Hey there! I have experimented a lot with smoking the perfect pulled pork and this is what I’ve settled on! I have smoked anywhere from 1-4 pork roasts at a time- just make sure to allow extra time the more roasts you use. This is my go-to when I fill in making dinners at the Rockin’ 7 Ranch and everyone loves it. It is awesome paired with my Rockin’ 7 Ranch BBQ Sauce!
I hope you enjoy this as much as we do! Please let me know if you try this and feel free to ask questions 🙂
Rockin’ 7 Pulled Pork Recipe
Pork Rub Ingredients
- 4 teaspoons Coconut Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Paprika
- 2 teaspoons Sea Salt
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder (granulated garlic works, too)
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Coriander
Pulled Pork Ingredients
- 1 5-8 pounds Pork Butt Roast- bone in
- 2 Tablespoons Prepared Mustard (I forget this sometimes and it’s still good :))
- 1 batch Pork Rub
- 2 cups Wood Chips (I use hickory)
Pork Rub Instructions
- Mix together pork rub ingredients in a bowl or jar.
Pulled Pork Instructions
- Cover Pork Roast with mustard, then coat with pork rub and massage it in, making sure to get it all over. It’s gonna be messy, so just embrace it 😉
Set aside any extra pork rub seasoning for later. - Let this sit while you heat up your smoker and soak your wood chips. Set smoker temp to 225.
- Once your smoker is heated up, set your pork in, fat side down (this protects the meat from the heat). Insert a thermometer probe, shut the smoker door, and add wood chips.
- Keep an eye on your smoker temp (keep it between 225-235) and add more wood chips every hour for the first 2-3 hours of smoking.
Resist the temptation to open your smoker door! - When your meat has reached 160, wrap it in 2 layers of heavy duty foil. Reinsert the thermometer probe, and return the meat to the smoker.
Reaching 160 has taken anywhere from 3-6 hours for me- depending on the size of my roast and how many I have in the smoker. - Keeping your smoker temp around 225, continue smoking meat until the internal temp reaches 195 (2-5 more hours).
- When the meat has reached an internal temp of 195, pull it from the smoker and let rest for an hour before opening and shredding meat with a fork.
Be careful as you pull the meat out of the smoker, as it will be hot and juicy! - I like to add some of the leftover pork rub seasoning and apple juice to the shredded meat. I also add whatever meat juices I can.
- You can see my notes at the bottom as to how I typically time my meat smoking.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
Notes- Most of the advice I’ve gotten on smoking pulled pork has been to allow 1 hour per pound of meat, but I have found that for me I need closer to 2 hours. Because of this, I have started smoking my meat the night before I want to serve it. I put it in a couple hours before bed, so I can add wood chips and check around midnight and evaluate from there. It’s kinda like having to get up with a new baby, but the end result is worth it! I would rather do this than stress about meat not being ready when it’s time to serve it!
When the meat is done, typically in the early morning hours, I put it in a cooler to keep warm for a couple of hours while I get a bit more sleep.
In the morning, I unwrap and shred the meat into a crockpot. Add meat juice, apple juice, and seasonings, and keep warm until serving time.
