Simple Smoked Pulled Pork Butt/ Shoulder

This simple smoked pulled pork recipe only requires a few pantry ingredients and a smoker to achieve those melt-in-your-mouth strands of tender pulled pork.

Prep time: PT15M

Cook time: PT1080M

Total time: PT1155M

Rating

4.93 stars (160 reviews)

Keywords

Smoked Pulled Pork

Ingredients

1 8-10 pound bone-in pork shoulder (AKA Boston butt) (AKA Boston butt)
2-3 Tablespoons yellow mustard
¼ cup Hey Grill Hey Sweet Rub (link in recipe notes)
1 Tablespoon Hey Grill Hey Sweet Rub (for later use)

Cuisine

Barbecue

Steps

Preheat the smoker. Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F for indirect smoking. I recommend hickory or apple for this recipe.
Prep the meat. Remove your roast from the packaging and wipe it down on all sides with paper towels, cleaning off any small bone fragments or extra liquid on the exterior.
Slather the pork butt in mustard. Slather the entire exterior of the pork shoulder with the yellow mustard.
Season with Sweet Rub. Season your pork roast on all sides, top and bottom, with the Homemade BBQ Sweet Rub. Don't worry about rubbing the seasoning into the meat, just be sure it is liberally coated all over.
Smoke the pork butt. Place your seasoned roast on the smoker fat side up, preferably in the middle of the grate avoiding any direct hot spots. Close the lid and smoke the pork until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 195 degrees F. You can cook to 201 degrees F if you like softer pork. This process can take anywhere between 15-20 hours, depending on the consistency of heat in your smoker and the size of your pork shoulder.
Wrap and rest the meat. Remove the pork shoulder from the smoker and wrap tightly in foil. Allow the roast to rest for at least an hour before shredding.
Shred and serve. Pull apart the shoulder, discarding any chunks of fat or gristle. Sprinkle the roast with an additional tablespoon or so of the Homemade Sweet BBQ Rub. Serve and enjoy!

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 257 kcal
Carbohydrates: 1 g
Protein: 34 g
Fat: 12 g
Saturated Fat: 4 g
Cholesterol: 116 mg
Sodium: 153 mg
Sugar: 1 g

Reviews

Barb Cohan-Saavedra on 2026-05-30 (5 stars):
I’d give this ten stars if I could. Been smoking meats for a few years and decided to try your recipe instead of my usual. I used my own rub, heavy on the chipotle because we love it. I smoked it for 18 hours. It was amazing! Best bark ever! Thank you!
Matt Green on 2026-05-25 (5 stars):
Beginner here. This was super easy. Left it in the smoker overnight. Cook turned out amazing.
John Welch on 2026-05-22 (5 stars):
Hey Grill Hey, I followed Guidance your site with Smoked shoulder Butt Roast. I put a sweet dry rub on first and then lathered it with honey mustard. It smoked for 18 hours. The picture of one on your site looks exactly like mine, I made one pulled pork sandwich. It WAS AMAZINGLY DELICOUS. My kids will show up on Memorial Day. Long live Hey Grill Hey
Brad Reese on 2026-03-31 (5 stars):
Ive made your recipe multiple times and made the rub using your recipe as well. It always comes out perfect. Low and slow is the best.
Gary Gidak on 2026-03-15 (5 stars):
I've been smoking pork shoulder/butt for several years, and this is the absolute best recipe I've found. No need to brine the meat ahead of time, no need to wrap in butcher paper or foil. Just generously seasoned and slowly smoked for about 16 hours, and it's fantastic!
Craig on 2026-03-04 (5 stars):
Joe, I woiuld say just extend the time line, your looking at 20+ hours so a long cook but it can be done.
Joe Orosz on 2026-01-23 (5 stars):
I love this recipe. I’ve used it so often it’s almost second nature. Question for you though. I recently proceeded my own pigs and ended up with a 17lb butt. That’s the smallest of four that in ended up with. Any tips for such a large butt?
Kathy Potter on 2026-01-04 (5 stars):
This is my go to rub and go to recipe for smoking a pork shoulder. Honestly, every recipe from her website, I’ve made it fantastic. Hands-down, the most reliable and consistent, cooking methods and insights I found
Bill on 2025-09-13 (5 stars):
I follow about 20 different smoking people and always start with HGH... often stopping here for the recipe. Put 2 8# butts on at 11 pm and at 1 pm they're in stall. I have total faith them be ready for 7pm kick off! Wish I could show you how beautiful they look!
Tom on 2025-08-29 (5 stars):
Absolutely fantastic. I have made this many times before but 10 days ago was the first time in a smoker, and the first time with this wonderful sweet rub recipe.