Pit Boss Smoked Pulled Pork
Learn exactly how to smoke pulled pork on a Pit Boss 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 Pit Boss!
Equipment
- Pit Boss Pellet Grill
- Wood pellets for Pit Boss, 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 Shoulder or Boston Butt.
- Olive Oil or Yellow Mustard
Mad Backyard's Pulled Pork Rub
- 4 Tbsp Brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp Salt
- 3 Tbsp Paprika
- 1 Tbsp Onion powder
- 1 Tbsp Garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp Ground black pepper
- 1 tsp Cayenne
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 Pit Boss
- 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.5-8 lb Pork Shoulder Bone-In. Also sometimes labeled as a Pork Shoulder or Boston Butt.
- 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.4 Tbsp Brown sugar, 3 Tbsp Salt, 3 Tbsp Paprika, 1 tsp Cayenne, 1 Tbsp Onion powder, 1 Tbsp Garlic powder, 2 Tbsp Ground black pepper
- 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.Olive Oil or Yellow Mustard
- Wrap your boston butt in plastic wrap and place it back in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
Start the Pit Boss Pellet Grill
- Remove the fire pot from the bottom of the Pit Boss and clean out any ashes left over from the last cook. Replace it and make sure it is secured in place with the clips on either side. Also, wrap the drip tray in aluminum foil to limit cleanup needed later.
- Add your chosen pellets to the hopper, start the Pit Boss pellet grill and put it on the "Smoke" setting.
- If there are no pellets in the auger, hold the "Prime" button until you hear pellets begin falling in the fire pot. This will speed up the auger to prime it full of pellets before you start preheating.
- Once the Pit boss begins to produce thick white smoke, let it run for about 5-7 minutes until the smoke turns more of a clearish blue color. This means the fire rod has fully heated up to burn the pellets more cleanly.
- Next, set the temperature to preheat the pellet grill to 350°F. We will drop this temperature before we start cooking.
- Remove the top rack if you are not using it.
- Fill an aluminum pan with water pan if you want to add extra moisture, and place it on the far left side of the Pit Boss pellet grill. Place a disposable bucket liner in the grease bucket as well if you want to limit cleanup later.
- Once the Pit Boss has come up to 350°F, drop the temperature on the control panel to 250° and clean the grill grates with a good grill brush and close the lid.
Start Smoking the Pork on the Pit Boss
- Remove the pork from the refrigerator, add any additional rub that may have come off, and once the Pit Boss is at 250°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 Pit Boss. 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.Apple Juice or Cola in a Spray Bottle
- 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 Pit Boss 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 Pit Boss 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 Pit Boss and place it in an aluminum pan. Let it rest fo 20-30 minutes.
Pull and Serve the Pit Boss 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.Salt to taste, Apple cider vinegar to taste
- Serve with buns and a vinegar based BBQ sauce on the side to top with like Blues Hog Tennessee Red.Blues Hog Tennessee Red BBQ Sauce - OR - any vinegar based BBQ sauce for pulled pork
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 700kcal
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
