Perfectly Smoked Boston Butt for pulled pork sandwiches
I am trying to up my ante and impress my family with my BBQ prowess, so for this year, I decided to begin the BBQ season by smoking a Boston Butt and making pulled pork sandwiches.
The day finally came where it was warm enough to break out the Charcoal grill and so I announced to my family that we were going to be smoking a Boston butt on Saturday.
“Ewwwww”, my daughter said, “are we really going to be eating a butt”? I felt like Alton Brown on the Food Network show Good Eats as I explained that the term Boston Butt is not located in the butt area, instead it is part of the front shoulder of the pig and often comes “bone in” meaning containing part of the shoulder blade.
The term Boston Butt became common because around the Revolutionary War period that particular cut of meat was cut and packed into casks or barrels (called butts) for storage and shipment around the town of – you guessed it – Boston. That was the genesis of the term Boston Butt.
My kids did not seem impressed with the knowledge that I just imparted, but I promised that they would like the end result when they were dining on a BBQ delicacy of Smoked Boston Butt.
At Barbequelovers.com, we have a couple of great blog posts on smoking a Boston Butt, including Smoking a Boston Butt Recipe and Smoking a Boston Butt for Barbecue Pulled Pork Sandwiches, but we have learned a lot since writing those posts and wanted to create a more detailed post talking about the whole process – from planning to eating.
Planning a Boston Butt BBQ
Is my butt too big? – How big of a butt do you need?
I have found that it is better to have too much than not enough, but really what are the guidelines of how much you need?
You can plan on the butt shrinking somewhere around 30% as you cook it. It could be up to 50% if you have a particularly fatty cut of meat. (I would be rich if I could figure out how to shrink real butts by 30% in a day). On top of that, it depends on how many people you are feeding and the number of adults vs kids. The teenagers are kind of a wildcard. Some of them are in the middle of a growth spurt and will love it and will eat three times more than adults. Some of them will pick at it and eat a child’s portion. I tend to plan on the teenagers eating an adults portion and if you have a bunch of teenagers attending, plan a couple of extra adult portions in case they are in the middle of a growth spurt.
Typically the Boston butt is used to make pulled pork sandwiches, so the size calculation would depend on how many sandwiches you will need. A typical sandwich is about 1/4 to 1/3 of a pound of pulled pork. I tend to make them big, so I plan on 1/3 pound per sandwich. For women and children, typically plan on 1 sandwich per person. For a male adult (or other large eaters, i.e. teenagers), plan on 2 sandwiches per person.
Using a 30% cooking reduction rate, each pound of uncooked Boston butt, will make 2 sandwiches. So if you revert back to your Junior High School math, a formula for determining the size of Boston butt is:
S = Size of uncooked Boston butt
M = Number of men or large eaters
W = Number of women and childrenS = (2M + W)/2 + 1
So an example, if you had 4 men, 2 teenage boys, 4 women and 2 kids, the formula would be:
S = Size of uncooked Boston butt
M = 6 (Number of men = 4) + (Number of large eaters (teenage boys) = 2)
W = 6 (Number of women = 4) + (Number of kids = 2)S = (2*6 + 6)/2 + 1
S = (12 + 6)/2 + 1
S = 18/2 + 1
S = 9 + 1
S = 10
So the size of the uncooked Boston butt would need to be 10 pounds to feed 4 men, 2 teenage boys, 4 women and 2 kids.
I purposely add a couple of pounds extra for leftovers. You never want to run out of meat for a BBQ. If you have a ton of side dishes, you might be able to eliminate that extra pound at the end.
Purchasing a Boston Butt
I have found that many markets don’t carry “Boston Butts”. Instead they carry Pork Shoulders, either bone-in or boneless. Costco and Sams Club both carry pork shoulders and last week when I shopped at Costco, I was able to find a selection of boneless pork shoulders that averaged between 13-16 pounds. I selected one, took it home and had enough to cut it in half – One to cook and the other to freeze for another weekend.
If you do purchase a bone-in Boston Butt, make sure that you account for the weight of the bone in your calculations. Add a pound or two to the size needed to account for the bone.
Smoking a Boston Butt – Day 1
Preparation – Rubbing your Boston Butt:
The rub is one of the most important parts of creating a succulent Smoked Boston Butt. It helps infuse flavor into the meat and is the foundation of the crust or bark of the meat that provides the amazing texture of the perfectly smoked Boston butt.
I start with a 6-7 pound Boston butt and make sure that it is completely thawed. I like to begin by applying the rub the day before and then refrigerating the Boston butt overnight to let the rub flavors permeate the meat.
There are lots of different rub flavors. Some like it sweet, some like it hot, some like it salty, I like it more sweet with a touch of hot, with a solid salty base (I like to have my cake and eat it too).
Here is my favorite BBQ Dry Rub recipe for smoking a Boston Butt. I tend to make more than I need and then store it in a container in the fridge and use it over several weekends.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sea salt
- 1/4 cup paprika
- 2 heaping tablespoons of Onion Powder
- 2 heaping tablespoons of Garlic Powder
- 2 heaping tablespoons of Black Pepper
- 1 heaping tablespoons of Celery Salt
- 1 heaping tablespoon of Cayenne Pepper – this provides a kick, but not too hot – my wife doesn’t like it too hot.
- 1 heaping teaspoon of Cumin
This provides enough dry rub to coat about a 10 pound Boston butt, with a little left over for next weekend’s BBQ.
I like to mix the ingredients in a medium container with a tight lid and shake the container to thoroughly mix the ingredients together.
Before applying the rub to the Boston butt, first coat the butt with a thin layer of mustard. This helps the dry rub to adhere to the meat. You can use the cheap yellow mustard, or if you like it a little more tangy, use fancy Dijon mustard, and if you like it more sweet, use honey mustard as your base.
Generously rub the dry rub all over the Boston butt. Make sure that you apply the rub in all the cracks and crevices to ensure flavor infusion. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Afterwards, you can chase your wife and kids around with your hands coated with mustard and the rub ingredients while you tell them various “butt jokes”.
After the butt rub and subsequent kid/wife chase, I like to take syringe full of apple juice and inject the Boston butt. This provides additional moisture and flavor as well.
Wrap up the mustard and dry rub coated butt and put it in the refrigerator overnight. Grab a soda and watch a movie with the family and get ready for the next day of BBQ goodness.
Smoking a Boston Butt – Day 2
This day usually starts really early depending on the size of your butt and the scheduled time to start your family BBQ. There are lots of things to do in order to end up with a perfectly smoked Boston butt and delicious pulled pork sandwiches.
The early day typically starts for me with soaking wood chips and starting the charcoal, but first of all, pull the butt out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature while soaking the wood chips and starting the charcoal.
Soaking Wood chips
The flavor of your Boston butt is enhanced by smoke. There are several types of wood that are perfect for smoking a Boston butt, including:
- Cherry Wood
- Pecan Wood
- Hickory Wood
- Mesquite Wood
- Apple Wood
- Oak Wood
- Maple Wood
I like a combination of wood chips to enhance the flavor. I like cherry wood combined with hickory wood. The hickory wood provides the classic BBQ flavor and the cherry wood adds a touch of sweetness to the smoke.
Many places sell the wood chips in convenient packages, although you might be able to find wood for free depending on where you live. I like to soak the chips for about 30-60 minutes before I put them on the coals in order to saturate the wood with moisture and enhance the smoke from the wet wood.
Charcoal – What kind, how much, and starting the coals
Charcoal provides the main source of heat for cooking. I like to cook with Kingsford Original Charcoal. It cooks evenly and lasts the longest. I do not like to cook with Kingsford Match Light charcoal. It is so full of lighter fluid that it makes the meat taste like fuel.
There are several methods are starting charcoal. I use a Lodge Charcoal Chimney with the Kingsford charcoal briquettes, but I do not like to use lighter fluid.
Instead, I use Lighter cubes or strike-a-fire or some other heat source combined with crumpled up newspaper to avoid the taste of fuel getting into the meat.
It typically takes about 20-25 minutes for the charcoal to be ready. When the charcoal is white on the edges about 1/4 inch, they are ready to rock and roll and get the meat on the grill.
Charcoal Placement
The perfect smoked Boston butt is done through indirect heat. The charcoal and wood chips are on one side of the BBQ and the meat is on the other. The smoky heat circulates throughout the BBQ indirectly cooking the butt rather than having the meat directly over the charcoal.
Many charcoal grills, i.e. the Weber One Touch grill have a hinge on the top grill that allows you to add fuel throughout the cooking process. I add my charcoal on one side directly under the hinge to facilitate adding more charcoal and wood chips throughout the day.
How much Charcoal do you need?
This will depend upon several factors, including the type of charcoal that you use, your altitude, how much wind/breeze there is to fan the flames, and how wide open your vents are. In my neck of the woods, about 15-18 charcoal briquettes with the vents about 1/2 open tends to provide heat around 225-250 degrees. If it is running a little hot, I will close the vents a bit and/or push a couple of briquettes off to the side.
Adding Smoke to the BBQ
There are different levels of thought on the smoking process – specifically around the question – how much smoke is too much smoke? It all comes down to a personal taste on how you want your meat to taste.
I want my meat to have a distinct smoky flavor, but not too powerful. So I tend to put soaked wood chips on the grill during the first half of the smoking process and then just use charcoal after that.
After the charcoal briquettes are hot, I put a handful of soaked wood chips on the charcoal and then put the Boston butt on the opposite side of the grill away from the heat.
Some people go through great lengths on the chips. I have seen people wrap a handful of wood chips in tinfoil and poke a hole or two in the top of the tinfoil and create several wood chip packets that they can easily use during the cooking process.
I have also tested Smoke in a Cup and found that to be easy, but expensive.
I tend to just grab a handful of soaked wood chips and place it directly on the charcoal, but I am a minimalist about things like that.
Checking the meat
I check the Boston butt every 60-90 minutes. When I check the meat, I do the following things:
- Add fuel – after 60-90 minutes, the charcoal will have started to break down. I usually add 6-8 more coals every time I check the meat to ensure consistent cooking temperature for the duration of the cooking process
- Add smoke – during the first 1/2 of the cooking time, every time I check the meat, I will add a handful of soaked wood chips to provide that smoky flavor to the Boston Butt
- Spritz or spray the Boston Butt with apple juice in a spray bottle. This keeps the meat moist and adds fruity flavor to the meat.
How long to cook a Boston butt
Smoking a Boston Butt low and slow produces the most delectable results, but this takes a lot longer than you think. Smoking the meat at about 225-250 degrees takes between 1.5 and 2 hours per pound of uncooked meat. So if you have a 7 pound uncooked Boston Butt, it could take up to 14 hours to be done. The time difference is based upon many factors, including the amount of fat, bone and connective tissue in the cut of the meat, the consistency of the temperature you are able to maintain and environmental factors such as the outside temperature and how windy it is.
Recognize that if you use a hood thermometer in your BBQ Grill, that the hood temperature is probably higher than the temperature at the grate level. You might use an oven thermometer at the grate level and compare that against the temperature at the hood level so you can understand where your grill performs in terms of temperature. You should check in several places to understand if there are hot spots on your grill.
There are a couple of things that slow down the process:
- Checking the meat too frequently by opening the lid of the BBQ Grill just to see how things are progressing. This lets the heat out and will slow down the process
- Not checking the coals frequently enough. If you let the coals die down and the heat to be too low, it will take a long time to get the heat built back up and the smoking process happening. Plan on checking your coals about every 90 mins.
When you are cooking the low and slow method, be prepared for a delay at around 170 degrees. It will tend to stall at that temperature for a time – sometimes a couple of hours. Be patient and keep the heat consistent and you will prevail – but I can tell you that it can get frustrating waiting for the Boston Butt to get through that mid-cook stall.
You of course can cook it faster by using higher heat. Some folks choose to cook it at around 325 degrees at 45-50 minutes per pound. However, the higher temperature that you cook with will result in less moisture in the finished product.
2 Hours before the Boston Butt is Smoked
About 2 hours before the Boston Butt is supposed to be done, I like to take it off the heat, generously spritz with apple juice and then wrap it up in heavy duty tinfoil and put it back on the BBQ. I do this to try to seal in as much moisture as I can as the butt finishes cooking to ensure that melt-in-your-mouth, pulled pork, finger-licking goodness.
How do you know when the Boston butt is done?
Some folks say that the Boston Butt is done when you can easily move the bone around the meat. That is not a bad way to gauge meat temperature, but I prefer a meat thermometer to test the actual temperature of the meat.
How you plan to serve the smoked Boston butt will determine the answer to when is the Boston butt ready to eat.
| Serving Method | Meat Temperature |
|---|---|
| Sliced | A smoked Boston butt is ready to serve in slices when the internal temperature is about 170 degrees |
| Pulled | A smoked Boston butt is ready for pulling into pulled pork sandwiches when the temperature of the meat is over 190 degrees |
After the butt is done – The Pull Process
After the Boston butt has reached 190 degrees or higher, pull it off the heat and let it sit for 30 minutes before pulling. This will allow it to cool down a bit and won’t burn your fingers as bad as you pull the pork.
As you first break apart the smoked Boston butt, notice several things. First of all the crust or bark of the pulled pork. The outside of the butt will have caramelized and created a dark brown crust that is full of flavor. Right under that bark layer will be a pink layer where the smoke from the chips, the apple juice, and rub has penetrated into the meat. Underneath that will be the pork that after cooking for 14 hours will be finger licking good!
To pull, simply break apart the Boston butt with your fingers and shred into bite sized chunks. If it is too hot, use a fork or let it sit for a few more minutes to cool down enough to get your hands dirty.
Serving your Smoked Boston Butt – Pulled Pork Sandwiches
I like to serve my pulled pork sandwiches on a toasted bun, with lots of pulled pork (about 1/3 pound), with my favorite BBQ sauce on top with a spoonful of slaw on top.
That makes for good eats!
Good luck with smoking a Boston butt for your next family BBQ. Let me know how it goes!
Loved this Simple Smoked Pulled Pork Butt Recipe!
How long does pork last if unrefridgerated?
All puns aside, I just smoked my first butt this weekend closely following your instructions. Needless to say, I was the center of attention the entire weekend. I stayed up all night to get that apple juice spritz applied. The flavor was spectacular. Thanks for taking the time to document the process.
Thank you very much for sharing. I’m doing my first butt, in my electric smoker, this Saturday for a college football tailgating BBQ I am hosting. I am excited!
Great information… I think smoking until the stall, internal temperature hits about 170.
Then wrap in foil and continue in smoker or transfer to oven to finish. The upside of the transfer will allow you to clean up the smoker etc. I usually don’t transfer but if you live in an area where the fall and spring have a significant impact on daylight it will save much hassle.
Thanks for the incredible information. I will have to censor my big butt jokes though !!! I’ve seen far too many episodes of Married with Children.
Does anyone know how long a 7 lb Boston butt cooks for on a char broil big easy tru-infrared
Dave, I used this recipe as a guide for my first smoked Boston Butt (only 2nd smoked meat ever) and it came out awesome, although I did finish it off in the oven, as I couldn’t get the internal temperature up to 190 in my 2 in1 grill/smoker.
I used your rub recipe on a whole pig’s leg and your general guidelines on the cooking process, in the part of Mexico where I live, we have plenty of Mezquite trees growing everywhere, so instead of having to wet Mezquite chips, you can use freshly chopped wood to smoke your meat,
I had the butcher chop the leg in half along the bone which yielded almost twice as much of the crunchy smoked area, totally worth it, the smallest “half” took 8 hours to be ready, the largest one took 9 hours,
All my guest agreed that it was the best smoked meat they had ever have, truth be told, no one that I know has ever smoked anything around these parts but the general consensus was that it was great and the fact that they ate twice as much as they usually do, confirms the claim!
Thanks Dave and regards from Monterrey, Mexico
Just used this recipe this pass weedend ! Really good, Treager pellet smoker
I’m going to try this tomorrow. I’ll be putting the meat on (10 lbs) at 5 am. I’m going to add plenty of coal in the beginning and get the temp consistent at 225 °F. I’ll had some hickory smoked wood chips for the heck of it. I have a side barrel smoker attached to my grill. I’ll throw in coal nuggets as needed to ensure the heat is just right throughout. There will be a tray of water slightly under the meat. I plan to check it after about 5 hours and then every hour after that. I am looking to see the meat temperature at about 180°F. I’ll probably cook it for about 10 hours. A few friends of mine do it this way and it is always great……….happy grilling fokes.
I love smoking a Boston butt. My wife teases me cause I’m from Boston lol. I do exact same cooking techniques except I put two tins of water in with to help keep moisture in too one over the fire and one under the butt. Use Apple juice with a lil bourbon it’s great!!!!
I have grown to love injecting the butt with apple juice (doesn’t hold much) when I put the rub on the day before. Gives it a little more of the flavor than spraying it.
I have been smoking for 35 years, with a Brinkman smoker until recently I purchased a Masterbuilt electric smoker, works great and the meat and fish comes out fantastic. When I do a smoked butt I always put fat side up, as it lets the flavor run through the meat. I am smoking a turkey for Thanksgiving and will smoke for 3-4 hours and finish in oven for crispy skin. I use several different flavors for the meat injection. Cranberry juice is very good and melted butter. Hope this helps a lot of people. I still use my Brinkman lor a lot of smoking. Will be smoking whitefish, eel and oysters for Christmas. Happy Holidays to all.
Good Luck
Mark
Joe D I try to remove as much of the fat as I can so I can get my rub on as much of the surface as possible. I have found this makes for some great bark.
Do you put fat faceup or down?
Great article! I’ve got it bookmarked. I’m smoking 2 Boston Butts (I figured if I’m going to go through all the trouble & hassle to do 1…might as well do 2, right?) 6 hours in with about 8-9 more hours to go & I am following your instructions to a T & can’t wait to be done & sink my teeth into this meaty goodness.
Until I get a replacement cast iron grill plate for my Char Griller Akorn Kamado Kooker, I am having to smoke the twins on a smoker with the firebox on the left & chimney on the far right & while I’m keeping it at a constant 225-250, I’m having to re-up my coals & wood every 30 minutes or so versus the 90 minutes you suggest. Any suggestions on what I could I be doing wrong?
Ok Dave I’m smoking my first butt today
I started at 8:30am
I am fallowing every step of yours I’m 8hours in and it looks great so far
Thank you For your help
Bobby
I am kinda new at this and I just follow my rib grilling as a base knowledge for smoking. I was surprised to see that I approach smoking almost the same as you. I feel validated. I do however, use less rub (vs thick coating) and I make a glaze out of the rub thinning with orange juice and light brown sugar.
You have me now wanting to smoke sumpin every other day, and for a guy who did not like to cook, the turn-around is amazing.
Thanks
Neil, why Coke instead of apple juice or water?
I like to use a mixture of oil and apple cider vinegar and spray it every hour is keeps it moist and adds an awesome flavor and instead of water In a pan I poor a beer in it it gives it just a little more flavor
I absolutely love BBQ pork. For my birthday, I bought a new grill and I’m getting up at 3am to make my own. I have a 7 1/2lb boston butt thats been sitting in dry rub for 2 days. Wish me luck.
Great article, thank you. I’ve done probably 10 butts and always read up before I cook one just to make sure. The process of wrapping it in foil at the last stage is huge for a really tender butt. I got a new external thermometer this time so should make it a little nicer. Down here in the South they like to put Coke in the pan so that’s how we do it.
Thanks for the advice. I’m trying a Boston Butt out tomorrow.
Question …
Firebox on one end … Chimney on the opposite end … Meat in the middle.
Chimney has a rain cap on it. The more open the rain cap, The faster the heat and smoke pass through the grill … I’m doing this Boston Butt with hickory wood on top of charcoal …. How open should I keep that rain cap ?
Rich
Cleveland, TN
Richard,
That rain cap is one of two vents that will control the temperature in the grill. How open it is, is dependent on the temperature you are trying to achieve. If you are worried about the correct amount of smoke, don’t be, the smoke fills up that grill before exiting the chimney.You may want to invest in a remote temperature and meat combo thermometer. They can be purchased fairly cheap on Amazon. The one built into your grill is usually not very accurate.
Wow! Thank you so much for this. Used my king-griller acorn ceramic grill to do a ten pound butt. This was my first time. I followed the above almost exactly. Absolutely amazing results. The meat literally fell apart. My friends think that im some sort of smokin guru now! Lol!
Alright!!! Listen up Y’all. Mop that bad boy every hour and at the Mayweather fight party I smoked 2 butts the day before into the evening of. One I injected and placed in the fridge overnight then rubbed, the second one I just put my rub on. Hands down, the rub only took the hearts and palates of all there. Bottom line what ever you do….. use the crutch halfway. Go low n slow
Before all the modern things like offset boxes and charcoal we used to use wood coals (still smoking) under the meat. Usually a whole hog. Some area got more coals and heat. Some like tenderloin got less. Maybe put a slab of bacon fat over it. Still got smoke the whole time
I had to find out all these methods the hard way. mainly by buying a bunch of meat and smoking all summer. wish I would have ran across this tidbit of information a few years ago, what an awesome article
Found this a few days ago, got all the stuff & woke up bright & early to get it started! Seasoned it last night & it smells awesome! Can’t wait until it’s done so I can dig in! Love how you explained every step, I’ve never smoked anything myself but I’m ready to learn!
Diffently leave pork butts in smoker the entire duration , only if your smoking brisket do you remove and wrap in foil to proceed to oven , pork shoulders are so full of fat they need to stay in the smoker bare the entire cook time .
I find it hard to use the oven, especially raising temp like some said to 350. I have put butts in oven after 6-8 hours but kept temp around 220 or less. Really like it best to keep in smoker. But don’t make extra smoke after 4 or 5 hours.
Started smoking pork whole hogs on old block Pitts using only hot ash cooked in a fireplace. Low and slow and best but a lot of work. Stopped about 55 switched to butts and not 100/200 lbs for groups.
Having a friendly butt smoking competition next weekend so I’m doing my first on this weekend for my practice run..ha..definitely going to use this as a guide. Thanks for very detailed information..ha
I cooked it until 3 pm the following day, kept temp. around 250, followed your tips! DELISH!
There is no wrong way as long as the meat is done but not dry! I have been doing this for 35+ years and always trying different methods and techniques! Always trying something new! Experiment ya’ll!
I am using the side smoker on my gas grill! CharBroil , with soaked hickory chips. Put it on at 10 pm, slow smoking it all night! J. Gray….will let u know how it turns out!
Smoking “Super Bowl” Sunday!! Marinade of grey poupon, yellow mustard, special rub! Using my primo kamado smoker at 225 degrees for 7 hours. Lump natural charcoal and soaked applewood chips along with dry hickory chips. Apple cider vinegar in drip pan between racks. I will take your apple juice spritz idea. I take the meat off wrap in foil and place in cooler for 1 hour before pulling.
I have done pretty much your method without the apple juice, and I get IT to 165% in the smoker using soaked hickory chunks, then wrap in foil and in the oven at 210% until IT hits 190%. Let it stand maybe 30 minutes, then pull and dip in your favorite golden yellow mustard sauce, and get ready to skip dinner and just keep eating the thing :0
Last time we smoked one, we ate it non stop for 3 days till it was gone.
Oh btw am using my Weber grill to smoke my Boston Butt and use a pork rub from McCormick. Rub works week, since I dont have my own recipe for a good rub. My Weber works really well for me esp. When it dont cost about or around $100.00 or so here in Al. Indirect cooking is awesome. This is only my 3rd time smoking a butt so I’m doing a pan with water in it, ( some say it makes it better). Also I’m going to spray apple juice on it about every two hours as well. That’s also a first for me. Hope it turns out as good as the 2 did before I used the water tray and apple spray. Thanks for allowing me to post. This site is helpful and fun.
Am smoking one now, low and slow.
What are your thoughts on a temp of around 225 with smoke for 4 hours, and finishing wrapped in the oven at 325 for another 4? Would be for a 7-10 lb butt. I saw this method and I wondered what you thought. I am doing one at the in-laws on new years day, but don’f feel like getting there at 7 am.
I will use similar rub that I love, and I add some chipotle powder for extra smoky and spicy flavor, along with the mustard base.
Very informative. This is my wife and my first year in our new house together as a newly wed couple. I’ve always been known for my skill with a grill, but smoking is new to me. We’re having a party this Saturday and I will be doing my first smoked butt then. Thanks a lot for the info!
Mark, nice write up. I’m going to try my first smoked but tomorrow. Also going with your rub recipe. Some rubs contain to much sugar for my liking. Thanks.
Rob, let us know how it turns out and what you think 🙂
Also there is no need for more wood to be added after the 2nd or 3rd hour depending on size of the meat. As 80% of smoking takes place 1st hour and up to remaining 20% in the next 30-90 minutes. No need to waste all that good wood after 3 hours keep the heat going with charcoal.
Mark sorry to say but you are not correct. if you watch most competition bbq/smokers they have side fire box (smoke boxes) that produce indirect heat. Most champions do not cook with 100% wood. They use charcoal to get the internal heat of the cooking area to proper temp then put would in about 5-10 minutes before meat goes on. Through out the day they will continue with a charcoal/wood mixture in the indirect heat.
Not bad, however you did not bbq (smoke) but rather indirectly charcoal grilled a butt with adding
some smoke with wood chips. I personally use a wood smoker with side smoker box and never smoke less than 2 of the largest pre sealed buts available when on sale. But I will admit if done right on a grill very few will know a difference.
I use the Char-Broil Silver Smoker, cheap, but I love it.
The way you do it is very similar to mine. Except I substitute chunks instead of chips and I don’t soak them because the temperature drops to much in my smoker. Also if I am going to be busy the day I would like to serve the pulled pork I start it the night before and then finish it in the oven over night after the smoking process, like you I only smoke it for about half of the cooking time.
Thanks Jim,
Great feedback. What type of Smoker do you use?
Let us know
Dave