How Long to Smoke Boston Butt?

This guide is for those who are looking for the answer to how long to smoke Boston butt.

It is quite essential to point out that your Boston butt is a little smaller compared to the average.

Most pork butts are 7 to 8 Ibs but they can certainly weigh a little more or a little less.

If you run your smoker low and slow at around 225 degrees F (107 degrees Celsius), 5 pork butts, which are also called Boston butts, pork shoulder, picnic, and so on, will require around 14 hours of total cooking time.

You are to smoke the meat until it reaches 185 degrees F (85 degrees Celsius) for slicing or around 207 degrees F (97 degrees C) for pulling (pulled pork).

You can also wrap it once it reaches around 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) to speed up the process if that is what you want.

For those who are without a thermometer, you will know it is done when it is so succulent that it is falling apart, and/or the bone will pull out easily with very little resistance.

If you prefer to wrap it, just go ahead with it when it reaches a good mahogany brown color, which is normally after around 6 hours of cooking.

During the entire process, I recommend you try to maintain 225 degrees Fahrenheit (107 degrees Celsius) to 240 degrees Fahrenheit (116 degrees Celsius).

And if your preference is to speed up the process a lot, keep in mind that there’s nothing wrong with that either.

In the case of rubs, I suggest that you go for a rub that is sweet and a little tangy without a lot of salt. Remember that you need the sugar to create good bark on the outside.

If you are concerned about where you can get rubs, you will find decent rubs available at your local store or online.

Smoked Pork Butt vs. Smoked Pork Shoulder

The thing is that most smoked pork butt recipes call for a bone-in pork shoulder, which is sometimes referred to as a Boston butt roast or a pork butt. And the interesting part about this is that all of these labels are for the same cut of pork.

Even though it might be a little surprising and confusing, none of these cuts come from the butt end of the pig, but from the upper part of the shoulder.

The pork butt or pork shoulder comes with several overlapping and hard-working muscle groups that are bound together with tight connective tissue. So, just keep in mind that you will end up chewing for a long time and not getting anywhere.

Those tissues will start to break down, soften, and create beautiful strands of extremely tender smoked pork shoulder when you use the low and slow process to cook the meat over a wood fire for a long time.

How to Smoke Boston Butt

This easy smoked pulled pork recipe only requires a few pantry ingredients and a smoker to yield those melt-in-your-mouth strands of succulent pulled pork.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 18 hours
• Resting Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 19 hours and 15 minutes
• Servings: 16 people

Ingredients

• 1 8-10 pounds of bone-in pork shoulder roast (AKA Boston butt)
• 1 tablespoon of sweet rub (for later use)
• ¼ cup of sweet rub
• 2-3 tablespoons of yellow mustard

Laid-Out Instructions

• First, you are to preheat your smoker to 225 degrees Fahrenheit for indirect smoking. I suggest that you go for apples or hickory for this recipe.
• After that, remove your roast from the packaging and wipe it down on all sides with paper towels, making sure you are cleaning off any small bone fragments or extra liquid on the outside.
• That being done, slather the entire exterior of the pork shoulder with the yellow mustard.
• Afterward, season your pork roast on all sides, top and bottom, with the homemade BBQ sweet rub. Also, don’t worry about rubbing the seasoning into the meat; just make sure that it is generously coated all over.
• Now, place your seasoned roast on the smoker, fat side up, preferably in the middle of the grate, which will help avoid any direct hot spots. After that, close the lid and smoke the pork until it reaches an internal temp of at least 195 degrees Fahrenheit. And if you like softer pork, you can cook it to 201 degrees Fahrenheit. This process can take anywhere from 15 to 20 hours, depending on the consistency of the heat in your smoker and the size of your Boston butt.
• When that is done, remove the Boston butt from the smoker and wrap it tightly in foil, then allow the roast to rest for at least an hour before you shred it.
• You can proceed to pull apart the shoulder, get rid of any chunks of fat or gristle, and then spray the roast with an extra tablespoon or so of the homemade sweet BBQ rub. After that, you are to serve and enjoy.

How Long to Smoke a Boston Butt at 225 Degrees?

Pork butts can be a great fan of taking a long time to smoke. Most times, the internal temperature hits a plateau, then just sits there for what seems like hours before it starts to rise again.

This might just be because the large pockets of internal fat are absorbing all the heat.

It might just take more than 1-1/2 hours for each pound to smoke a Boston butt, but this is also determined by the type of smoker you are using.

It will absorb plenty of smoke; that way, the temperature rise will be slower unless your smoker can crank out the heat.

You can try to run your smoker at 225 degrees, maybe a little higher if possible, just to ensure that they get done in a reasonable amount of time.

Even though many people might consider it cheating, to speed up cooking, the butts can be wrapped in foil after they have gotten a good dose of smoke flavor, which should be around after the first 4 to 5 hours of smoking.

You can even transfer them to your oven indoors, and finish them off at 300 degrees until the internal temperature gets to 195 degrees or so. Or just until the meat falls apart and is tender.

Internal Temperature for Pulled Pork

You should take your pulled pork off the grill once the meat reaches an internal temperature of 180 to 190 degrees F.

Remember that the pork shoulder will continue to cook internally by 10 degrees even after it has been removed from the grill.

The ideal temperature for pulled pork is 205 degrees Fahrenheit. The high internal temperature allows collagen to break down, which makes the meat extremely succulent.

You can serve the meat once it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit, but it won’t be tender enough to pull apart properly.

Conclusion

You might be asking what wood you can use for smoking your ribs or butts. Well, I will give you a few suggestions.

Fruit woods such as cherry and apple are good options, and oak is another alternative that comes with a slightly meatier flavor.

Another option is pecan wood, which gives a mild flavor without being like a campfire.

You can add the water-soaked chunks to the coals in the firebox to create smoke, and the smoke will add another layer of flavor to the butts.

Make sure that you monitor the coals to maintain a constant temp and continue adding wood chunks as required to maintain the smoke level.

Now, this brings us to the end of this guide, as you now have the detailed answer to the question, “How long to smoke Boston butt?”