How to Smoke a Boneless Pork Butt for Melt-In-Your-Mouth Pulled Pork

As a barbecue enthusiast I’m always looking for new ways to take my smoked meats to the next level. While traditional bone-in pork shoulder makes incredible pulled pork, going boneless opens up new possibilities for infusing flavor and cutting down cook time.

In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk through my proven process for how to smoke a boneless pork butt from start to finish. You’ll learn how to prep and season the meat, my go-to smoker setup and cook times, plus serving ideas that will make your guests beg for more. Let’s get smoking!

Why Go Boneless?

Smoking a boneless pork butt has some advantages over bone-in:

More Surface Area: Removing the bone exposes more meat to smoke flavor and your seasoning rub.
Shorter Cook Time Without the bone the meat cooks faster and more evenly. A boneless butt may take 6-8 hours versus 12-15 for bone-in.
Easier to Portion Once cooked, you can slice a boneless roast into perfect serving sizes or shred easily for tacos
Greater Variety: Roast whole, stuff it, tie into a roll, or cut into smaller individual portions to smoke.

Step-By-Step Guide

Follow my simple process for incredible smoked boneless pork butt:

1. Start with a Pork Shoulder

Look for a boneless Boston butt or pork shoulder roast about 3-5 pounds. The shoulder has the right fat-to-meat ratio.
Make sure the roast is fully boneless. Any bone or cartilage left behind makes slicing difficult.
For smaller portions, ask your butcher to cut the roast into 2 or 3 even pieces.

2. Prep and Score the Meat

Thoroughly pat the meat dry before seasoning. Moisture prevents rub adherence.
Use a sharp knife to score the fat cap in a crosshatch pattern about 1/4 inch deep.
Scoring helps the fat render and the meat absorb more smoke flavor.

3. Season the Pork Butt

Coat all sides with a flavorful dry rub. Try brown sugar, chili powder, garlic, pepper and more.
Rub the seasoning evenly into the meat, getting into all the nooks and crannies.
Let sit for 15-30 minutes so the rub can penetrate before smoking.

4. Set Up Your Smoker

Heat your smoker or grill to 225-250°F using indirect heat with wood chunks.
Soak wood chunks in water for 30 minutes prior for more smoke. Try apple, hickory, mesquite, etc.
Place a drip pan underneath to catch drippings for making sauce later.

5. Add Pork Butt to the Smoker

Place the pork directly on the grill grate, fat side up. For even cooking, leave some space around each piece.
Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest section, avoiding bone or fat pockets.
Maintain a steady temperature inside the smoker for optimal results.

6. Smoke the Meat

With an even 225-250°F smoker temp, the pork butt should take about 1-1.5 hours per pound, or 6-8 hours total.
For extra flavor and moisture, spritz with apple juice or other liquid during smoking.
Smoke until it reaches 200-205°F internally for perfect shredding texture.

7. Rest and Shred

Remove pork from smoker, wrap in foil and let rest 30-60 minutes before shredding.
Use forks or bear claws to shred into bite-size morsels, discarding excess fat.
Season again lightly with reserved rub or barbecue sauce.

Serving Suggestions

Smoked boneless pork butt is incredibly versatile. Try serving it:

On buns for pulled pork sandwiches with slaw
Stuffed into tortillas or taco shells for pulled pork tacos
Over macaroni and cheese or nachos as a topping
In quesadillas, omelets, pizza, salads and more
As the protein on a barbecue platter with traditional sides
On its own as an entree topped with extra sauce

Now that you know how to prep, smoke, and serve boneless pork butt, you can add this tasty and convenient cut to your barbecue arsenal. Ditch the bone and enjoy incredible smoked flavor in record time!

Smoked Pork Butt (Bone In vs Boneless) | The Bearded Butchers

FAQ

How to smoke a deboned pork shoulder?

Place your pork shoulder in your smoker and cook at 250°F for 10-12 hours until the internal temperature of the meat is 200-205ºF. Add charcoal or smoke chips as necessary and make sure the smoker stays at 250°. The Big Green Egg does a great job of maintaining heat without needing extra charcoal during the whole cook!

Do boneless pork shoulder cook faster?

Go for bone-in or boneless, whichever you prefer. Bone-in shoulders take a little longer to cook, but can make the meat more flavorful and juicy. Boneless cuts can be sliced into smaller chunks for easier handling and quicker cooking.

How long to smoke a 10lb pork butt?

It will take 12-14 hours for a 8-10lb pork butt to fully cook at low temps. About 8 hours in ramp the temp up to 220 and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 190°F. At this point the butt is fully rendered and a thermometer probe will slide in with little to no resistance.

How do you smoke a boneless pork butt?

Combine all of the ingredients for the spice rub. Rub a 5-6 pound boneless pork butt with the seasonings, and refrigerate it for 12 hours (or for up to 2 days). Smoke the pork butt at 250˚F (120˚C) until the internal temperature reaches 150˚F (65˚C), about 3 ½ – 4 ½ hours.

Does smoking cause breast and armpit boils?

There are studies that have been conducted that show that patients who are active smokers have suppurative boils (the medical term for which is hidradenitis suppurativa ). Hence, it is only fair to say that cigarette smoke has a clear association with boils, especially in the groin areas and armpits.

How do you smoke a pork shoulder?

Fill a baking dish or foil pan with water and place it on one side of the smoker grate. This keeps the pork moist during the smoking process. 2.**Rub the Pork**: – Rub the pork shoulder with olive

Can you rub a boneless pork butt before smoking?

For the most flavor, rub the pork butt with the spice rub a day or two before smoking. This rub is made with simple pantry ingredients, including: Combine all of the ingredients for the spice rub. Rub a 5-6 pound boneless pork butt with the seasonings, and refrigerate it for 12 hours (or for up to 2 days).