Cooking the Perfect Pulled Pork

While one of the most flavorful and coveted BBQ foods, pulled pork can actually be one of the easiest. Cooking a moist pork shoulder with dark and tasty bark is something that grillers of every level can perform with the right tools and patience.

The pork shoulder is the portion of the pig most commonly used for pulled pork. The shoulder is two separate cuts, the picnic roast and Boston Butt. Both of these cuts are great for the perfect pulled pork and can be used interchangeably. Boston Butts come both boneless and bone in, with bone in packing more flavor in exchange for a longer cook time. The picnic roast comes bone in and there is typically a bit of skin still covering the pork leg. You are going to want to make sure that your cut has a significant amount of fat content. The fat ensures that your meat will not dry out and will add tons of flavor.
There is very little needed for a great pulled pork: a grill with an indirect flame, a thermometer, a rub, and binder. I do not wrap my pork shoulders with foil or butcher paper; The fat content of the pork will keep it from drying out. Of course, I use a pellet grill for my pulled pork, but you can use any smoker or a charcoal grill for yours. The most important thing when cooking the pork shoulder is to keep your temperature low and the flame or hot coals away from the meat.
Pulled pork prep is another easy step in creating the best possible result. On a fatty cut like a pork shoulder, you will want to use a binder to keep your rub from dripping off the meat with the fat. Yellow mustard is a common and cheap binder. Cover your meat with the mustard (trust me, you won’t taste it) and finish it with your favorite rub. I typically use a sweet rub for sliders and taco seasoning for tacos or nachos.
The actual cooking is the easiest part of pulled pork. You will want to cook your pork between 225-275°. If you cook your pork on a pellet grill, like me, you will see your temperatures swing but average around the temperature your grill is set to. These swings are necessary to create the smoke needed for the best tasting pork. In other smokers, charcoal and offset, stable temperature is required. You will want to check your temperature on these smokers more frequently to ensure proper fuel and air levels.
Patience is key with pulled pork. A six-pound pork shoulder can take as long as 20 hours to fully cook.
Cook the pork shoulder to 195° internal temperature and pull from your smoker. If you like, you can wrap the pork in butcher paper or foil to rest, but it is not necessary. Allow the pork to rest until it is cool enough to pull with your hands. Meat claws are available for pulling, but I find they shred your meat more than pull it apart. Serve your pulled pork immediately after pulling.
Save your leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer. Leftover pork is great for sliders, with potatoes, or even for chili.

The pork shoulder is the portion of the pig most commonly used for pulled pork. The shoulder is two separate cuts, the picnic roast and Boston Butt. Both of these cuts are great for the perfect pulled pork and can be used interchangeably. Boston Butts come both boneless and bone in, with bone in packing more flavor in exchange for a longer cook time. The picnic roast comes bone in and there is typically a bit of skin still covering the pork leg. You are going to want to make sure that your cut has a significant amount of fat content. The fat ensures that your meat will not dry out and will add tons of flavor.
There is very little needed for a great pulled pork: a grill with an indirect flame, a thermometer, a rub, and binder. I do not wrap my pork shoulders with foil or butcher paper; The fat content of the pork will keep it from drying out. Of course, I use a pellet grill for my pulled pork, but you can use any smoker or a charcoal grill for yours. The most important thing when cooking the pork shoulder is to keep your temperature low and the flame or hot coals away from the meat.
Pulled pork prep is another easy step in creating the best possible result. On a fatty cut like a pork shoulder, you will want to use a binder to keep your rub from dripping off the meat with the fat. Yellow mustard is a common and cheap binder. Cover your meat with the mustard (trust me, you won’t taste it) and finish it with your favorite rub. I typically use a sweet rub for sliders and taco seasoning for tacos or nachos.
The actual cooking is the easiest part of pulled pork. You will want to cook your pork between 225-275°. If you cook your pork on a pellet grill, like me, you will see your temperatures swing but average around the temperature your grill is set to. These swings are necessary to create the smoke needed for the best tasting pork. In other smokers, charcoal and offset, stable temperature is required. You will want to check your temperature on these smokers more frequently to ensure proper fuel and air levels.
Patience is key with pulled pork. A six-pound pork shoulder can take as long as 20 hours to fully cook.

Cook the pork shoulder to 195° internal temperature and pull from your smoker. If you like, you can wrap the pork in butcher paper or foil to rest, but it is not necessary. Allow the pork to rest until it is cool enough to pull with your hands. Meat claws are available for pulling, but I find they shred your meat more than pull it apart. Serve your pulled pork immediately after pulling.
Save your leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer. Leftover pork is great for sliders, with potatoes, or even for chili.