Learn how to smoke pulled pork on a Camp Chef pellet grill following our detailed instructions and recipe below!
This is an easy, yet really fun dish to prepare to feed a crowd, especially on a Camp Chef, but it can also easily be adapted for ANY pellet grill.
Pork Shoulder, Boston Butt, or Pulled Pork?
A Boston butt, better known as a pork butt or pork shoulder, is a pork cut that comes from the upper shoulder of the pig, and is most commonly used to make pulled pork.
The confusing name comes from the barrels in which they were transported during the 18th century, known as butts (from the Latin “buttis” meaning barrel or casket).
They were actually considered cheap cuts of meat and stuffed into barrels for easy bulk transportation.
Nowadays, pulled pork from Boston butts can be found not only in traditional American bbq, but all around the world.
You will find pulled pork in dishes ranging from Mexican carnitas, to Latino lechón asado and Chinese char siu.
Smoking Pulled Pork on a Camp Chef Pellet Grill
The pork shoulder is a cut of meat that provides a variety of options, and for our purposes, is quite easy to smoke, especially on a Camp Chef pellet grill
We have previously covered how to start a Camp Chef pellet grill, how to season a pellet grill, as well as how to troubleshoot the smoke level of your pellet grill.
So if you need a good overview on how to use your Camp Chef for the first time, check those articles out first!
In this article, we will go over what is needed to properly smoke pulled pork step by step on a Camp Chef pellet grill.
Choosing the Best Size Pork Butt for Smoking Pulled Pork on a Camp Chef Pellet Grill
Depending on the Camp Chef model you are using, and whether you will need the second shelf available for a side dish like smoked sweet potatoes or asparagus, you will need to think about what size pork shoulder you need for your Camp Chef pulled pork.
Make sure to not only consider the grilling area of the Camp Chef, but the height available under the second rack if you can’t simply remove it.
Also, contrary to popular opinion in some BBQ circles, bigger ISN’T always better.
Think about it.
The larger the pork shoulder, the longer it takes to cook, and the less surface area you have relative to interior meat after you pull it.
And the surface is where the rub and all the flavor is!
In many cases, you are better off smoking (2) 4-6 lb pork shoulders for pulled pork rather than one monster 8-12 lb one.
You get done cooking that much faster, which means less time for the meat to risk drying out, and you have more crusty barky surface area mixed in with the rest of your meat!
The smoke from your wood pellets will also only penetrate about an inch into your meat, so if you want maximum smokey flavor, you are better off with multiple smaller cuts too.
Additionally, if you want to try 2 different rubs or flavor profiles, you have that opportunity as well!
IF… you can only find monster 10-14 pounders, go ahead and get one and just cut in half when you get home!
Preparing the Pork Shoulder for Smoking
You can think of the process of smoking pulled pork split into two parts.
- The first part is preparing your meat for the Camp Chef pellet grill.
- The second part is setting up th Camp Chef and smoking the meat, including the Texas Crutch portion of the cook.
- The last part is resting, pulling, re-seasoning, and serving your pulled pork
You have literally a million options for seasoning and preparing your pulled pork depending on the flavor profile you are going after.
You can use anything from a traditional American BBQ rub to something more exotic or internationally flavored such as a spicy chipotle rub or maybe something Asian inspired.
Trimming the Fat
First, you will want to trim any excess fat off the pork shoulder before applying your rub.
This will help the rub stick to and penetrate the meat itself rather than being obstructed by the fat.
Leaving a little fat is ok.
You’ll notice one side will have a thicker “Fat Cap” on it.
It’s ok to leave some of this in place but ideally trim it down to no more than about 1/4 inch of thickness.
After trimming, score through the fat cap with a good meat cutting knife in 2 perpendicular directions to help the fat underneath render out during the smoking process and allow some more of the rub to penetrate the meat.
If you’ve followed us for any amount of time you know we LOVE the meat melting knives from Imarku.
Rubs
Like we said, you can have fun finding any new and innovative rub you would like to use.
Conventional American BBQ rubs have a lot of sugar in them as that is what helps form the crusty bark on the exterior of the pork shoulder as it cooks in the Camp Chef.
Because we are going to set the Camp Chef pellet grill to only 225°F, you don’t need to worry about the sugar burning.
After trimming the fat, cover the pork in a thin layer of cooking oil or yellow mustard.
Yes, you read that right, many professional barbecue chefs use yellow mustard to help their rub emulsify and stick to the meat when preparing pork butts, brisket, or even baby back ribs.
After the long cook you won’t taste any mustard flavor, trust us.
Be generous with the amount of rub you put on.
Then, you can wrap the pork butt in plastic wrap and put it back in the refrigerator until you are ready to smoke it.
This can even be done the night before to save some time the next day and to let the salt in the rub fully penetrate the meat.
We have a simple recipe below for a good homemade Pork BBQ Rub, or, if you prefer to buy your own, you know we are big fans of Blues Hog Dry Rub Seasoning.
It has a very traditional sugar and paprika mix that will color and flavor your pulled pork well.
For a more spicy, onion and garlic flavor profile, check out Three Little Pigs. We also love this stuff on chicken and turkey.
- Three Little Pigs Kansas City Championship BBQ Seasoning is a mix of sweet and spicy ingredients that offers a fantastic flavor boost for all grilling, smoking, and general cooking
- Bold flavor of hickory smoke, onion, garlic and spices
Or if you can’t decide, mix two or three different rubs together like the pros do!
Marinade Injections
For additional flavor, some bbq cooks like to inject their pork shoulder with a marinade before putting it on the Camp Chef.
The idea is to add flavor and moisture deep into the meat to help season the bland interior of the pork while its cooking.
There Is nothing wrong with injecting, and we LOVE to injected SLICED meats like smoked roast beef, ham, and turkey.
The only problem, is it adds water weight and significantly extra time to your cook.
By adding 8 oz of injection you may be increasing your pulled pork cooking time by 1 HOUR or more.
And think about it, when the pork butt comes out of the Camp Chef pellet smoker, you are going to be pulling it apart in a big tray, and adding more seasoning at that point too.
So why go through the hassle of injecting the interior if you are going to be adding seasoning later anyways?
Injections work great on sliced meats like the ones mentioned above because you are slicing and serving and wanting the slices of meat to have flavor all the way through.
But with pulled meat like chuck roast or Camp Chef smoked pulled pork, skip the hassle and add your seasoning at the end!
If you REALLY want to inject your Boston butt or any other type of meat, always use a good quality meat injector like this one from JY COOKMENT.
You can use a mixture of apple juice, apple cider vinegar, salt, sugar, and some of your favorite BBQ rub mixed together.
- This meat injector is ergonomic threaded design, easy to assemble or dismantle. With 2 cleaning brushes makes clean up super easy, Dishwasher-SAFE.
- This marinade injector contains 1pc 2-OZ capacity marinade injector barrel; 3pc professional meat needles; 4pcs spare syringe silicone O-rings; 2pcs cleaning bush; 1pc detail instruction;
The Best Wood Pellets for Smoking Pulled Pork on a Camp Chef Pellet Grill
You have a lot of options when it comes to choosing the right wood pellets to smoke your pulled pork on a Camp Chef pellet grill.
In fact, we went DEEP in depth on our favorite smoking woods for pulled pork HERE if you want to read more on the topic.
Most smoking wood pellets are fair game to some degree, however, mesquite will give a very aggressive smoke flavor to the pork, usually a little too much if used solely on its own rather than mixed in lightly with a milder fruitwood.
Save the mesquite for quicker smoking sessions on your steaks, lobster, and even smoked crab legs where it doesn’t have time to overpower the protein.
Pecan, hickory, apple, beech, alder, and cherry pellets all give great results on pulled pork when smoked on a Camp Chef.
For a very straightforward flavor, we are also big fans of Bear Mountain Red and White Smoky Oak Pellets
- SMOOTH OAK FLAVOR: Oak BBQ pellets add a smooth, smoky flavor to your favorite red meat, fish, lamb, pork, or vegetable dish
- ALL-NATURAL HARDWOODS: Made from 100% all-natural hardwoods with no flavorings, fillers, or additives
For the best results, store your unused pellets in a sealed room temperature container like this 20 lb pellet container rather than in the Camp Chef hopper outside.
Pellets do not last forever, but will definitely last a LOT longer if stored indoors in a quality airtight container.
- Store up to 20 pounds of hardwood pellets in the heavy-duty plastic pellet bucket.
- Weatherproof, airtight lid protects pellets from the elements, keeping them fresh and dry
- Wire-mesh filter separates wood dust from the pellets for a clean burn
- Heavy-duty plastic scoop to easily transfer pellets
How to Start Up a Camp Chef Pellet Grill
In order to cook ANYTHING well on a Camp Chef pellet grill, you need to first have a basic understanding of how a pellet grill works.
***Completely New to Using a Pellet Grill? No Worries!****
Hop over and check out this Complete Guide to Understanding How a Pellet Grill Works if you are interested in learning more in depth. We’ll be here when you get back!***
We also dove in-depth previously on how to properly start up and shut down a Camp Chef Pellet Grill HERE.
Otherwise a summary of the steps is below for review.
If your Camp Chef pellet grill is BRAND new, you should go through the full process of seasoning it before cooking on it for the first time.
You can find our Step-by-Step Instructions on How to Season a Pit Boss Pellet Grill here, which is a very similar process to the Camp Chef.
Otherwise follow these steps as follows:
- Fill your hopper with pellets.
- Plug in and turn on the power switch to “ON” on the pellet grill, keeping the lid open. Set the dial to “Feed”. This will start the auger turning and bring the pellets towards the firepot. If the auger is completely empty, this can take about 5-7 minutes to fill the auger.
Set the dial to FEED if the auger is empty to fill it with pellets. 
- Once you or see pellets going into the fire pot you can switch your temperature dial to your chosen temperature for the food you are cooking.
Pellets will begin falling into the fire pot while the fire rod heats up - Now you are waiting for a torchy burner lighting sound. This means the fire rod has come up to temperature and has started igniting the pellets. At this point, a more significant amount of smoke will begin coming out of the pellet grill. This means the pellets are ignited and the pellet grill is working. Now you can close the lid.
- It will take about 10-25 minutes to preheat the grill, depending on the temperature you have chosen..
- While you are waiting, make sure you’ve got the grease trap in place and the grease bucket hanging to catch any grease that comes out during the cook. If you want to minimize cleanup later, try using a grease bucket liner you can just throw way at the end of the cook. Wear a good pair of BBQ gloves when you are handling these components.
- Put your grates on. Using a good bristle free grill brush, clean off the grill grates. Then apply a little bit of cooking oil for your food.
Why use Bristle Free Grill Brushes?
Check out our Ultimate Guide to How to Keep your Family Safe by using ONLY Bristle Free Grill Brushes, along with a selection of some of our favorites!
- *APPLICABLE MODEL* Compatible with Camp Chef, Pit boss, Oklahoma Joes Oklahoma Joes/Country Smokers/Summers Heat/Landmann USA etc.
If you are ever wanting to grill with direct heat, like for steaks and hamburgers vs. indirect heat for smoking larger cuts of meat, then pull out the knob on the left side of the grill by the control panel to remove the heat deflector shield.
For our Camp Chef Smoked Pulled Pork we are going to leave it in place for INDIRECT heat throughout the entire cook.
How to Smoke Pulled Pork on a Camp Chef Pellet Grill
Equipment
- A large piece of foil to cover the meat
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Wood pellets
- Brush or spray bottle (preferably the latter)
- Large forks or a proper pair of grilling tongs
- Meat thermometer
- Camp Chef pellet grill
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons of salt
- 3 tablespoons of paprika
- ½ tablespoon of cayenne
- 1 tablespoons of onion powder
- 1 tablespoons of garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons of ground black pepper
- 5-8 lb pork shoulder
- Apple juice or Cola
- Apple cider vinegar
- a 8-14 lb bone in pork butt
How Long Does it Take to Smoke Pulled Pork on a Camp Chef Pellet Grill?
At 225°F, it will take roughly 1.5 hours per lb to fully cook a bone-in pork butt.
So a 6 lb pork shoulder may take about 9 hours.
Now, you can speed up the cook a little by increasing your cooking temperature to 250°F or even 275°F. It will still be delicious, albeit maybe a little tougher around the exterior.
Make sure to use a good temperature probe to keep track of your meat’s temperature while it is cooking.
We are big fans of this one from ThermoPro.
While we have used and recommended ThermoPro for years, lately we have also become big fans of the MEATER leave in thermometer.
It is extremely accurate and has an incredible 165 foot bluetooth range and works right with your smartphone so you don’t need to carry a separate controller around with you like many other remote thermometers require.
It’s got a great free app that is constantly being updated and even has an algorithm to predict how much longer your type of meat will take to cook based on cooking temperature, target temperature, current internal temperature.
It’s like a GPS for your meat!
- ► 2 Sensors, 1 Probe: Dual temperature sensors can monitor internal meat temperature up to 212°F and ambient / external temperature up to 527°F simultaneously. Dishwasher safe.
- ► Advanced Estimator Algorithm: Can estimate how long to cook and rest your food to help plan your meal and manage your time.
- ► Connectivity Suite: Monitor your cook from a phone or tablet over Bluetooth. Extend your range Using MEATER Link WiFi and MEATER Cloud to use Alexa and monitor your cook from a computer.
Anyways, back to our smoked pulled pork…
You are going to leave your pork shoulder on the Camp Chef until it hits somewhere between 197-203°F when measured with a probe or instant thermometer.
Don’t rush it.
It will not be fall apart tender or pull well even if you take it off at 180°F.
165-180°F is a great temperature range for SLICING pork, but if you want it fall apart tender and easy to pull, leave it on until it hits 197°F.
Got it?
To Wrap or Not to Wrap, AKA the “Texas Crutch”
Another way to speed up your cooking time is by using a tried and tested barbecue technique known as the “Texas Crutch”.
Cool name, but don’t worry, it’s not complicated.
You see, when big pieces of meat like brisket or pork butt are being cooked low and slow, and hit about 150°F internally, they tend to “stall out” and stop rising in temperature.
Sometimes for HOURS depending on the size of the meat.
This can be maddening if your guests are arriving soon and the internal temperature needs to rise another 50°F and hasn’t budged for over an hour.
Without getting too much into the science behind why this happens, just understand it has to do with a lot of trapped moisture evaporating at this temperature and continually cooling your meat as it evaporates.
One way to “power through the stall” is to take your pork butt out of the Camp Chef when it hits 150°F, and double or triple wrap it tightly in aluminum foil.
Then replace your thermometer, place the meat back on the Camp Chef, and let it continue to cook.
The aluminum foil will keep the moisture from evaporating, possibly keeping your meat from drying out as much while to cooks, and most importantly, let it continue to steadily rise in temperature.
Leave it wrapped until it gets to your target temperature range of 197°-203°F and then remove it from the smoker.
Unwrap the Boston butt and let it rest for about 20-30 minutes before pulling it.
Pro Tip: If you want to firm the bark back up before pulling, take it out of the aluminum foil at 192°F and place it back on the Camp Chef UNWRAPPED for the last 15-20 minutes until it hits 197°-203°F.
If this technique looks familiar, its because its very similar to how we firm our 3-2-1 pork ribs back up after removing them from foil too.
How to Pull the Camp Chef Smoked Pulled Pork
Once you’ve removed the pork butt from the Camp Chef pellet grill and you have let it rest in an aluminum pan for about 20-30 minutes, it’s time to pull that meat!
You can use 2 forks, or better yet a pair of BBQ Bear Claws to make the job even faster (and fun)!
Once you have pulled the meat, test it for seasoning, you likely need to add some salt.
Add a little salt at time, mixing it in and re-taste testing as you go.
You can also add a little apple cider vinegar and mix it in the give it some sweetness and acidity to balance out the fattiness of the pork.
As far as sauce, our hands down favorite sauce for smoked pulled pork is Blues Hog Tennessee Red Sauce.
It has everything: spice, acid, sweetness, and gives you that truly authentic vinegary carolina pulled pork flavor that perfectly counterbalances and cuts through the rich fat and smokiness of your Camp Chef pulled pork.
Keep in mind a little goes a long way because it has SO MUCH FLAVOR.
Pro Tip: It’s always best to offer BBQ sauce on the side and let your guests choose whether to add it and how much to add rather than slopping it all over your meat and possibly turning folks off.
You spent a lot of time on that meat so let them taste it first rather than dousing it in bbq sauce immediately!
Serve and Enjoy!
And there you have it!
Serve your Camp Chef smoked pulled pork on large brioche buns for an extra level of deliciousness, and you can even top it with some vinegary coleslaw and serve along with some baked beans and corn on the cob for an authentic bbq experience!
What Else Can I Smoke on my Camp Chef Pellet Grill?
Looking for some more smoky inspiration for that new Camp Chef?
So glad you asked.
Check out some of our other great recipes of smoked and grilled food to try out at your next outdoor BBQ!
They can all easily be adapted to be made on a Camp Chef pellet grill.
More Pork
- Traeger Baby Back Ribs
- Pellet Grill Smoked Pork Chops
- Smoked Fresh Holiday Ham
- Spiral Sliced Smoked Hot Dogs
- Smoked Bratwurst with Beer Braised Onions
- Gas Grilled Bratwurst
- Pellet Grilled Bratwurst
- Roasted Pig in Your Backyard
- Traeger Smoked Pulled Pork
- Traeger 3-2-1 Pork Ribs
- Masterbuilt Electric Smoker Boston Butt
- Pit Boss Pulled Pork
- Masterbuilt Baby Back Ribs
- Pit Boss Smoked Baby Back Ribs
- Pit Boss Smoked Pork Loin
Beef
- Traeger Prime Rib
- Pit Boss Beef Brisket
- Perfect Smoked London Broil
- Smoked Ribeye Roast
- Hot and Fast Pellet Grill Beef Brisket
- Smoked Corned Beef
- Smoked Ribeye Steaks
- Smoked Filet Mignon
- Pellet Grilled Steak
- Perfect Grilled Hamburgers
- Smoked Eye of Round Roast Beef
- Easy Smoked Flank Steak
- Traeger Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Cream
- Pit Boss Smoked Beef Tenderloin
- Smoked Chuck Roast for Pulled Beef
- Pit Boss Smoked Prime Rib
- Traeger Smoked Beef Brisket
- Traeger Smoked Chuck Roast
Seafood
- Honey Smoked Salmon
- Smoked Oysters in a Garlic White Wine Sauce
- Smoked Scallops with Lemon Butter Sauce
- Smoked Lobster Tails
- Honey Smoked Tilapia
- Perfect Smoked Halibut
- Smoked Mahi Mahi Fillets
- Smoked Swordfish Steaks
- Smoked Crab Legs with Cajun Clarified Butter
- Smoked Mackerel with Maple Balsamic Glaze
- Smoked Catfish with Cajun BBQ Rub
- Smoked Red Snapper with Blackening Rub
Poultry
- Spatchcocked Chicken on a Pellet Grill
- Pellet Grill Smoked Turkey Breast
- Pellet Grill Turkey
- Spatchcock Smoked Turkey on a Pellet Grill
- Easy Smoked Turkey Legs
- Smoked Chicken Leg Quarters
- Beer Can Chicken on a Pellet Grill
- Trash Can Turkey – OK, technically not made on a grill or smoker but one of the most fun ways there is to cook a Turkey…at over 700 degrees in only 2 hours!
Lamb
- Smoked Leg of Lamb with Guinness Marinade
- Smoked Lamb Chops with a Balsamic Butter Sauce
- Smoked Rack of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary or Smoker
- Smoked and Pulled Lamb Shoulder with a Turkish Spice Rub
- Smoked Lamb Shanks
Other Odds and Ends
- Smoked Gouda Cheese
- Smoked Asparagus
- Easy Smoked Broccoli
- Smoked Cauliflower
- Sticky Smoked Sweet Potatoes
- How to Steam Tamales
- Maple Bourbon Smoked Pineapple
Camp Chef Smoked Pulled Pork
Equipment
- Camp Chef Pellet Grill
- Wood pellets for Camp Chef preferably hickory, apple, and/or cherry.
- Aluminum Foil Trays
- Plastic Wrap
- Internal Meat Thermometer
- Brush or spray bottle (preferably the latter)
- Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Large forks or a Pair of BBQ Bear Claws
Ingredients
- 5-8 lb Pork Shoulder Bone-In. Also sometimes labeled as a Pork Butt or Boston Butt.
- Olive Oil or Yellow Mustard
Mad Backyard's Pulled Pork Rub
- 4 Tbsp Brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp Salt
- 3 Tbsp Paprika
- ½ Tbsp Cayenne
- 1 Tbsp Onion powder
- 1 Tbsp Garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp Ground black pepper
Additional Ingredients
- Apple Juice or Cola in a Spray Bottle optional to spray during the cook
- Salt to taste
- Apple cider vinegar to taste
- Blues Hog Tennessee Red BBQ Sauce - OR - any vinegar based BBQ sauce for pulled pork
Instructions
Prepare the Pork Butt for the Camp Chef
- Trim any excess fat from the exterior of the pork butt. Trim the fat cap down to 1/4" thickness. Score the fat cap with a meat knife in 2 directions perpendicular to each other.
- In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. This includes the brown sugar, salt, paprika, cayenne, the onion and garlic powders and the ground black pepper. Mix it all to make the dry rub. Keep in mind you can always buy your own dry rub or use your own recipe. It’s up to you.
- Cover your boston butt with a thin layer of olive oil or yellow mustard, then generously apply your rub to coat the entire exterior of the meat.
- Wrap your boston butt in plastic wrap and place it back in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
Start the Camp Chef Pellet Grill
- Fill your hopper with pellets.
- Plug in and turn the power switch to "ON", keeping the lid open. Set the dial to "Feed". This will start the auger turning and bring the pellets towards the firepot. If the auger is completely empty, this can take about 5-7 minutes to fill the auger.
- Once you or see pellets going into the fire pot you can switch your temperature dial to 225°F.
- Once you hear a torchy burning sound and the pellet grill starts producing a lot of smoke, you can close the lid.
- Wait about 10-25 minutes for the grill to come up to temperature.
- While you are waiting, make sure you’ve got the grease trap in place and the grease bucket hanging to catch any grease that comes out during the cook
- Put your grates on. Using a good bristle free grill brush, clean off the grill grates. Then apply a little bit of cooking oil for your food.
Start Smoking the Pork Butt on the Camp Chef
- Remove the pork from the refrigerator, add any additional rub that may have come off, and once the Camp Chef is at 225°F, place the pork butt on the grate with the fat side DOWN and the thickest part facing to the hotter RIGHT side.
- Place your thermometer inside the pork making sure to not touch the bone.
- Set a timer to 3 hours and close the lid to the Chef. Every hour you can optionally spray or baste the exterior of the meat with apple juice or cola to help form the bark and keep the meat moist.
- Your meat will take on average 1.5 hours total to cook per pound. You can refill more wood pellets as needed, however, with a full hopper you should not need to add much more.
Texas Crutch
- When the internal temperature of the pork butt hits about 150-155°F, remove it from the Camp Chef and triple wrap it in aluminum foil. Replace the thermometer and place back in the pellet grill.
- Once the internal temperature hits 192°F, remove the pork from the foil and place it unwrapped back in the Cap Chef to firm the bark back up. You can increase the temperature up to 275°F at this time if you wish.
- Once the internal temperature hits 197°-203°F, remove the pork butt from the Camp Chef and place it in an aluminum pan. Let it rest fo 20-30 minutes.
Pull and Serve the Camp Chef Smoked Pulled Pork
- Pull your pork using a pair or forks or Bear Claws. Discard any large pieces of fat and the bone.
- After you finish pulling and mixing, taste the pulled pork and add salt to taste, mixing as you add it in. You can also add some apple cider vinegar to taste to add some acidity.
- Serve with buns and a vinegar based BBQ sauce on the side to top with like Blues Hog Tennessee Red.
This was delicious, and pretty easy to do. Thanks for the tip on the bucket liners…I had been wrapping mine in foil but didn’t really work that great.
Really good, thanks for the step by step instructions!