Smoked Pork Butt (Shoulder)
How to Smoke Pork Butt (AKA Pork Shoulder) – The best smoked pulled pork is coated with mayo and a brown sugar spice rub, then cooked low and slow for 12+ hours. The result is melt-in-your-mouth tender and flavorful BBQ that’s perfect to serve with sides or use to make other delicious dishes!
Why We Love This Smoked Pork Recipe
Classic pulled pork from a Smoked Pork Butt is a labor of love. This is not a quick recipe hack, or even a quick-prep crockpot recipe… But OMG, the intense flavor is worth every single second of cooking time!
Yep, this is the real deal, folks. Here you’ll learn how to cook pork butt or shoulder on a smoker for hours and hours until the meat is perfectly tender with a deep, smoky essence, a significant smoke ring color variation, and spiced pork bark. The recipe starts by first coating the pork in a thick layer of mayonnaise to lock in the moisture, then rubbing on a blend of brown sugar and bold spices. There is no need to pre-cook or sear the meat! Just wrap it in foil, load it onto the smoker, and cook hands-off for about 12-15 hours.
Note, we do have some easier pulled pork recipes on the site. Our Slow Cooker Pulled Pork is fabulous for shredded pork that can be ready to serve in “only” 8 hours. However, if you want to make traditional smoked pork roast the way it’s made in restaurants, this is the recipe for you…
Get Ready: You will need to start a day before you plan to serve this recipe. I usually put a pork butt on the smoker before I go to bed. I let it smoke all night long and often late into the morning. So although it takes a while, there is very little effort required.
Then remove the pork shoulder, rest it, shred it, and gobble it up!
Smoked Pork Butt vs Pork Shoulder – What’s the Difference?
Shoulder meat is located just above the front legs of the pig. Although you might think pork butt comes from the rear of the animal, it is actually harvested from the upper top portion of the pig, just above the front leg joints. Therefore the terms “Boston Butt” and “Pork Shoulder” are often used interchangeably because the Bostin Butt is the upper shoulder. Pork butt is also called the “blade roast” and often comes with the fat cap still attached.
There is a lower, lesser-known, shoulder section called the picnic shoulder. The main difference between pork butt and picnic shoulder is in the fattiness of the two cuts… Because the shoulder area is more muscular, it is less fatty and tender. The pork butt region, on the other hand, does not get much of a workout and therefore has more fat marbling throughout. This fattiness makes the butt the more desirable of the two cuts of meat for slow cooking.
Ingredients You Need
- Pork butt roast – or shoulder roast (bone-in pork butt or boneless)
- Mayonnaise – the secret for making smoked meat fork-tender and moist
- Brown sugar – light brown sugar has a more pleasant mellow flavor than dark brown sugar
- Dry rub spices – kosher salt, smoked paprika, chili powder (I like ancho chile), cracked black pepper, and garlic powder
How to Smoke a Pork Butt
Preheat a traditional smoking cabinet, or electric wood pellet smoker to 225°F. If using a wood pellet smoker, fill the pellet chamber to the top to make sure you have plenty of wood pellets to go for hours without assistance. If using a traditional smoker, you will need to add wood every few hours.
Set a large pork butt roast on a baking sheet or aluminum pan.
Rub 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise over all sides of the pork butt to act as the base of the dry rub crust.
Set out a small mixing bowl. Combine the brown sugar, kosher salt, paprika, chili powder, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix well.
Sprinkle the dry rub mixture over the entire surface of the pork roast.
Get the Complete (Printable) Smoked Pork Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Rotate the pork roast to rub the mixture on all sides.
Once the smoker has reached 225°F, place the roast directly on the smoking rack and close the smoker.
Smoke for 12-15 hours. Insert a probe thermometer deep into the center of the roast. When the internal temperature of the meat reaches 200°F, it’s ready.
Pro Tip: Large pieces of meat like this will often “stall” when they reach about 150-160°F. This stall could last for hours before the temperature starts to rise again, meaning a 12-15 hour cook time could take 20 hours. Therefore, once the temperature reaches around 150°F, it’s best to remove the pork roast and wrap it in peach butcher paper or aluminum foil. Then place it back on the smoker and continue to cook.
The extra layer of insulation will reduce the stall time significantly, and allow the temperature to continue rising. However, you do not want to start the roast out wrapped in foil or peach paper because the smoke will not penetrate the pork.
If cooking overnight, just check the temperature when you wake up in the morning and if it’s stalled, wrap in foil or butcher paper then.
Once you wrap the pork roast in foil or parchment paper it will not take on additional smoke flavor. Therefore, if it’s easier to transfer it into the oven at 225°F, feel free to do so.
Once the internal temperature reaches 200°F, remove the pork butt from the smoker (or oven) and allow it to rest at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours before unwrapping. Then shred and serve with barbecue sauce, or use in all sorts of amazing meaty recipes.
Serving Suggestions
Serve smoked pulled pork with BBQ sauce or yellow mustard and your favorite barbecue joint-style side dishes! We love classics like Mac and Cheese, Southern Collard Greens, (Instant Pot!) Baked Beans, and classic Potato Salad or enticing Deviled Egg Potato Salad. I also like to include classic tangy fresh sides on the platter, like Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles and Quick Pickled Red Onions.
The shredded pork is fantastic for making Tex-Mex pork tacos, Red Tacos Jalisco, burritos, quesadillas, Tamales Bites, and pork nachos. Load the meat into sandwiches and wraps, make Drowned Carnitas Party Sliders, or even top a hamburger with an extra layer of meaty goodness!
You can also use this homemade smoked pork roast for lower carb dishes like salads, Brunswick Stew and soups, and hearty chili recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Smoking the pork at 225 will take anywhere from 12-20 hours. The total time will depend on the size of your pork and whether you are using smoker pellets or traditional wood.
For the most flavorful smoked pulled pork, yes, you need to season the meat before placing it on the smoker.
Yes, the pork should be wrapped in peach paper or aluminum foil after reaching 150°F.
No, there’s no need to flip the meat while smoking.
Let the meat cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container and refrigerating. Smoked shredded pork will keep well in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
You absolutely can freeze the cooked pork! Transfer the cooled meat to a freezer-safe plastic zipper bag. Squeeze out all of the excess air; if you are able, I recommend vacuum sealing the bag. Keep smoked pork shoulder in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating and eating.
Looking for More Delicious BBQ Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Coffee Brushed Barbecue Ribs
- Best Burnt Ends (Brisket)
- Grilled Pork Chops + Carolina BBQ Sauce
- BBQ Carnitas Tacos
- Chipotle BBQ Chicken Skewers
- Amazing Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs
Smoked Pork Butt Recipe
Ingredients
- 5-10 pound pork butt roast or shoulder roast or 3-5 lbs boneless pork butt
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon chili powder I like ancho
- 1 tablespoons cracked black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat a traditional smoking cabinet, or electric wood pellet smoker to 225°F. If using a wood pellet smoker, fill the pellet chamber to the top to make sure you have plenty of wood pellets to go for hours without assistance. If using a traditional smoker, you will need to add wood every few hours.
- Set a large pork butt roast on a baking sheet. Rub 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise over all sides of the pork butt to act as the base of the dry rub crust.
- Set out a small mixing bowl. Combine the brown sugar, kosher salt, paprika, chili powder, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix well.
- Sprinkle the dry rub mixture over the entire surface of the pork roast, rotating the pork roast to rub the mixture on all sides.
- Once the smoker has reached 225°F, place the roast directly on the smoking rack and close the smoker.
- Smoke for 12-15 hours, until a meat thermometer inserted deep into the center of the roast reads 200°F.
- Large pieces of meat like this will often "stall" when they reach about 150-160°F. This stall could last for hours before the temperature starts to rise again, meaning a 12-15 hour cook time could take 20 hours. Therefore, once the temperature reaches around 150°F, it's best to remove the pork roast and wrap it in peach butcher paper or foil. Then place it back on the smoker and continue to cook.
- The extra layer of insulation will reduce the stall time significantly, and allow the temperature to continue rising. However, you do not want to start the roast out wrapped in foil or butcher paper because the smoke will not penetrate the pork.
- If cooking overnight, just check the temperature when you wake up in the morning and if it's stalled, wrap in foil or butcher paper then.
- Once you wrap the pork roast in foil or peach paper it will not take on additional smoke flavor. Therefore, if it's easier to transfer it into the oven at 225°F, feel free to do so.
- Once the internal temperature reaches 200°F, remove the pork butt from the smoker (or oven) and allow it to rest at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours before unwrapping. Then shred and serve with barbecue sauce, or use in all sorts of amazing meaty recipes!