Smoked Pork Butt Recipe – How To Make The Best Smoked Pork Shoulder

Slow and low smoking makes this smoked pork butt recipe fall apart delicious! It’s crusty and flavorful on the outside, but fall apart tender and juicy inside! Perfect smoked pork shoulder on its own or as pulled pork!

Choosing The Best Smoked Pork Shoulder

The best smoked pork shoulder starts with selecting your meat! My favorite pork butt is the Boston Butt Pork Roast! it has less cartilage and connective tissue and is just a better, higher-quality cut of meat! Make sure to get one with a nice fat cap because that and the dry rub seasonings add a ton of flavor to your smoked pork shoulder roast!

Fat on your Boston butt roast or pork shoulder adds so much FLAVOR! As that fat melts it bathes the meat, and adds flavor! So make sure to buy a Boston butt or pork butt roast with a nice big layer of fat on top, and lots of marbling in the meat!

The fat on the roast melts (called rendering) through the smoking and cooking process, and turns into a delightfully flavorful crust that everyone loves! As you cut your meat, you mix this yummy crust with the rest of the roast to flavor it!

Tools You WIll Need

• Aluminum Foil
• Meat Thermometer – There’s really no way around this one… The perfect but roast is cooked by temperature, not by time. That’s because each roast is a different size and all ovens cook a tad bit different from each other. You’ll cook your pork butt roast or boston butt roast till it reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees!
• An extra large Cutting Board
• Tupperware or large container with a lid to keep all the yummy leftovers!
• A Grill Smoker, real wood smoker, or Pellet Smoker
• Apple Wood, Hickory or Mesquite Wood or wood pellets for smoking.

Smoked Pork Recipe INGREDIENTS

To make this recipe with an 8-pound pork shoulder, cook time will be 6-8 hours till the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees F.

• 4-5 pound of meat either “Boston Butt” (which I prefer) or “Pork Shoulder” Roast

Brine

• 10 Cups of Warm Water
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 of a cup of Salt
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary
• 2 tbsp whole Peppercorns
• 1/2 Onion Chopped
• 4 cloves Garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 tbsp Paprika

Your favorite dry rub marinade OR – Mix These Seasonings To Make Your Own Dry Rub Marinade!

• 1 tablespoon salt
• One tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• One tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon onion
• And *optional – One tablespoon of garlic powder

Smoker Cook at LOW TEMPERATURE

You have to cook the Pork Shoulder (or Boston Butt) differently than a T-bone steak! It’s not a naturally tender piece of meat, so you can’t cook it on high heat the same way you’d cook a nice steak! If you cook a Pork SHoulder too hot or too fast it will be tough, and not so good. There really are no shortcuts here… The only way to make sure a pork shoulder roast is fall-apart tender and full of flavor is through the low and slow smoking & cooking process.

When you’re smoking a pork shoulder roast, you have to cook it at a super low temperature. As a matter of fact, the temperature you cook it at is closer to the temperature that the fully cooked roast is when it’s done! You’re going to smoke your pork shoulder for hours at 225 degrees F until internal temperature reaches 200 degrees on your instant-read thermometer! (you can also finish it off in the oven at 225 degrees F!)

This is a SLOW COOKER

The Boston Butt or pork shoulders are a SLOOOOOOOW cooking roast, so give yourself PLENTY of cooking time. You need to start marinating it at least the day before (and up to 5 days prior to cooking!). Then, put it in the smoker FIRST THING the next morning… So it can smoke and cook all day long! After rubbing seasonings and marinating your roast overnight, you will be smoking it for a long time… AT LEAST 6 hours. Bigger roasts will smoke and roast for AT LEAST an hour more per pound… Cook until the internal temperature reaches 200°F. You can cook for a couple of hours longer and it will still be great, but NO less time. 

HOW TO Smoke PORK Shoulder The Best Way

This is the best smoked pork shoulder roast recipe I’ve used! It is made with a 6-8 pound Boston Butt or pork shoulder roast. First brine for a day or two, marinade with dry rub, then smoke! Cook till the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees F.

Should I Brine My Pork Shoulder Before Smoking?

Yes! First Brine Your Raw Pork Shoulder! Brining is a great way to prep your pork shoulder before seasoning and smoking! That’s because brineing will keep your pork shoulder or pork butt moist throughout the long smoking or cooking process. Brining can make a world of difference between dry and moist smoked pork shoulder. Brine your pork shoulder for 3 hours before seasoning and cooking.

Smoked Pork Shoulder Brine Recipe:

• 10 Cups of Warm Water
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 of a cup of Salt
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary
• 2 tbsp whole Peppercorns
• 1/2 Onion Chopped
• 4 cloves Garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 tbsp Paprika

How To Make Brine

• In a large bowl dissolve your salt and sugar in the 10 cups of warm water
• Add all the other spices
• Add your pork shoulder to the brine
• Make sure your meat is fully submerged and refrigerate for 12 to 18 hours.

Then Marinade!

This is not the time to be squeamish about handling raw meat. To prepare this big roast with dry rub marinade, it’s all hands on deck! You’ve gotta really get in there with both hands, and give it a really good rub with tons of yummy spices!

Perfect Smoked Pork Shoulder (or Boston Butt Pork Roast) is RUBBED with marinade spices generously all over the exterior of the raw roast. You can use your favorite premixed blend, Iove Grill Mates (McCormick) Barbecue Rub!

Or you can use this homemade blend:

• 1 tablespoon salt
• One tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 TBSP brown sugar
• One tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• and One tablespoon garlic powder

After a generous spice rub all over the entire roast, wrap the entire roast tightly with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to marinate overnight or up to 5 days!!

How To GET THE BARK Crust!

Start the smoking process – Add hickory pellets, or apple wood pellets, to your smoker. Add a pan of apple juice (or water) to help keep the meat moist, and preheat your smoker for about 15 minutes. Put a wire rack in the middle of your smoker, then place the pork shoulder or Boston Butt Roast FAT SIDE down on the rack in the smoker.

Let your pork shoulder smoke for 2 hours at smoker temperature of 225 degrees F, then add more pellets if needed and smoke for 2 more hours. (repeat 2 times for a total of up to 4-8 hours (depending on the size) smoking at 225 degrees F.) You’ve gotta be patient here… Smoke (a long time) till a nice CRUST develops on the outside!

Develop a smoked CRUST (this crust gives the entire roast a great flavor!) on the outside of your pork shoulder!

After 4-6 hours, you should see a nice crust on the outside of your smoked pork shoulder! Now remove your pork shoulder from the smoker and double wrap it in aluminum foil, or butcher paper, to let the inside of the roast cook and stay moist! (Check internal temperature, cook to 200 degrees F.)

Place your smoked pork shoulder back into the smoker or the oven set at 225 degrees F. And continue cooking at 225 degrees for about 2 more hours and repeat until the internal temperature reaches 200°F. (Check internal temperature, cook to 200 degrees F.)

Then remove from the oven or smoker and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

How Long Does It Take To Smoke Pork Shoulder at 225?

Cooking time depends on the size and weight of your meat. The rule of thumb is to smoke steadily at 225 degrees F for about 2 hours per pound of pork shoulder. The only way to know that it’s perfectly done and will fall apart is to check the internal temperature every half hour or so. Cook till internal temp reaches 200 degrees F!

How Long To Smoke An 8-pound Pork Shoulder

Double the time here for an 8-pound pork shoulder roast! First smoke for 6-8 hours till a good bark develops. Then, wrap in aluminum foil or paper and roast at 225 degrees F till internal temp reaches 200 degrees F.

Pork Shoulder Recipe Card

WHY DO THEY CALL Pork SHOULDER “BOSTON BUTT ROAST”

The name Boston Butt refers to the place that made the Boston Butt famous… Boston MA! Don’t ask me why the word Butt was ever used for these whole pork shoulder roasts, the Ham is actually the butt of the pig!

What TO SERVE WITH Smoked Your ROAST

Try serving this great recipe with your favorite BBQ sauce or yellow mustard! Smoked Pork Shoulder Roast is perfect for picnics, sandwiches, potlucks, family gatherings, Christmas Dinners, and everyday meals! It goes well with so many things, but my favorite side dishes are:

• Loaded Potato Salad
• Green Salads or Veggie Trays
• Pasta Salad
• Deviled Eggs
• Berry Fruit Salad
• Homemade Buttery Soft Sourdough Rolls
• And don’t forget dessert! I love chocolate Texas Sheet Cake!

You may also be interested in roasting a Boston Butt perfectly in the oven: