Smoked Pulled Pork Recipe
Smoked pulled pork is the absolute best way to enjoy melt in your mouth slow cooked meat. This dish will become your go to for entertaining and is perfect for barbecues, parties, tailgating and more!
Servings: 15
Calories: 419kcal
Equipment
- peach butcher paper
- aluminum foil
- aluminum baking tray
Ingredients
- 10 lb pork butt
- barbecue rub
- 2 tbsp minced garlic divided
- 2 tsp dried rosemary divided
Instructions
- Pat your pork dry. Rub it generously all over with barbecue rub.
- Spread half of the garlic and rosemary evenly over the top half of the meat, pressing in. Then flip the meat and repeat with the remainder for the bottom.
- Wrap the prepared meat in a layer of peach butcher paper, and place the prepared pork butt in a disposable aluminum pan, fat side up.
- Add the pork to a smoker set at 190° for 18-20 hours.
- Half way through the cooking time, pull the pork butt out and wrap the pan tightly but carefully in aluminum foil. The juices will be HOT.
- When the pork's done, CAREFULLY remove it from the smoker using potholders. Juices will be HOT and can cause burns and the pan will be full. Let it rest for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Remove the foil, and remove/discard any visible chunks of fat.
- Carefully remove the pork from the juice filled pan, and transfer it to an XL cutting board. You may have to do this in sections if the pork is so tender that it falls apart while picking the whole thing up.
- Using a pair of meat claws, or two forks, shred the pork- removing any fat as you go. Transfer the shredded pork to a serving dish, and reserve the juices.
- When all the pork's shredded, mix in some of the juices (as desired) so add some moisture to the meat. Once it's to your liking, discard the remaining juices.
- Serve on buns or as is, pair it with your favorite barbecue sauce, and enjoy!
Notes
- Before covering the pork with foil, make sure you've established a nice char. That is key. The foil helps hold in the steam and cook it through keeping the moisture in. If you cover it too early, you will never get the charred crust. Since you won't actually be able to see this (hidden under the butcher paper), it's important to adhere to temperatures and times as best as possible.
- I start mine the night before around 5pm, and then stay up late to cover it before going to bed (1-2am), so that it's ready for a late lunch or early dinner the next day
- You can discard some of the juices that cook off, but not all of them. You're going to want to stir some of them into the shredded meat for flavor and moisture. I like my meat to be a little over moistened, because as it sits it will dry out some and soak up the excess moisture. If in doubt, instead of discarding the remaining juices (save them in a covered dish) and you can stir some into the pork as needed during your meal, and before storing any leftovers.
- Disposable pans make for easy cleanup when smoking meat. However, the pork is heavy and a lot of juices and rendered fat fill up the pan when cooking. To make the pan more sturdy for safe handling when removing it from the smoker, I recommend stacking 3-4 trays together. You'll still only end up with one dirty pan to discard and the rest can be put back to use again another time.
- The juices will be HOT, and if spilled will BURN. Please be careful when handling the smoked pork and when removing it from the smoker.
Nutrition
Calories: 419kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 57g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 181mg | Sodium: 198mg | Potassium: 1070mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 156IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 103mg | Iron: 6mg