Food & Wine Chickie Insider

I’m no professional when it comes to smoking, but I’ve developed certain skills at using my Recteq RT-590. One of the easiest things one can make on a pellet smoker is pulled pork using a pork shoulder, also known as pork butt or Boston butt.

With just a few ingredients and in just a few steps, you’ll have a solid product that can be used in many ways. We’re fond of tacos (see below)!

Ingredients

• 6-8 lb. pork butt with the bone in
• Yellow mustard
• Homemade or store-bought BBQ rub, we like Pork Mafia and Revolution Barbecue both found on Amazon
• Spray bottle filled with equal amounts of cola and apple juice
• Squeeze bottle margarine, I use Parkay brand
• Salt and pepper
• Homemade bbq sauce, or store-bought BBQ sauce, we like Bone Suckin’ Sauce widely available

Directions:

1. The night before your cook, pat dry the pork butt with paper towels, coat in yellow mustard and generously sprinkle rub over the mustard. Wrap the pork butt in shrink wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
2. The morning of your cook, add pellets to your smoker and preheat to 250 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until blue smoke turns white-ish.
3. Take the pork out of the fridge, sprinkle with a second layer of rub then allow to warm up a bit while you fill a metal or aluminum pan with water, coming up halfway up the pan. Place the water-filled pan on one side of the smoker, that’ll help keep the pork moist as it cooks, and place the pork butt on the other side, fat cap down. Insert the smoker’s probe, or a meat thermometer, inside the pork ensuring it doesn’t touch the bone, which will cause bad temp readings.
4. Generously spray the pork with the cola/juice mixture every hour until the internal temp of the meat reaches 155 degrees.
5. Place three large sheets of foil on a work surface and position the pork on the foil. Spray generously with the coke/apple juice and squeeze margarine all over the surface, you’ll need about ½ cup depending on the size of your pork butt. Wrap the pork tightly with the foil and place the probe/thermometer back in the meat. Put the pork back on the smoker and cook until the internal temp reaches 200 degrees.
6. Take the pork out of the smoker, uncover the top and put the pork back on the smoker to finish creating the crunchy bark, about 30 minutes.
7. Take the pork out and let it rest 15-20 minutes, remove the bone then shred and pull using two forks, or your gloved hands. Generously salt and pepper the meat then add a thin layer or BBQ sauce, about ½ – ¾ cup to lightly coat but not overwhelm the amazing pork flavor. Alternatively, you can omit the bbq sauce.

Yields 6-8 pulled pork sandwiches.

Note that the cooled pork freezes very well in freezer bags for up to a couple of months.