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Over the years, I have smoked hundreds of pork shoulders and have perfected the 2-step method that will guarantee tender, juice and flavorful classic pulled pork every time. Master the classic and start making some of The Best Pulled Pork Recipes this summer!
Looking for more BBQ classics, check out The Best BBQ Ribs Recipes.
Table of Contents
What is Classic Pulled Pork?
A classic pulled pork recipe consists of any pork meat smoked low and slow until the meat is tender enough to easily shred. Usually mixed with BBQ sauce, this recipe is an American BBQ classic. When done right, the tender and flavorful meat just melts in your mouth.
Traditionally pulled pork is made from the pork shoulder or pork butt. Both are the same cut of meat. The word “butt” comes from the colonial era when butchers would pack less desirable cuts of pork, like the shoulder, into large barrels called “butts” for storage.
A bone-in pork shoulder is the ideal cut of pork to make pulled pork because of it’s shape. An even cube, that cooks evenly on the grill for hours. Stay away from the boneless ones.
The pork shoulder is a very large cut of meat ranging anywhere from 7-10 lbs. It is also a cheaper cut because of all the fattiness making it very economical since 1 shoulder can feed 10+ people and makes meals for days.
Making pulled pork for dinner or a friendly gathering is not a last minute decision. Because of it’s size, you should estimate 8-10 hours before it’s ready to eat. So PLAN AHEAD!
For exact ingredients and steps, check out my Classic Pulled Pork recipe here.
How to properly prepare a pork shoulder.
To get started, remove the large pork shoulder from its packaging and pat it dry. Do NOT wash it. Take a few paper towels and make sure to pat the sides. Patting it dry will make it easier to handle and work with.
Fat Cap Prep Work
Take a look at the fat cap. It should be no more than a 1/4 inch thick. Slowly trim off any extra layers of fat. Take your time and remove a little bit a time. This fat will not render down making for one unpleasant fatty bite.
When the fat is trimmed, we can now score the fat cap in a checkered pattern. Do not go too deep, just enough to cut through the fat. Scoring allows the seasoning and smoke to penetrate deeper into the meat locking in those amazing BBQ flavors.
Binder and Seasoning
Coat the entire bone in pork shoulder with a binder of choice before applying any seasoning. This will help keep the seasoning on during the long cook. Remember, whatever sauce you use, you will not taste it unless it has heat, salt or citrus.
Yellow mustard is a standard binder in BBQ. For a more savory and vinegar based binder, use Worcestershire Sauce, or hot sauce for a little kick at the end.
For the seasoning, an All Purpose seasoning is best. It has the perfect balance of classic savory BBQ flavors that compliment the natural flavor of pork. If you are looking to spice up the flavors add heat in the form of a seasoning or more honey and sugar to sweeten each bite.
DON’T BY SHY with the seasoning. This is a very large piece of meat. You don’t want bland pulled pork, coat heavily. Make sure to season all sides of the pork shoulder.
Pat the seasoning down vs. rubbing to avoid any of the spice from falling off.
Set aside the seasoned pork shoulder in room temperature for about 30 minutes and allow it to sweat which opens up the meat to absorb all those wonderful spices.
2 Step Method for Making the BEST Classic Pulled Pork
In order to make the best classic pulled pork, the cooking process requires most of the day to achieve tender, juicy and flavorful meat. The first step will give us that delicious smokey flavor and the next will get it fall apart tender.
The pork shoulder has a lot of fat and connective tissue that needs to render down. This takes time. Patience is key here.
Step 1 – Smoke low and slow
Preheat your grill or smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and set it for indirect heat.
How to create an indirect heat zone on grills
Indirect heat zones are created differently depending on the type of grill you have.
- Gas grill: Turn the burners on one half of the grill. For indirect heat, place food on the opposite end.
- Charcoal grill: position the heated charcoal to one half of the round bowl. For indirect heat, place the food on the opposite end.
- Komodo style grill: use a plate setter that will deflect direct heat from the food on the grates.
Place the seasoned pork shoulder directly on the grates and let if smoke away.
For the first 4 hours, leave the pork should on the grill. DO NOT PEEK. Let the grill do its magic. After that, you should start to check the bark and see if is not drying out. If so, pour a little bit of apple cider vinegar into a spray bottle and spritz the pork every hour. This helps keep the meat moist and helps prevent the bark from burning. It does not impact the flavor of the meat.
Depending on the size of the shoulder, you should estimate 1.5 hours/lb. Total cooking process will last 7-9 hours. By this time, the internal temperature on the pork will read around 170-175 degrees.
Step 2 – Wrapping pulled pork.
The next step in our cooking process will get the meat so tender, that it falls off the bone. In order to keep the moisture and prevent the protein from drying out, you need to wrap it for the final cook.
Once the smoked pork shoulder reaches 170 degrees, transfer it from the grill into an aluminum pan or on a large foil sheet.
Add brown sugar, honey, cubed butter and a sweet BBQ rub for the sweetness.
Seal the entire pan with a large sheet of foil and wrap it tightly. The wrap will help keep all the moisture inside the pan and allow the butter and sugar to penetrate through the meat and infuse it with all those amazing classic BBQ flavors.
Increase the grill temperature to 275 degrees and place the pork back on the smoker for another 2-3 hours or until the internal temperature reaches around 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
Recipe Tip
At this stage of the cook, no more smoke will penetrate the meat. It’s OK to finish the cook in the oven.
Open the wrap and test the tenderness of the meat. Insert your thermometer or fork in the meat and if it goes in the pork easily, like a hot knife through butter, than it’s done. If not, wrap it back up and continue cooking. Check again in 30 minutes. Continue this process until the meat is fork tender. Tenderness is key. This will help make the pork shreddable.
The final temperature on a classic pulled pork can range anywhere from 200 to 205 degrees, so be patient. This is where a lot of the mistakes are made. Pork is removed too soon and the meat ends up tough.
Remember to rest the pork.
When the pork is fork tender, it’s time for the rest. Move the wrapped pork into an insulated cooler or a turned off oven and leave it to rest for 1 hour. Remember, this is a very large piece of meat that has been on the grill for 7-9 hours. It needs time to allow all the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.
When it’s ready, start by removing the bone. If perfectly cooked, the bone should come out clean and without any resistance.
Keep the smoked classic pulled pork in the aluminum pan and using heat resistant gloves, start shredding the meat. I like using glove liners under my nitrile gloves for heat protection. Mix the pork with the rendered juices adding flavor to the dish.
The Best Pulled Pork Recipes
What to do will Pulled Pork leftovers
I don’t know about you, but I always make too much pulled pork. The good in that is, I have a lot of leftovers that I repurpose and make some of my favorite recipes.
While you can just reheat the classic pulled pork and enjoy it the next day and the day after that, change it up and something completely new.
And, because leftover pulled pork is already cooked, all you have to do is reheat it in a new dsh.
Enjoy some of the Best Pulled Pork Recipes using leftovers!
The Best Leftover Pulled Pork Recipes
Frequently Asked Questions:
No, just depends what your grocery store or butcher have. Bone-in will take slightly longer to cook vs. boneless but will provide more flavor. Bone-in also cooks more evenly. Boneless may have some well done parts since it’s not evenly shaped due to the bone being removed.
I prefer to use foil over butcher paper because it helps retain all the moisture which keeps the pork nice and tender. I use a foil pan to fold the shoulder, then wrap the top with a foil sheet.
It is safe store leftover pulled pork in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container. If you have a lot, drop it in a freezer bag and freeze it for a later day. It can stay in there for months. Do you refreeze.
