Smoking a pork butt is probably one of the most rewarding things to smoke. The smoke flavor combined with a well rounded Smoked Pork Shoulder seasoning provides a tremendous amount of delicious meat that can be used for pulled pork sandwiches and many other meals.

Ingredients

Main

• 8 pounds Bone-In Pork Butt (also called Pork Shoulder)
• 1 tablespoon Yellow mustard

Dry Rub

• 1/8 cup Brown sugar
• 1/4 cup White sugar
• 1/4 cup Paprika
• 3 tablespoons Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon Garlic powder granules
• 1/2 tablespoon Chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper

Spritz

• 3/4 cups Apple juice
• 1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar

Steps

1.     Prep the smoker

Preheat smoker to 250°F. Most pellet grills don’t need it, but you can add a pan of water in the corner of the smoker to keep moisture inside.

2.     Trim the pork butt

Trim any excess fat or loose ends of pork. You can remove the fat cap completely or trim it down to a thin 1/4” layer.

3.     Slather with mustard

Rub a thin, even coating of yellow mustard on all sides of the pork.

4.     Rub your butt

Combine dry rub ingredients and sprinkle a thick, even coating on pork butt on all sides. This can be done the night before by wrapping in plastic wrap and storing in the fridge until ready to smoke.

5.     Let rub adhere to pork butt

Let the pork shoulder sit out on the counter for 1 hour to let the meat come to room temperature and the rub to adhere well. This will ensure a more even cook.

6.     Let's get smoking

Add pork butt to smoker grate and smoke at 250°F until it hits an internal temperature of 165°F in the thickest part of the shoulder, approximately 4-6 hours.

7.     Spritz the pork butt

Each hour after the first 3 hours, open up the smoker and spritz pork butt. Make sure your spray bottle is set to spray in a light, even mist and not a direct blast of the liquid. You just want to moisten the pork, not soak it.