Smoked Pork Butt Method?

What is your best or preferred method for cooking pulled pork? More specifically, do you smoke it uncovered from start to finish, or do you prefer to finish it covered?

Please share your favorite method in detail.

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First, make sure you use a bone-in butt usually 8-9 pounds. Coat it liberally in your dry rub. I like Alton-Browns recipe. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alt ... pe-1937448 Put it on a rack with a drip-pan underneath in the refrigerator overnight. Apply more dry-rub if the first coating becomes saturated/wet. Take it out of the refrigerator at least a couple hours before smoking.

I smoke using a mix of Pecan and Apple wood for about 6 hours around 200 degrees or as cool as I can keep my grill. From my understanding most cuts will become saturated with smoke in less than 6 hours, so smoking longer doesn't really accomplish anything.

Wrap in foil, place in the oven at 325 and insert a probe thermometer. Cook until it reaches 195 degrees. Stash it in a small cooler (no ice) overnight. Pull by hand the next morning. Retain the juices and pour it over the pulled meat. I also like to add a bit of the dry rub to the pulled meat...maybe 1/2 cup or so.

BBQ sauce is also key....I don't really care for the sweet-hot stuff in West TN. Vinegar based sauces are the best IMO.

This one is pretty fantastic https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mil ... pe-1915952

Oh... slaw is optional pulled port sammiches, pickles are required. (I think its a law).

I agree on using a bone-in butt.

I shoot for an 8-10lber.
Trim the fat as needed
Dry brine with course Kosher salt for at least 2 days uncovered in the fridge
I use a variation of the Memphis Dust rub less any salt
I use the giant Weber and the Slow and Sear set-up from ABC BAR-B-Que. Cook with Kingsford blue at 220 and add some Hickory chunks.
Cook it til it nears the stall then wrap with foil. Pull off smoker around 204. Wrap with towels and rest it in the Yeti for at least 2 hours.

For a 10lb Butt you're looking at 12 hours start to finish, easy.



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8-10 lb bone in butt. I always trim with a heavy hand, any hard fat or fat thicker than 3/8 or so gets taken off. I use the same rub technique as BamaProud, if I'm cooking for more than just my immediate family I like to use the Weber Dry Rub (it isn't too hot or sweet, just middle of the road that most people will like) but if it's just my immediate family I use Alton Brown's with an extra dash or three of cayenne.

I smoke mine at ~225 using the low and slow technique. I have an electric smoker with the A-maze-n smoker pellet tray. Pit Boss competition blend pellets are my go to. One full tray will last ~5 hours and that's all I'll use. No wrapping with foil or butcher paper. It takes longer during the stall, but I find the bark is better this way imo. After it hits 203, I put it in an aluminum pan with a foil tent over the top. That goes into my Yeti for at least and hour.

Told the wife I was gonna do a shoulder next day I'm off. Winter? Who cares.


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BamaProud":1minsfy4 said:

Oh... slaw is optional pulled port sammiches, pickles are required. (I think its a law).

Click to expand...

BP try a PP samich with some sauteed onions and mayo or thin sliced raw onion. I never ate slaw on PP samich but on the side yes aint tried the pickles (yet)

Slaw on the PP? Of course. Never without it.


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8-10lb butt, I trim off any hard fat and some of the fat cap. Using a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker, KBB charcoal, usually a mix of hickory and apple wood chunks, RUBS there are plenty or make your own, lately I have just been using salt, onion and garlic powder, black pepper red pepper flakes. I run the smoker at 230-250. I run smoke until butt(s) hit 150 internal temp, then no more smoke. I go for an IT of 205 and pull from the smoker, I havent wrapped any in a long time. Sometimes I will pull from the smoker at 175-180it and finish in the oven to 205 (run oven at 275), I will do that if fuel is getting low and I dont want to add more. Either way after reaching IT of 205 I tent in a baking pan or aluminum pan for awhile. I leave the temp probe in the butt while it is resting IT gets to 130 I will start pulling the meat. I vac seal in 1lb bags and into the freezer. When I use the minimal rub I label the bags PPP (plain pulled pork) or if I use a more traditional rub commercial or home made I label the bags as PP (pulled pork). Both make a great samich, but the plain is great for other dishes (tacos, burritios, etc).

I like an 8 - 10 lb bone-in butt. I will usually do 2, eating one and putting one in the freezer -- no more work to do 2 than it is for 1.

I rub it with my own rub made up of brown sugar, paprika, black pepper, kosher salt, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion powder. I set up my Big Green Egg at 200 F with chunks of pecan or hickory and will put the butts on around 9 pm. When I get up the next morning I will usually bump the temp up to 230 and then bump it up during the day as necessary to finish it -- usually an 18 - 20 hr cook. I will cook to internal temp of 180 - 185 and then wrap in foil. After wrapping in foil I bring the grill temp up to 275 - 300 and cook until I have an internal meat temp of 200 F. Remove from heat and allow to sit at least 30 min -- will usually poke a hole in the foil on the underside of the roast to allow the rendered fat to drain off the meat. After 30 min then pull/chop it to preference -- it will melt in the mouth at this point.

If I freeze one then after it cools, I will wrap in foil again (wrap over the cooking foil), put in fridge overnight, and then vacuum seal to freeze. When I'm ready to eat this one put it in the oven at 350 for an hour and half or so, remove let it sit and then pull/chop. Its like it just came off the smoker.

Here are a couple that I did over Christmas -- pics taken just before putting on the finishing foil. An old guy at a smoke shack who looked like he had smoked a bunch of butts through the years, told me that he always wrapped it in foil to finish and to "render the fat". He fixed some fine barbecue. Once I tried that, I've never looked back.

I prefer to use a picnic roast for my pulled pork. And I never use sugar in my run. When it melts, it inhibits the smoke from getting to the meat.

Unwrapped,200-250 temp, prefer whole butts and any big hunks of fat are removed when pulling, prefer 225-250 but after 6-8 hrs if under a time crunch you can kick it up ,if going 300 or higher you might want to wrap or you will get too much hard bark and wrapping will steam the meat and soften the bark ,lot of different ways to cook and no 1 method is perfect or liked by everybody. rendering the fat out with the low-n-slow method is my preferred but some will say hot n fast,pick a direction and see which style works for you :tu:

Started 2 8 pounders at 5pm yesterday at 225 degrees. They hit 175 degrees about 5.30am. Wrapped them in foil and moved to oven at 250 degrees. They are at 198 degrees now, at 8am. I'll move them to the cooler once 205, and let them rest until noon.

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Yup, lots of ways to cook them. I don't think I have ever hears of someone cooking one for the first time and they thought it turned out bad.

Pork butts are very forgiving due to fat,beef can make you cry if very lean

They are forgiving, I agree. But still takes some effort


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My rectec has made me incredibly lazy. As others stated I'll do two at the same time in the 8-10lb range. I don't bother trimming any extra fat, it will melt off along the way. Just set the smoker at 225 and set my alarm on the app for when the meat hits 202, usually 18hours or so.


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I rub it down with mustard then coat with Memphis Dust and smoke it using 6-7 ounces of wood chips. Smoke at 225 for about 16 hours until the internal temp hits 190. I don't pull off any fat until after it is cooked. Sometimes will brine for 24 hours using Apple juice, water, salt, etc.

I rub them down then smoke at 250 for 4 hours. Wrap in foil and either finish on the smoker at 250 for 6 more hours or will move them to the oven at 250-275 for 6 more hours. after you wrap them the smoke doesn't really matter anymore. My smoker is wood fire and I only burn Hickory.