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PUlled Pork

The staple of Southern BBQ

About this Recipe

Pulled pork is, in my opinion, the easiest BBQ style meat to cook. Basically, if you can season meat, and control a fire, you can cook pulled pork. Just make sure you set aside enough time to properly cook the meat. Cooking pulled pork will take a minimum of 6 hours, but you better count on 8-10. You can cook this on anything from an oven, to a crock pot, to a smoker, but, in my humble opinion, it’s only true “BBQ” if cooked over some kind of fire to get that smokey flavor we all know and love. Please, no liquid smoke comments here. You can keep that stuff to yourself.

The cut of meat most commonly used is the Boston Butt, or shoulder butt.  Some people choose to cook the whole shoulder, but for a beginner, the Boston Butt is the best choice in my opinion. 

Step 1

Combine spices in a small bowl or shaker and mix well

Step 2

Sprinkle the spice mixture (rub) all over the pork. Make sure to get an even coat.  You can be generous with the rub because a Boston Butt is a large cut of meat and can take a large amount of seasoning

Step 3

Once you have your smoker set to approx 225 degrees, place the pork on the smoker.  You will want to check on the meat beginning at about the 1 1/2 – 2 hour mark to check on the dryness of the exterior.  If it is starting to get dry, spritz every 30-45 minutes as needed with a 50% water/50% apple juice mixture.  This is to keep the outside moist, but not dripping wet.

Step 4

Once you reach the 6 hour mark, start testing your meat every 30-45 minutes for doneness.  You are looking for a temperature around 198-205, but more importantly, you want to stick your probe into the  meat and it feels like you are going into soft butter.  You should also see the meat pulling away from the bone and you should be able to grab the bone and it come out of the meat cleanly.  That is when your pork is done.

Step 5

Pull the meat off the smoker, wrap in aluminum foil and put into a warm oven or a cooler for 30-60 minutes or more and let the meat rest.  Then, you can remove it and put it in a pan.  Put on some gloves and start pulling the meat.  You can also use tools like bear claws or just a couple of forks for this process.  Plate it up and enjoy with your favorite sides and sauces.

  • 1 Boston Butt 
  • 1/2 cup black pepper
  • 1/4 cup granulated garlic powder
  • 1/4 cup granulated onion powder
  • 1/8 cup smoked paprika