Recipe · Pork
Pulled Pork Shoulder on Electric Smoker
Pulled pork is the most forgiving long-cook protein, a pork shoulder at 225F is happy anywhere between 6 and 10 hours of cook time. That flexibility is what makes it the best entry point to electric smoker-grill cooking. The Ninja Woodfire Pro Connect XL holds 225F precisely for the entire 9-hour cook, which is harder than it sounds on a stick-burner offset smoker. The result is bark that rivals any BBQ joint, interior meat that pulls apart with a fork, and a yield of about 5 pounds of finished pulled pork, enough for 10-12 generous sandwiches.
Technique how-to
How the low and slow method works
A method demonstration from Hey Grill Hey — watch it for the technique, then follow the ingredients and steps in our recipe above. We do not produce our own videos.
Start-to-finish low-and-slow tutorial from one of the most trusted independent BBQ channels. Covers the full 225°F method.
Ingredients
- 8 lb bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt)
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard (binder)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne
- Apple juice for the spritz
- Hickory or applewood pellets
Instructions
- 01
The night before: slather the pork shoulder with mustard. Mix the dry rub (everything but the pork) and apply heavily. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- 02
Take the pork out 30 minutes before cooking.
- 03
Preheat the smoker to 225F with hickory or apple pellets.
- 04
Place the shoulder fat-side up on the grate. Smoke for 6 hours, spritzing with apple juice every hour after hour 3.
- 05
When the internal temp hits 165F (the stall), wrap the shoulder in butcher paper with a splash of apple juice.
- 06
Return to the smoker at 250F. Cook until internal temp hits 203F, another 2-3 hours.
- 07
Rest the wrapped shoulder in a cooler for 60 minutes.
- 08
Pull the bone (it should slide out clean). Shred the meat with two forks, mixing bark, fat, and interior meat.
- 09
Serve on soft buns with BBQ sauce and coleslaw.
Pro Tips
Tips for this cook
- ★The stall is real. At 165F, the meat temperature plateaus for 1-2 hours as surface moisture evaporates. Wrapping pushes through it.
- ★203F is not a suggestion. That is the temp at which the connective tissue fully breaks down into gelatin. Pull earlier and the meat is tough; pull later and you lose it.
- ★The Ninja Woodfire Pro Connect XL has Bluetooth monitoring, which matters when you are walking away for 9 hours. Check internal temp from the couch instead of opening the lid (every lid-open adds 10 minutes to the cook).
Recommended for this cook
Tools that make this cook easier
A probe thermometer turns this from a guessing game into a timer-based cook. A smoker box adds the wood flavor the recipe assumes.
Ninja Woodfire owners who want better pellets than the bag in the box.
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