Smoked Boston Butt Pulled Pork Recipe by Morgan’s Carolina Q’
Morgan’s Carolina Q’ “Boston Butt” Smoked Pulled Pork
This recipe comes to us via Douglas J. Morgan, Jr. of Carolina Q' BBQ Sauces and features their Sweet Hickory Sauce.
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BBQ
American
10
EQUIPMENT
- Smoker
INGREDIENTS
- 1 8-10 lb Pork "Boston Butt" ((pork shoulder))
- Morgan's Carolina Q' Sweet Hickory Sauce ((May 2022 featured product))
-OR- Make Your Own BBQ Sauce (optional):
- 2 cups Ketchup
- ½ cup Tomato Paste
- Kosher Salt ((to taste))
- Garlic Powder ((to taste))
- Coarse Cracked Black Pepper ((to taste))
- Crushed Red Pepper ((optional))
Optional Dry Rub:
- 2 cups Brown Sugar
- 3 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 3 tbsp Chili Powder
- 2 tbsp Onion Powder
- 2 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
- 2 tbsp Coarse Ground Black Pepper
- 2 tbsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Paprika
Instructions
Prepare the LANG BBQ Smoker cooker by steam cleaning it at 300 degrees, if needed, to clean grates and reverse flow plate.
After cleaning, stabilize temperature between 220-235 degrees maximum by using pin wheel dampers on the LANG, or by whatever method used for your particular smoker.
OPTIONAL INJECTION:
Inject butt with a mixture of apple juice or pineapple juice, white sugar and salt until butt is swollen and cannot absorb any further injection.
OPTIONAL DRY RUB:
Mix thoroughly in a bowl. Coat entire outside of meat with rub so a good crust forms. The brown sugar will give the meat a good dark mahogany color and form a good “bark."
SECRET TIP: Prior to putting on the rub, coat the outside of the meat with a little bit of vegetable oil. This will help the rub adhere and will also crisp up the outside of the meat slightly helping form a good crispy “bark."
Place butt in smoker suspended over foil pan filled with vinegar, water, apple juice or whatever you choose to maintain moisture in your smoker. Add desired spices to liquid. Insert digital thermometer into middle of meat.
Smoke at a temperature between 220-235 degrees until it reaches an internal temperature of 195º degrees. Remove from grill or smoker and wrap in plastic wrap, then wrap in a towel and place in a cooler. Let rest for an hour. The internal temperature will rise to 200-205 degrees and will soften the connective tissue even further for a melt-in-your-mouth experience.
After resting remove from wrapping and pull shoulder blade bone out. Blade should pull out with little effort, if not butt is not done!
Remove fat cap from butt and discard. Take two forks and pull (shred) pork butt until its the texture of your choice.
Take bottle of Morgans Carolina Q’ Sweet Hickory Sauce or your homemade BBQ sauce from recipe above, and pour over meat sparingly, tasting as you go until the flavor profile is reached that you want.
OR
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl, whisk until all ingredients are mixed thoroughly. Pour on pulled pork or chicken sparingly to taste after removing meat from the grill or smoker.
Notes
SECRET TIP:
Take a sweet Hawaiian roll, add some Duke's mayonnaise or mayo of your choice (try the horseradish aoli), and top with pork! Also, southern slaw added on top of the shredded pork in the sandwich make it a mouthwatering treat!
Cook Notes
Cook butt to an internal temperature of 195 °F, wrap and let rest for an hour. Check internal temperature in several places if necessary.
Remember: It’s done when it’s done!! This recipe includes a sauce. There are also options for a dry rub and an injection.
The Stall
On occasion the butt will “stall” between 160-180 °F while the connective tissues and fats break down. The stall can last anywhere from 30 minutes up to 2 hours.
The option here is to increase the heat by 15-20 degrees to power through the stall, or you can continue to cook at normal temperature.
Many thanks to Douglas K. Morgan, Jr. of Morgan's Carolina BBQ Sauces for this awesome smoked pulled pork recipe, and all of the great tips!
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