Smoked Pork Butt Recipe

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This smoked pork butt recipe is going to make you feel like a pit master. We’ll show you how to create a beautifully barked, fall-apart tender, smoked pork butt.

Smoked Pork Butt

Contrary to popular belief, a pork butt is nowhere near a pigs rear end. The pork butt piece of meat is right above the pork shoulder at the front of a pigs body. It is marbled with intramuscular fat and is typically a rectangle shape.

Smoked pork butt is great for making smoked pulled pork for BBQ’s. Because this meat is sold in such large chunks, it’s a great idea to plan on storing some of the pulled pork in the freezer for future uses.

How To Smoke Pork Butt

There are multiple factors you need to keep in mind when it comes to smoking a pork butt. First, you need to be aware of the time commitment. It takes anywhere between 15 – 20 hours to smoke a pork butt. That means you’ll need to cook a day or two ahead or get your pork butt going around midnight for same day eating.

Second, you need to make sure you prepare your pork butt correctly before beginning to smoke. This process includes trimming your fat cap, slathering that baby up with mustard and liberally seasoning the outside of your meat. Some grillers suggest leaving the fat cap as is and smoking your pork butt with the fat cap facing up to let the drippings cover your meat. We have found that doing this makes it really hard to get a good bark. Therefore, we highly suggest trimming down the fat cap before seasoning.

Finally, you need to let your pork butt rest before shredding. Resting your meat helps it retain moisture ensuring it doesn’t dry out. No one wants to commit all this time to cooking a big slab of meat only to find out that it dried out.

Make time for each of these key steps and you will succeed.

Smoked Pork Butt Recipe

This recipe calls for 3 ingredients – pork butt, yellow mustard, and Weber Dry Smoking Seasoning. This peppery seasoning gives your bark just the right kick that pairs well with your desired BBQ Sauce. We highly suggest using a Carolina BBQ Sauce but any sauce will do.

Print Recipe

Smoked Pork Butt Recipe

Deliciously smoked pulled pork awaits! This simple recipe will walk you through every step of smoking a pork butt. Pair smoked pulled pork with your favorite BBQ sauce and enjoy.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time17 hours hrs

Resting Time2 hours hrs

Total Time19 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Ingredients

• 1 8 – 10 lb pork butt
• 3 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup Dry Smoking Rub

Instructions

• Start your smoker and set to 220 degrees.
• Trim fat from pork butt. This step is important to get a good bark on your pork.
• Rub pork with mustard coating all sides. Season liberally.
• Insert temperature probe into pork butt and place on smoker. Continue smoking for 15 – 20 hours until the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees. BE PREPARED FOR THE STALL. Your meat will rise in temp continuously until about 150 degrees. From there, it will start to take longer to cook. This is completely normal.
• Remove meat from smoker and wrap in foil. For best results, wrap a dry towel around the foil and place in a cooler (no ice) to keep the heat on the meat. Let this sit for at least 2 hours.
• Remove the bone. Shred the pork with 2 forks. Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce.
• Shredded pork butt can be frozen and reheated at a later time.