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Pork shoulder bites are a great alternative to classic pork belly burnt ends. They are more meaty, just as flavorful with no chewy fat. Seasoned with a great BBQ rub and brushed with your favorite BBQ sauce, these little nuggets are a perfect treat that just melts in your mouth!
For more delicious BBQ favorites, check out my BBQ Shotgun Shells recipe, my method to classic baby back ribs or my delicious beer injected pulled pork.
Table of Contents
Ingredients needed to make Pork Shoulder Bites
- Pork shoulder: boneless or bone-in works either way.
- Brown sugar: adds natural sweetness to the glaze.
- Honey: adds shine and tackiness to the saucy pork bites.
- Seasoning: a mix of an all purpose rub and sweet BBQ rubs to add savory and sweet flavor.
- BBQ sauce: makes the pork bites nice and saucy.
What are pork shoulder bites?
Love classic pork belly, but can only stomach a few pieces because of all the fat? I have the perfect solution for you – Pork Shoulder Bites! This recipe has all the same delicious BBQ flavors of sweetness, smokiness and savoriness without the heavy, fatty pieces. And best of all it’s meatier and more enjoyable.
Perfect for tailgating or backyard parties. Smoke a bunch of little pork shoulder pieces and feed a crowd.
Prep the pork shoulder bites
Start by cutting up a pork shoulder into 1 inch by 1 inch cubes. I used a 11 pound bone-in pork shoulder, when cubed, can feed 10-12 people easily!
Next, season the pork shoulder bites with some Dad’s All Purpose rub for the savory and peppery BBQ notes and Dad’s Sweet BBQ rub for the sweet honey flavor.
Toss the pork making sure all the pieces get covered with the seasoning
Dad’s Seasonings
Must have grillin seasonings!
Smoke the pork shoulder bites
In the first part of the cook, the pork shoulder bites will smoke directly on the smoker.
Preheat the grill to 275 degrees. If you are using a charcoal grill, make sure to set it for dual zone cooking which will create an indirect heat side.
Place the bites on the grate and smoke for 3 hours. We are not going for any specific internal temperature. We just want to add as much smokey flavor as we can.
Recipe Tip
Spritz them every 30-45 minutes with apple cider vinegar. This helps keep the meat moist throughout the smoking process.
Sauce up the pork shoulder nuggets
After 3 hours on the grill, the pork shoulder bites should have a nice color on them and be infused in all that wonderful smokiness.
Transfer the nuggets from the grate to a foil pan. As with traditional pork belly, add butter, brown sugar, honey and drizzle with your choice of BBQ sauce.
If you are looking for a homemade BBQ sauce recipe, check out my Sweet and Tangy BBQ Sauce. It has all the elements of the best BBQ sauce.
Cover the foil pan with a sheet of aluminum foil and place it back on the grill for an additional hour and the same temperature. Be sure to give everything a mix half way through.
This process will get the pork bites super tender and delicious. It will also melt the sweet ingredients creating the perfect saucy coating for the pork shoulder bites.
When the pork is fork tender, remove the foil pan from the grill and let it rest, covered for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil sheet and mix the smoked and saucy pork shoulder bites with all the pan juices. Serve and enjoy!
Sweet, smokey, super tender, like little nuggets of porky meaty goodness. These pork shoulder bites are a crowd favorite around my house. Give them a try and let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions:
All my recipes can be replicated in the oven, stove top or gas grill. You do not need a big green egg or weber grill to replicate any of my recipes.
Yes, pork shoulder, also known as pork butt, will get more tender the longer you cook or smoke it over low and slow heat. The connective tissues and collagen in the shoulder break down over time at lower temperatures, turning into gelatin and resulting in a more tender and juicy final product
Delicious and Saucy Pork Recipes:
If you tried these Pork Shoulder Bites or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the📝 comments. I love hearing from you!
Pork Shoulder Bites
Ingredients
- 10 lbs Pork shoulder
- 2 tbsp All purpose rub
- 2 tbsp Sweet bbq rub
- 1/2 stick Unsalted butter
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 1/4 cup Brown sugar
- 1/4 cup Honey
Instructions
- Cut up the pork shoulder into 1 inch by 1 inch pieces.
- Season with the All Purpose and Sweet BBQ rubs. Make sure to get an even coating on all pieces.
- Preheat the grill to 275 degrees and set for indirect heat.
- Place the pork shoulder bites directly on the grates and smoke for 3 hours.
- Next, transfer the pork bites into a foil pan.
- Add butter, brown sugar, honey and BBQ sauce and cover the pan with foil.
- Place back on the grill for an additional hour to get the pork super tender and delicious. Be sure to stir everything halfway through.
- Remove from the smoker and let it rest, covered, for 30 minutes.
- Plate, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Use a boneless pork shoulder for easier prep.
- Spritz them every 30-45 minutes with apple cider vinegar. This helps keep the meat moist throughout the smoking process.
Haven’t made it yet, but I bet when I do, it’ll get five stars
Can I make this a couple of days ahead of time and how would you suggest reheating it so that it doesn’t dry out?
Yes, you can definitely make this a few days ahead! Wrap or cover the container with foil and place it in the oven at 300 degrees.
I love pork belly burnt ends but sometimes I want something leaner. And these are perfect! I hope you like them as much as I do!
We did these for the Super Bowl. Super flavorful and delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Makes me wonder why this version is not dominant to pork belly, absolutely fantastic
This was a great recipe! I’ve always down burnt ends with brisket or chuck roast. Now I have another option and it uses pork. Thank you