. Strip the stems, simmer with a hock until the leaves give and the pot liquor is the sauce.
1 hr 30 min
Same cut
Pork shoulder
Pull it, crisp it, bowl it.