How to make a Smoked Boston Butt Recipe tender, juicy, and tasty so that you have perfect barbecued pulled pork isn’t difficult if you know what you’re doing. We’re going to show you how to smoke the Boston Butt. How long to smoke the pork. What temperature the smoked Boston Butt is done. And we’re going to show you the techniques and recipes we use to give you the best pulled pork you’ve ever had! Guarantee!!
For this recipe, you will need: Boston Butt, apple juice, sugar, salt, water, apple vinegar, ketchup, dark brown sugar, yellow mustard, molasses, salt, red pepper flakes, hickory chunks, charcoal, and a grill with lid.
How long does it take to make the Smoked Boston Butt Recipe?
Our smoked pork shoulder technique takes two days. On average a pork butt will weigh between 6 to 7 pounds. Our Boston butt weighed 7 pounds.
What to expect with the pork:
- 30% loss in the form of shrinkage, bone, and fat.
- If it’s the only meat we serve, we plan on 1/2 pound per person. (Believe me, some adults will go back for seconds 😋)
Day One: Prepare the pork butt by trimming the excess fat and seasoning it.
- Slather mustard all over the butt.
- Inject the marinade in the Boston butt.
- Generously sprinkle the magical All Our Way rub all over the pork.
- Then Put the pork butt in a zip lock bag to rest overnight in the fridge.
Day Two: Take the pork out of the fridge and let it start to come to room temperature.
In the meantime, put hickory wood chunks in water. You don’t want them dry — they’ll burn instead of smoke. If you prefer, use your favorite wood chunks that are appropriate for smoking meats. Some of the best wood for smoking meat is oak, maple, pecan, alder, mesquite, apple, cherry, and hickory. Experiment and try different ones and see which one you like the best.
Prepare the Grill for Indirect Heat.
- Use two pans — one is a steam pan and one is a drip pan. Line the drip pan with aluminum foil.
- The drip pan is on the lower rack and the steam pan is on the upper rack over the coals. Naturally, the steam pan will have water in it and this will help regulate the heat.
- Fold a strip of aluminum foil and put it in between the grate. The foil acts as a curtain between the drip pan and the coals. It’s a barrier to prevent direct heat from touching the meat.
- Douse vegetable oil on 3 or 4 sheets of paper towels and put them on the bottom of the chimney and follow the natural starter technique we posted on starting the grill.This works much better than the wadded up newspaper.
Smoking Pork Butt on Grill Technique
Start cooking the Smoked Boston Butt Recipe.
- The grill temp should be at 250 F and we make sure it doesn’t get above 275 F. Put the charcoal below the steam pan and fill the steam pan halfway with water. Position the pork above the drip pan. The bottom air vents are half open. Immediately place the lid on the grill. Make sure that the top vent is half open and over the meat. This smoked pulled pork technique draws the smoke up and over the meat and it also controls the temperature.
- Maintain a constant temperature of 225 F to 250F and keep water in the steam pan.
- Add wet hickory chunks (or your wet wood chunks) as needed for the first two hours of cooking. It’s important not to over smoke. Our hickory measures 2×2 inch chunks and we use 2 at a time.
- How long does it take to make a pork butt? Plan on smoking the meat for 10 to 11 hours with a constant temperature of 225 F to 250 F.
It is a long slow process but one well worth the time to get a perfect smoked Boston Butt recipe.
The Pork is ready to become Pulled Pork
The Smoked Boston Butt is ready to become Pulled Pork.
- The pork develops a nice bark. The bark is the seasoned crust which is the goal for all pitmasters. In fact, the crunchy crust is the first thing that competition judges reach for.
- At what temperature does the pork come off of the grill? When it reaches an internal temperature of 195 F. take it off the grill and wrap it in aluminum foil. Then let it rest for 30 minutes. This technique is the recipe for success.
- Now remove the blade bone. It should come out easily without any meat sticking to it. This is a sign that the pork was done just right.
- Use two forks to shred the meat. When we pull the pork, we make sure that the flavorful crusty bits are distributed throughout the pulled pork.
- We splash a little bit of beef broth on top of the shredded pork. This will keep the meat moist.
How to serve Smoked Pulled Pork
There are many wonderful ways to serve the smoked Boston Butt Recipe. At times we like it unadorned or with just a splash of All Our Way BBQ Sauce for Pulled Pork on a hamburger bun. A crunchy coleslaw on top of the pork is also delicious. We like the simple additions because we don’t want to mask the yummy smokey taste of the meat. Here are some more ideas for the smoked pulled pork:
- Pork Quesadillas — pork, roasted red peppers, caramelized onions seasoned with cumin and chili powder.
- Pizza – make it a barbecued pulled pork pizza.
- Pork Ragout over pasta.
- Enchiladas — oh!yum!
- Tacos
- Shepherds or Cottage pie.
There is no limit to the dishes you can make with Smoked Boston Butt Recipe. And if you keep a close eye on your store ads you can get some real bargains for Boston Butt.
We’ve included the recipe for the marinade that we used to inject the pork and the BBQ Sauce for the smoked meat.
If you have any questions about the pulled pork technique and recipes, we’ll be happy to answer them.
Tutti a tavola è pronto!
Un caro saluto e alla prossima.
YOU MAY NEED…
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Smoked Boston Butt Recipe Marinade and BBQ Sauce
The marinade is just right for injecting into the pork butt before smoking. This guarantees the meat is nice and juicy. The zingy barbecue sauce compliments the pulled pork rather than taking away from the delicious smokey flavor. This Smoked Boston Butt will yield the tastiest smoked pulled pork.
If you like this recipe, please consider giving it a five-star rating.
This marinade and BBQ sauce will compliment your delicious pulled pork without masking or be overwhelming to the flavor of the meat.
- 3/4 CUP apple juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup salt
- 1 cup apple vinegar
- 1 cup ketchup
- 3 Tbs dark brown sugar
- 1 Tbs yellow mustard
- 1 Tbs molasses
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
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Mix thoroughly so that the sugar and salt are dissolved.
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Inject the pork butt everywhere to make sure the liquid is dispersed.
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Put in plastic zip lock bag and refrigerate overnight.
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Take the bag out in the morning and let the pork start to warm up.
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Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
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The sauce will not be thick -- for pulled pork, the sauce should be on the thinner side.
Follow the step by step directions in the post.
IF YOU LIKED SMOKED BOSTON BUTT RECIPE, YOU MAY ALSO LIKE…
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- GRILLED MARINATED VENISON STEAK
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- AMAZING BLAZING ASIAN GRILLED THIGHS
Other recipes you may like…
Texas-Style Smoked Brisket Epicurious
The DIY Guide to Making Pastrami The Spruce
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Wow, this recipe really impresses! One of my favs! I can’t WAIT to try this, and I’m sure it is very tasty! Is good food and this looks like one of the BEST!!
Thank you, Veena. Even though the recipe makes a lot — you can use the pulled pork in so many ways. xoxo
I love smoked pork and your recipe is perfection. I love the marinade you inject into the pork. Your detailed instructions are absolutely awesome for making an awesome smoked pork. I think indirect heat is the best way to cook pork also. Pinning to make asap, our weather is warming so I am all about grilling.
Wow, it’s still morning here but I am salivating! Fantastic post… have pinned it for a reference. Thanks so much for sharing Marisa ♥
Marisa, I’m going to Pin this to make when we get around to replacing our grill. Sounds like perfection.
Your pulled pork looks absolutely fantastic.
This is such a helpful and informative post and makes me want to go clean all the snow off my grill soI can make pulled pork on it immediately!
I make my pulled pork exactly the same way you do——and it is DELICIOUS! Now I’m going to have to make some pulled pork because my mouth is watering after reading your post, recipe, and looking at those marvelous pictures!!!
This looks delicious Marisa and such a great way to cook this pork cut. And you are right in saying that there are so many ways to use the cooked meat.
My mouth is watering, wow! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for such an educational post!!
You’re very welcome. Once you learn this technique — ribs are a breeze. Next on our meats will be our baby back ribs. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment — I hope you’ll come back again.