How to Make Pulled Pork on a Traeger (Pellet Grill)

Smoked Pulled Pork on the Traeger is a labor of love but it’s worth every minute! You’ll come away with a pan of deliciousness! Just remember – all good things come to those who wait and this is one of them! It’s tender, juicy and so delicious! Pulled pork is great for those barbecue parties with friends – so grab the buns, the coleslaw and the baked beans – your best pulled pork is here!!!

Tips for the Best Traeger Pulled Pork

Using your Traeger Pellet Smoker is super easy – and makes a delicious pulled pork! Here are some tips to make sure your pulled pork is the best!

• Use one good rub – I don’t see the need to use 17 rubs. Pick a good one and use it. I have 2-3 flavors but I typically go with Historic BBQ. They’re local and I have had success every time. Red for pork/chicken/fish and Black for beef (it has more pepper).
• Cook by temperature and not time – My pulled pork took 9.5 hours – but it doesn’t mean yours will. On short cooks, an instant read thermometer is fine, but on a long cook – something like the Meater Plus is really wonderful. You can see how the cook is going on your phone and you’re not opening and closing the smoker every 30 minutes watching it cook. (A watched pot never boils!) Your time will also vary based on the size of the pork butt you’re using.
• Keep the smoker closed – see above – a watched pot never boils. Let the smoker do it’s thing.
• Fill your hopper & check your hopper! – When you do go out to check the pork, check the hopper. Mine needed filled at the beginning, when I covered it and about 30 minutes before it was done. (0 hour, 4 hr 30, 8 hr 45)
• Let pork rest – Sneak a few bites when you take it off if you want – but let it rest for an hour before you serve. This gives the juices time to absorb back into the meat. With a big cut like this – you need to let it rest for an hour. With something smaller like a steak, 10 minutes is fine.
• Remove fat after smoking – For the pork butt, I removed the fat AFTER cooking – it adds to the FLAVOR!

Ingredients for Perfect Pulled Pork on your Pellet Grill

It’s much simpler than you might think – just three ingredients needed for pulled perfection!

• Pork butt or pork shoulder
  • See below for more info on the differences
• Seasoning
  • I like Historic BBQ Red – it’s my favorite and is delicious on any cut of pork or chicken. I also know someone else that just uses good old salt & pepper. Make sure your seasoning has garlic powder, brown sugar, paprika, & onion powder. There’s any number of seasonings on the market for pork – use what you like!
• Liquid
  • After your pork hits 160º, you’ll need to wrap it and add liquid. I chose apple juice but you can use beer, water, apple cider vinegar, chicken broth – anything along those lines.
• Barbecue Sauce
  • If you’re using this for sandwiches, you’ll likely want sauce. Pick your favorite and I recommend serving sauce on the side. My favorite is Williamson Bros.

What cut of pork is best for pulled pork?

Pork is really a great choice anytime – it’s a lean, high-quality protein – I eat at least a couple times a week! Ground pork, pork chops, pork tenderloin, bacon – so much yum!

For pulled pork, you’ll want to use either the pork butt or the pork shoulder. Both are actually from around the shoulder area of the pork. The butt is actually not from the butt! It’s on top and behind the ears. The pork shoulder is under that and closer to the front leg.

Here’s a few more bits of info on the two cuts:

Pork Butt

• The pork butt can also be known as the Boston butt.
• Well marbled with lots of intramuscular fat throughout.
• Has a fat cap
• Sold bone-in or boneless
• Higher fat content – but more tender
• My purchase: 7.5 lbs @ $2.49/lb = $18.43
  • That’s like $1 a serving once the recipe is done! Woohoo!

Pork Shoulder

• The pork shoulder is also known as the picnic shoulder or picnic roast.
• Has a thicker fat cap with skin on but not much within the meat
• Usually sold boneless
• Higher meat content – but more tough
• Priced: Approx 7.5 lbs @ $1.79/lb. = $13.43

The other thing I like about buying and eating pork is that I know I’m helping farmers. All the pork you buy is raised by real farmers on farms in Wisconsin and across the US!

I’ve been to quite a few pig farms – and the advances in technology and farming are pretty cool. It all goes together to make healthier pork for us! Today’s pork has 16% less fat and 27% less saturated fat than pork from 30 years ago. Thankfully – it still has all the flavor!

How to prep your Traeger pork butt

Prepping your pork isn’t that daunting at all. It’s really only a few steps:

1. Open the package, rinse the pork butt and pat dry
2. Let the pork come to room temperature (about 20 min)
3. Lay the pork butt in a disposable aluminum pan
4. Coat the pork butt heavily on all sides with your favorite seasoning – I used probably 1/3 cup of seasoning! Let the pork butt rest with seasoning for about 20 minutes. Do not refrigerate.

That’s all there is to it! You’re ready to smoke that butt! (haha – just fun to say!)

Step-by-Step Instructions to Smoke a pork butt

Making pulled pork takes about 9 hours (7.5 lb butt) – so it’s not something to decide on last minute. Plan it out! Setting aside 9 hours of your life is the most difficult part!

I’m going to put times to some of these – so you have an idea of how I planned it for dinner!

• 7:00am – Prep Pork as noted above
• 7:15am – Turn Traeger to SMOKE – this setting takes about 5 minutes to get through. Open the grill door and the auger will start going. About five minutes in, the Traeger will billow a bunch of smoke! Once the smoke dissipates, shut the lid and turn the temperature to 225º.
• HOPPER CHECK! Check the hopper to be sure your pellets are full!
• 7:30am – Once the Traeger is up to temperature, place your pork on the grill. I chose to put mine – fat side down – in a grill pan with holes in it. You can put in a disposable aluminum pan or directly on the grill grates.
• THERMOMETER CHECK! I just got the Meater Plus (see below for more) and put the probe into the side of the pork butt. You want to put it all the way into the butt into the thickest part of the meat – touching no bones. There’s a line on it to use as a guide.
• Shut the lid and Frozen that thing up – LET IT GO! LET IT GO! You’re going to leave this go until the internal temperature reaches 160º. If you don’t have a probe that you can monitor from your phone, then you’ll need to check back with an instant read meat thermometer. Resist the urge to check, check, check. This stage is going to take 3-5 hours. So check it at the 3 hr. mark – 4 hr – and then go from there!
• 12:30pm – Wrap the pork with a double layer of aluminum foil and add the liquid. Here are some notes/tips:
  • If you put it in a tray, you’ll just add foil on top
  • If your pork was directly on the grill, you’ll need to remove it and place it on 2-3 sheets of foil or in a pan – then cover it.
  • Add the liquid, I lined my tray with foil, added a small individual size bottle of juice and then wrapped the pan with foil.
  • If using a thermometer like the Meater Plus, you’ll need to pull it out of the pork and then reinsert through the foil so the handle is outside of the foil.
• HOPPER CHECK! Check the hopper to be sure your pellets are full!
• 12:45pm – Shut the lid and – again – let it go! Once the pork is covered, liquid added and sealed – you’ll shut the lid and keep it going at 225º for 3-5 more hours. Mine finished in 4.5 hours. You’re looking for an internal temperature on the meat of 203º – 205º. Again – check it at 3 hr, 4 hr, etc.
  • I did experience a “stall” – this is when it just sort of hangs around at a temperature that drives you insane. We stalled at 195º for about 45 minutes. Just wait it out.
  • HOPPER CHECK! Check the hopper to be sure your pellets are full!
• 5:00pm – We’re at 204º – VICTORY IS OURS!!!! Remove the pork, in the pan, to a cutting board. Bring it in the house and let it rest for an hour. (You can also wrap in butcher paper for the resting time.) Stab a hole in the foil for the steam to release.
  • Turn your Traeger to SHUT DOWN MODE
• 6:00pm – Dinner Time!!!! If there are pockets of fat on the pork – this is a good time to pull or scrape those off and discard them. Shred your pork with those big ol’ meat forks and enjoy!
  • Turn your Traeger off

Meater Plus Review

I purchased the Meater Plus a couple of months ago because I knew I was going to be doing some long cooks like this, brisket, etc. Here are some thoughts after using it on this pulled pork cook:

• Cost: $99.95
• Range: 165 ft.
  • You leave the wood block on the grill next to the probe. (It’s got a magnet).
  • I did not find the range to truly be 165 ft – with walls and turns. I could set my phone on the kitchen counter and then pull the Meater website up from my couch to monitor it.
  • It also helps if you keep your phone propped up vs. laying down on a table.
• Accuracy: Fantastic! I double-checked at the stages with my instant-read and it was dead-on.
• Set-up: It was easy to set up – download the app and it walks you through the set up in just 5-10 minutes.
  • The feature to set up a cook is super slick – you pick your protein (pig, cow, etc) and then pick the cut and set it up – it has all the info in the app!
• Reliability – It works great! I was testing the distance around the house and had to get closer to reconnect a few times during the 9.5 hours – but that was mainly because I was in different parts of my house.
• Overall – I like the Meater Plus. It has more range than the Meater. There’s also a Meater Block which has even more range but it has 4 probes and seems like a bit more than I needed. At $100 – it was worth it after 1 cook! I didn’t have to get up and check the meat once! I knew the exact temp the entire time! I even ran up town for an hour in the middle – because I knew I could!
• Yes or No: DEFINITELY YES!

FAQ for Traeger Smoked Pulled Pork

Recipes with Leftover Pulled Pork

Pulled pork is such a versatile food and worthy of so much more than pork sandwiches You can stuff things with it, top a pizza with it and so much more! Here are some of my favorites:

• Pulled Pork Casserole
• Leftover Pulled Pork Tacos
• Cheesy Hawaiian Pulled Pork Sliders
• Pulled Pork Omelette
• More Recipes with Pulled Pork!

More Traeger Recipes

I Love my Traeger and use it all the time! It’s great for grilling or smoking – here are some of my favorite smoked recipes:

• Beginner’s Guide to a Brisket
• Smoked Pork Chops
• Preparing the Perfect Pork Tenderloin

What to serve with Pulled Pork?

• Smoked Green Beans
• Jarlsberg Dip Macaroni Salad
• Smoked Baked Beans
• Red Robin Freckled Lemonade