How to Smoke Pork Butt Roast

A pork butt roast is delicious when smoked.

Pork shoulder is cut from the upper portion of a pig's front leg, and the upper part of the shoulder is frequently called Boston-style butt roast or pork butt roast. Because of the fine marbling throughout the meat, pork butt retains its flavor whether it's braised, roasted or smoked. A smoked pork butt roast is often the basis of the classic pulled pork barbecue dish. Although smoking a pork butt roast is an all-day commitment, the end result is well worth the preparation and wait.

Things You'll Need

• Smoker or charcoal grill
• Chimney starter
• Hardwood charcoal
• Briquette charcoal
• Lighter fluid
• Drip pan
• Old newspapers
• Lighter
• Oven mitts
• 3- to 4-pound pork butt roast
• Small skillet
• Small bowl
• 2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• Meat thermometer
• Smoker thermometer
• Barbecue fork

Instructions

Preparing the Smoker

1. Soak the hardwood of your choice for at least one hour--hickory, oak, mesquite, cherry, pecan or maple make good choices. Wet wood will smoke for several hours while dry wood burns too quickly to produce an appropriate amount of smoke.

2. Defrost the roast if it's frozen. According to the USDA, frozen food should not be placed on a grill because smoking is a slow-cook process that does not kill food-borne bacteria quickly enough.

3. Fill the drip pan in the smoker with water and place it in the bottom of the smoker.

4. Place the chimney starter directly over a small mound of crumpled newspapers in the grill. Fill the starter's container with a mixture of hardwood and briquette charcoal. Reserve some of the wood and briquettes for later use. Layer the charcoal, dousing the briquettes and hardwood with lighter fluid between layers.

5. Light the newspapers and allow the charcoal to burn until it is a mountain of gray ash. This process may take 20 minutes or longer.

6. Empty the ash and coals into the smoker while wearing oven mitts. Use a long-handled grill fork to spread the hot coals to one side of the smoker.

Cooking the Pork Butt Roast

1. Toast the cumin seeds in a small skillet.

2. Mix the toasted cumin seeds, paprika and granulated garlic in a small bowl to make a dry rub.

3. Pat the dry rub into the pork butt until it's covered with the seasoning. If you have a larger roast, you may double the recipe to ensure the roast is completely covered.

4. Place the roast on the grill away from the ash heap as meat should be cooked using indirect heat, rather than placing it directly over the heat.

5. Smoke the roast for five to seven hours or until it reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit and is fork-tender.

Tips & Warnings

• Add charcoal and wood periodically to the ash heap to promote a steady production of heat and smoke. Add about 15 briquettes or pieces of wood every hour.

• Use a thermometer in the smoker to measure the temperature, ensuring it reaches and remains between 275 to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Do not use self-starting charcoal as it burns too quickly and it may also infuse the food with an undesirable taste.

References

• USDA: Safe Food Handling
• Food Network: How to Smoke Meat
• Epicurious: The Original Three-Ingredient Rub
• The Other White Meat: Slow-Smoked Berkshire Pork Butt with Michigan Cherry and White Bean Salad

Resources

• Food Network: The Lady and Son's Smoked Boston Butt Roast