Main Dishes
Pellet Smoked Pork Butt
| Level: Easy |
Total Time: |
Yield: |
This is not my first pork butt, but it is my first time making it on my new Ninja Woodfire Grill. The results are pretty good, and slightly different than using a smoker or snake method on a charcoal grill. The process on the Woodfire grill is faster than the charcoal grill, and the roast seems to have a lighter smoke flavor This process is an art, not an exact science, and you’ll be able to perfect your pulled pork with practice. You will need to pay attention to several factors that I have noted below.
Pellet Smoked Pork Butt
Print RecipeThis smoked pork butt is my recipe using my Ninja Woodfire Grill. The results are pretty good, but a little faster and less smoky flavor than the charcoal grill method.
Equipment
- Electric pellet grill
- Tinfoil or butcher paper.
- Empty Spray bottle
- wood pellets or wood chips.
- charcoal
Ingredients
- Pork butt 5 – 7 pounds or pork shoulder.
- Dry rub see notes
- Yellow mustard
- Worcestershire sauce
- Apple cider vinegar
- Water
Instructions
- The night before you're smoking, trim the roast. Using a fillet knife, remove the top layer of fat until there is a thin layer of fat left on the roast. Using paper towels, dry the pork roast. place on a sheet pan, and rub with yellow mustard (don't worry, the mustard doesn't come through strongly, it just helps create the wonderful bark). Liberally cover the roast with your dry rub of choice. wrap the roast in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
- Mix together the Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and water in a clean spray bottle.
- The next morning, or 8 hours before you plan to eat, start your grill at 250 F. When the grill is hot, remove the pork roast from the fridge and place on grill. Cook for 2 hours(see notes).
- After the first 2 hours, and every hour or so after, spray the sides of the roast.
- Once the bark of the pork is done and the internal temperature is around 160, Remove the pork from the grill.
- Spray the roast heavily, then wrap the pork using foil or butcher paper. Pour some of the rendered fat in with the pork. Wrap tightly and return to the grill.
- Raise the heat to 270 F and cook for 4 hours, or until the internal temperature is around 200 F (see notes below).
- Remove the pork and place in an insulated cooler or wrap in several layers of plastic wrap and place in an oven that is off for 2 hours.
- Shred and serve.
Notes
- This process is never exact, you will figure out your perfect results with experience. Luckily, pork is forgiving when it comes to overcooking. The two biggest factors when it comes to pork are the bark and the tenderness of the meat.
- When doing the initial 2 hour cook using smoke, the timing is much less important than getting a good bark. You are aiming to get a dark hard bark on the outside of the meat. You will need to compensate for the later cook when you wrap it. Any moisture added will moisten the bark, so keep this in mind.
- When wrapping and cooking the meat, once again time and temperature is not the biggest factor. Pork is technically done at 145F -- anything beyond that and you are concerned with tenderness. When inserting a thermometer in the meat there should be little to no resistance.
- Resting the pork is vital! When you pull off the pork it can even be as hot as 215 F. 1 to 2 hours of resting time will allow some cook over time and let the pork come down to a good eating temperature. Pulling a pork too early can result in the meat drying out because of evaporation.
- Using mustard does not impart any flavor in the meat it just helps make the bark, and helps to make the rub stick to the meat.
- Don’t worry too much about over seasoning the meat, a 7 pound roast is a large cut of meat, it can handle a lot of seasoning without making it too overwhelming.