Everyone should learn how to smoke a pork butt. Since the simple but time-consuming process is attainable to everyone. You can perfect the technique of cooking pulled pork as well as what temp to smoke pork butt with minimal effort. 

Simply said, there are several concerns to make during cooking. Such as the appropriate internal and external temperatures. For your smoked pork to be as tender and delicious as ever, you need to be mindful of these two things. 

Cook the pork butt and the majority of BBQ meats at 250 degrees. The temperature is 250 degrees since it is low and slow rather than hot and fast. Therefore, there are no bizarre strategies to use.

You can learn the proper way how to smoke pork butt at the right temperature if you continue reading.

Meat Quality

We need to start by talking about the meat quality. Since there are some situations when it matters a lot, especially when cooking beef. It doesn’t matter since a pork butt has so much fat and connective tissue. Regardless of how you prepare it, it will turn out soft and juicy if you cook pork butt low and slow for a sufficient amount of time and treat it properly.

Why must you cook it low and slow?

In addition, you should understand the importance of cooking this food slowly for a variety of reasons, such as:

One reason is that it takes time to render the fat properly. The second is that it takes time to break down the collagen.

Collagen is a type of protein.  In reality, it is the structural protein that is most common in mammals. The structural protein that keeps young people’s faces firm and causes your face to droop as you age. It forms the framework or structure of your cells and tissues. There is a lot of collagen in a pork butt, so it takes time and heat to break it down.

After cooking these, you might notice that your grease drain has a layer of fat on top, followed by what looks like brown jello. This is the breakdown of collagen, which transforms into gelatin. But when you break down the collagen in pork butt, you’re going to be delighted.

Prepping the meat 

Start preparing your meat right away. To grill a pork butt is one of the simplest things you’ll ever do. The only focal point for you should be what temp to smoke pork butt. 

As long as you follow certain core guidelines, you should be able to prepare something that tastes amazing. As well as please every one of your friends and family while also being simple. There are still ways to go wrong, but the degree of difficulty isn’t too steep.

It’s crucial to have a bone-in pork butt. So you can keep all the juices within and prevent parts from drying up on the outside.

You aren’t required to chop anything when it comes to seasoning; you may leave it alone. You’ll be alright as long as you place it on the smoker. Score the fat on the top of the pork butt should for the greatest rendering results.

Seasoning

Some people may choose to use only salt and pepper, and they may execute it extremely well. Because they prefer sweetness, or spiciness, to the smoke flavors, other folks may choose a different batch of spices.

You can either use a rub sauce that you purchased at your local grocery store, or you can make your own rub.

Continue reading for a quick rub recipe. This can assist you in giving the surface of the meat a flavorful bark.

All you need is six tablespoons of brown sugar, three tablespoons of black pepper, two tablespoons of garlic powder, two tablespoons of ancho chili powder or paprika, and finally about one tablespoon of onion powder. 

To precisely manage how much salt you put into the meat depends on how much rub you want on the surface. You may add the salt separately.

What temp to smoke pork butt

While you intend to serve pulled pork at your first barbecue of the season, you are unsure of the precise temperature at which to cook it.

The ideal response to this query is what temperature your cooker like to work at. Since every cooker is unique and has a particular sweet spot. It is advised with most BBQs that you let your cooker run at whatever temperature it prefers.

Cook the pork butt and the majority of BBQ meats at 250 degrees. The temperature is 250 degrees since it is low and slow rather than hot and fast. Therefore, there are no bizarre strategies to use.

If the temperature drops by 25 degrees to 225 degrees, you may still be extremely pleased. If it rises by 25 degrees to 275 degrees, you shouldn’t worry about it as well.

This is going to be a long cook, so 250 will allow you to have a wonderful restful day. It will heat up at a normal pace. However, we’ll go through the stall; compared to cooking at 225, things will finish much more speedily.

When all is said and done, grilling the pork butt at 250 would simply be the greatest idea.

Spraying a mop

To maintain a rock-solid temperature, you should leave these items inside for the next three hours unattended. After that, you should open it up and have a look, potentially spraying.

At this stage, the bark is black enough that you want to begin spraying the apple cider vinegar on hand. You can create an ideal mop with one part apple cider vinegar, one part apple juice, and one part water.

One thing to remember while spraying: don’t spray the fat. You want to preserve all the exposed flesh, therefore you don’t want to simmer the fat down.

Concentrate on spraying the meat since you don’t want any of that to burn. If you get fat, it is completely okay as well; instead, concentrate on the meat.

It is recommended that you spritz the pork every 30 to 45 minutes for the following three hours.

Internal temp

Measure the internal temperature of the pork when you remove it from the cooker. This is the most crucial task. How hot you want to cook shouldn’t matter. The majority of people are aware that barbecuing is more of an art than a science. Thus, any of them will do the job.

However, it is advised to wait for it to reach at least 195 before removing the pork from the stove to get that soft, succulent pulled pork. Once the internal temperature reaches 195, get a meat thermometer, a kebab spear, and a toothpick, and begin probing the flesh. If it feels soft, remove it.

Put them back on the smoker after carefully wrapping them in two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil. One thing to keep in mind is that you don’t have to place the brisket or pork butts back on the smoker.

You can take it inside after you’re done with the wrap, and bake it in your oven. You will have no worries about starting a fire, which will help you conserve wood.

After you have wrapped these pork butts for several hours. The temperature is more crucial than the time. The feel of the piece of meat itself is even more crucial than the temperature. Therefore, you may verify the temp with a thermapen.

In certain places, it reaches 203 or 204. However, the most crucial aspect is when you insert the temperature measuring device. If it feels like butter; at that point, you know these things are done.

Keep it on for another 15 minutes, then check if there is any resistance or if you can remove the probe without it holding. If not, leave it on longer.

The wait is always worthwhile to smoke the pork. If you’re cooking this for a party, it’s advised that you remove it from the heat source until you reach 204.

You will get tender, succulent, and tasty meat if you do that.

Rest your pork butt

You must let these pork butts rest or any meat that you are grilling, for that matter. This is an essential step that you must not overlook. Therefore, you should go for at least an hour. The optimal waiting period is at least two hours, especially for a pork butt.

Allowing them to rest will allow their temperature to gradually drop. Preventing them from being promptly dry when you pull them.

It’s time to check if the pork butt is sufficiently soft by pulling it after it has rested for an hour.

The best way to tell is to take out the bone; if the bone comes out straight, the butt is smooth and soft. There will be no portions of the shredded pork that are not tender or that you wouldn’t want to serve.

Conclusion

Closely follow these easy steps for your pork recipe—that’s all you need to do and your pulled pork is ready. Your guests will love it, and you won’t even have to put in any extra effort or ingredients to prepare it. Just a bit of your time, and you are good to go. 

We assure you, it will be worth the wait. The juicy, delicious, and tender smoked pulled pork butt will leave everyone’s mouth watering for more!