How to Smoke Pulled Pork (Beginner's Guide)

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If you want to try smoking, pulled pork is the classic first cook. Pork shoulder is cheap, full of fat and connective tissue, and very hard to dry out, so it forgives small mistakes. This guide works on a charcoal kettle, a kamado or a dedicated smoker. You'll need a few hours and a good probe thermometer.

1. Choose the pork

• Pork shoulder is what you want. In the UK it's often sold as shoulder or collar. The American “Boston butt” is the top part of the shoulder.
• Bone-in or boneless both work. Bone-in is often cheaper, and the bone slides out cleanly when it's done.
• Size: 2–4kg suits most kettles and smokers. Allow roughly 150–200g of cooked meat per person; the shoulder loses a good part of its weight as it cooks.
• Skin: ask the butcher to remove it, or score and remove it yourself. Smoke and rub can't get through the skin.

2. Season it

Keep it simple. A basic rub for a 2–3kg shoulder:

• 2 tbsp soft brown sugar
• 2 tbsp smoked or sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• Optional: a pinch of chilli powder or cayenne

Pat the pork dry, rub it all over with a thin layer of mustard or oil (this just helps the rub stick), then coat it evenly with the rub. You can do this the night before and leave it covered in the fridge.

3. Set up for low and slow

You want a steady 110–135°C with indirect heat, meaning the meat isn't directly over the fire.

• Charcoal kettle: use the “snake method”: a ring of briquettes, two wide and two high, around the edge of the charcoal grate, with a few lit coals at one end. It burns slowly around the ring for hours. Put a drip tray of water in the middle and the pork above it. Light the starter coals with a chimney starter.
• Kamado: fill with lumpwood, light a small area, fit the heat deflector, and use the vents to settle at your target.
• Pellet grill or smoker: set the temperature and follow the manual.

Add 2–3 chunks of apple, cherry or hickory to the coals once the temperature is steady. More on wood in our smoking wood guide.

4. Smoke it

1. Put the pork on fat side up, over the drip tray, away from the coals. Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part, away from the bone.
2. Keep the lid shut. Every peek lets heat out. Use the vents (or controller) to hold 110–135°C.
3. Spritz if you like. After the first 2–3 hours, a spray of apple juice or cider vinegar every hour can help the bark (crust) and keep the surface moist. It's optional.
4. Expect “the stall”. Somewhere around 65–75°C internal, the temperature can stop rising for hours as moisture evaporates from the surface. This is normal. Don't turn the heat up.

5. To wrap or not to wrap

If the stall drags on, or you're short of time, wrap the pork tightly in foil or butcher's paper once it has a good dark bark (often around 70–75°C internal). Wrapping pushes it through the stall faster and keeps it juicy. The trade-off is a softer bark. Plenty of people never wrap at all. Both work.

6. Know when it's done

• The internal temperature reaches about 93–96°C.
• A probe slides in with almost no resistance, like going into soft butter.
• On bone-in shoulder, the bone wiggles and starts to pull free.

7. Rest, pull and serve

1. Rest it wrapped in foil for at least 30–60 minutes. For longer, wrap it in a towel and keep it in a cool box. It'll stay hot for a couple of hours.
2. Pull it with two forks or meat claws, removing the bone and any large lumps of fat.
3. Mix in the juices from the foil, and a splash of BBQ sauce or cider vinegar if you like.
4. Serve in brioche buns with coleslaw, in wraps, or on loaded fries.

Frequently asked questions

Dan, founder of Blaze & Graze

Home cook, keen DIYer and long-time website builder, writing practical outdoor cooking guides for UK gardens. More about me.