Easy Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork Recipe (Boston Butt)

This easy and delicious Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork recipe uses a small Boston butt, a classic and simple dry rub, and your trusty smoker for tasty, tender and flavorful BBQ pulled pork in just about 8 hours!

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Perfect for your next BBQ, or for any time you're craving some tender and delicious smoked pulled pork, this easy Smoked Boston Butt recipes is great for families or smaller crowds! Made with simple pantry ingredients and loaded with tasty smoke flavor, this smaller batch smoked pulled pork cooks start to finish in the smoker, in a foil pan for easy cleanup!

This easy Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork recipe uses a half Boston butt for a faster cook time and smaller yield, without sacrificing flavor. This recipe calls for a boneless pork butt rather than a bone-in pork shoulder for a quicker cook and easier shredding.

Serve this perfect pulled pork piled high on your favorite buns, with a bit of barbecue sauce and some tangy coleslaw on top for the ultimate bite! This versatile pork is great for tacos, sandwiches (here's looking at you, Cuban Melt), and more!

Ingredients

This easy Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork requires very little prep, and simple ingredients. Here's what you'll need:

• One roughly 4 lb Boston butt. You want a boneless roast at or around 4 pounds to keep within the cook time for this recipe. I love to get my pork at Aldi.
• Yellow Mustard. This helps the dry rub adhere to the pork, and adds a subtle flavor as well. Stick to classic yellow mustard for this recipe, as spicy brown or dijon will alter the flavor too much. The yellow mustard is more or less the glue that holds everything together, so basic is key.

Dry Rub

This quick and easy dry rub gives the finished pulled pork a great flavor, and is made with simple ingredients in your pantry. Here's what you'll need to make it:

• Dark brown sugar. This adds a balanced sweetness to the final smoked pulled pork.
• Paprika. Just plain old paprika is perfect for this rub!
• Garlic powder. This adds a prominent, savory quality to the rub.
• Onion powder. The onion powder perfectly balances the other rub ingredients for well balanced flavor.
• Cayenne pepper. If you aren't a huge fan of spice, you can cut down the amount of cayenne, or omit it.
• Dried oregano. This adds a subtle herbaceous quality to the pork.
• Cumin. A staple for dry rubs, with an earthy, warm, nutty, and slightly sweet flavor.
• Coarse kosher salt.
• Fresh ground black pepper. You can also use mixed peppercorns for extra flavor. I love this blend of black, white, green, and pink peppercorns.

Tools for the perfect Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork

This pork is easy to prep and cook, with the right tools and minimal attention. Here are some great tools and equipment to make the perfect Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork!

• A smoker! I love my Masterbuilt Electric Smoker. It's compact, easy to use and clean, and perfect for a new or novice to smoking.
• A silicone brush, for brushing the mustard evenly onto to pork before applying the dry rub.
• Paper towels, for drying the pork well prior to adding the mustard.
• Wood chips. I am a big fan of playing with mixtures, so I opt for a mixture of apple wood and pecan wood.
• A quick read thermometer, or probe thermometer for monitoring the pork's internal temperature. The internal temperature of the meat is key, so you want to keep an eye on it and be sure it reaches about 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Foil pans for cooking the pork and easy cleanup.
• Aluminum foil for wrapping the pork to maintain it's moisture.
• Forks of Meat Claws for shredding the finished pork.
• Nitrile Gloves, for easy pork prep, without the mess.

How to make Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork

This delicious Smoked Pulled Pork is easy to prep for the smoker, and cooks in about 8 hours, thanks to it's small size! Here's how to make it:

1. Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F. My favorite wood for smoking pork is apple wood, or a mixture of apple wood and pecan wood. I like to avoid stronger wood flavors, so that I don’t overpower the natural flavors of the pork while smoking.
2. Remove the pork from the packaging and any string container it may be packed in.
3. Dry the pork well with paper towels.
4. Place pork in a 9” foil roasting pan, and evenly coat with mustard, using your hands, or a silicone brush.
5. Whisk or stir together the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl, and evenly coat the pork in the dry rub on all sides. Place prepared pork in the foil pan fat side up.
6. Once the pork is fully prepped and the smoker is preheated, transfer the pork in the pan to the smoker, close the smoker, and smoke for 4 hours, being sure to add more wood chips as needed.
7. After 4 hours, open the smoker and carefully flip the pork over, and cover the foil pan with aluminum foil. Smoke an additional 4 hours at 225 degrees, or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the Boston butt reaches 200-225 degrees F. Cook time may vary based on your smoker.
8. Allow the pork to rest covered for 30 minutes, then remove any unwanted liquid and fat, and shred the pork with 2 forks, or a set of meat claws. Discard any large fat pieces or grissel.
9. Toss in residual juice and serve! This pork is great on toasted buns with coleslaw and your favorite BBQ sauce!

What is a Boston Butt?

While you can purchase an intact pork shoulder at most local grocery stores and meat markets, you can also find them cut into 2 portions that are smaller and more manageable. The top part of the pork shoulder is often called the “Boston butt”  or "blade roast”. This cut of pork comes from behind the pig's neck, and usually contains a small piece of the pig’s shoulder blade. The bottom part of the shoulder is called the picnic roast, and includes the rest of the leg down to the pork hock.

According to this article from Mental Floss, in Colonial times, New England butchers took less desirable cuts of pork (such as the Boston butt), and packed them into barrels to ship off to other places. The barrels which they were shipped in were called “butts”, hence the name Boston butt. 

A relatively cheap cut of meat, the Boston butt is a great option for feeding a family or gathering and keeping under budget. It's one of those cuts of meat that benefits from a longer cook time, allowing the tight connective tissue to break down. The long cook time required makes the Boston butt perfect for smoking low and slow.

Substitutions and Additions

This easy Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork can easily be adjusted to work with your tastes and preferences, as well as what you have on hand in your refrigerator and pantry. Here are some great substitutions and additions you can use to make this recipe your own:

• Use a picnic roast instead of a Boston butt. Just be sure to keep it around 4 pounds.
• Add a bit of apple juice or diluted apple cider vinegar with water to the bottom of your foil pan while smoking to keep the pork extra moist.
• Experiment with your wood chips. I use a mixture of Apple Wood and Pecan Wood, but you could also try Cherry Wood or Oak. There really is no "best wood", it's all up to your personal preference.
• No time for smoking? Do the pork in your slow cooker for 8 hours on low!
• Have a larger cut of pork? Keep in mind the cooking time is about 1-1 ½ hours per pound of meat.
• No dark brown sugar? Use light brown sugar.
• If you want to cut down on the spice, play with the amount of cayenne pepper to taste.
• Add some chili powder to the dry rub for an extra burst of flavor.
• No foil pan? Skip it and put the pork directly on your smoker rack! Juts be sure to wrap in foil after 4 hours.

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What to serve with the Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork

This pulled pork is great for sandwiches with a little of your favorite barbecue sauce and some coleslaw, or even a slice of cheese, all on a light toasted bun.

You can also use it to make BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders, Cuban Sandwiches, Cuban Egg Rolls, quesadillas, and even pulled pork pizza ( I love a great pulled pork flatbread with caramelized onions and cheddar)! Another great way to serve the pork is piled high over some creamy mac and cheese!

Side Dishes

Here are some great sides to go along with the delicious smoked pulled pork, too!

• Small Batch Doctored Up Canned Baked Beans
• Warm German Potato Salad
• Stovetop Creamy Shells Mac and Cheese
• Bacon Bussels Sprout Skillet
• Creamy Bacon Cheddar Broccoli Salad
• Pimento Cheese Cornbread
• Smoky Cheese It Mac and Cheese

Storing leftovers

Any leftover pulled pork can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This smoked pulled pork recipe also freezes very well! You can store the leftover pulled pork in the freezer in zip top bags for up to 3 months! Be sure to fully shred the pork prior to freezing in freezer safe bags for best results.

How to reheat the Smoked Pulled Pork from frozen

1. Thaw fully in the refrigerator overnight. After this, you could reheat in a pan with a bit of water, or place on a foil lined sheet pan, and pop it under your oven's broiler to get it warmed through and crispy.
2. Simmer from frozen. Cook it low and slow in a pan with a touch of water, right from frozen, until it's warmed through.
3. Smoke it, again! Thaw the pork in the refrigerator until fully thawed, then transfer to a small foil pan, cover with foil, and smoke at 225 degrees F until warmed through.

More Pork Recipes!

If you love this easy Smoked Pulled Pork recipe, you'll love these tasty pulled pork recipes, too!

• Make great sandwiches with my Easy Dutch Oven Honey Chipotle Pulled Pork!
• My Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork is a real crowd pleaser for parties and BBQs!
• Slow Cooker Cuban Pulled Pork is an easy and tasty recipe that goes great with some rice, plantains, and Cuban Black Beans!
• Have the best taco night with my Crockpot Pork Carnitas!
• Take a flavor trip to Philly with these South Philly Slow Cooker Italian Pork Sandwiches!
• Make perfect ribs in the smoker with my Rib Rub Recipe!