Smoked pork roast with dry rub for pork chops turns out fantastic. Super fork tender and pulled perfect for sliders, tacos or sliced for dinner. Try this yourself this week in a Traeger for your family or a large crowd for the holidays.
Dry rub smoked pork roast is probably our favorite meal. Almost melts in your mouth it is so moist with a smoky flavor right out of your Traeger pellet grill. No matter how you serve this your guests are sure to ask you how it’s done. Then they can create their own easy smoker recipes at home.
Smoked Pork Roast Recipe
There are many brands out there including Green Mountain and others but this is probably the most common. We have worked with a few different ones and will admit that this one holds the heat quite nicely, even in the snow season. When it comes to smoked pulled pork there’s no slicing involved, if you ask me.
It’s all about waiting until it is so tender that you can pull it apart with 2 dinner forks, period. Another must is using a killer dry rub. If you wanted to add sauce as well at the end that is up to you but not really necessary at all. Seriously, served as sliders for dinner these will be the hit of your next party.
There are a few choices when it comes to the word roast on a pig. If you look at a diagram you will see all the cuts. Loin will work too but are much leaner than this counterpart which you might think would be better but fat = flavor!! SO go for this chunk of a hunk, sortaspeak.
Ingredient Notes
The main hero of the show is of course the roast and our favorite is pork butt because it comes with lots of fat to keep it moist
Kosher salt is better than smaller granules to really pack on the flavors and create a crust on the outside with the rest of the seasonings like;
Cumin gives it a kick, Brown sugar for a bit of sweetness with some Oregano, paprika and basil are nice touches and you can adjust the amount of chili powder to your liking with some whole black peppercorns
We use some pepperoncinis even when we make this into Mississippi pork roast in the oven as well as a few other things in the pan itself when cooked such as;
- Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 c pineapple juice
Like I said, the seasonings are the most important part. We have a bunch of different dry rub recipes on our site but if you have your own special blend then by all means use that. Just don’t skip it!! This is a list of what was used on this go around here. Heat can be added with red pepper flakes or dry Sriracha if you want.
A trick to smoking meats is to first make sure that it is preheated before adding it. Another is that it is nice to start by sitting it straight on to the grates, that will give the outside some texture and sear. That means that it will lock in the moisture for the next several hours thereafter.
Adding Sauce
If you do add a sauce like we did here part way thru you might want to transfer it into a roasting pan or disposable aluminum pans are even better. If you do have a probe that is ideal, saves you from opening the lid more often than you need to. It’s not that it needs a lot more flavor but pack it on I say.
Is all we used whisked together and poured on top for the rest of the time. Gives it a bit more tang and ensures every inch stays super moist. If you didn’t want to add it you could instead fill a spray bottle with broth and spray every hour instead.
Prepare mop sauce by mixing together: your pineapple juice, whole grain yellow mustard, and apple cider vinegar. Set aside. This isn’t necessary but does add to the moisture, baste with broth if not using this every hour. Trim fat off of fat side so thickness is no more than 1⁄4 inch (or leave as is if you prefer).
How Long to Smoke a Pork Roast
Set temperature and wait until it reaches a steady heat before adding your meat always. Insert probes into each side of the cut of meat and plug into the smoker. The total cook time is 8-10 hours and if you want to add a sauce you want to do so several times within this time for best results.
How do you know pork roast is done?
The internal temperature of pork butt should read 190° when thoroughly cooked and at the point where you can easily pull apart with forks. 6-7 lbs. will typically take a total of 8-10 hours. Allow to rest, covered, for 30 minutes before pulling or slicing.
We have a digital probe that connects to our phone to tell us whether this or our smoked chuck roast is to temp and/or your pellets are running low too!! Game changer for us.
It will be hard to slice this if that is how you typically serve this cut of pork. When cooking low and slow like this or under high pressure like Instant Pot pork roast, the connective tissues will break down so it will literally just want to fall apart. That is what you want so don’t fight it.
FAQ
It doesn’t matter whether you are using an electric or pellet grill, you ideally want to set the temperature to 225 degrees F. With a larger thick cut of meat you want to slow cook it at a low heat to break down the connective tissues to get it to fork tender.
I would suggest getting a probe because that makes everything so much easier. If you have the wifi function you can pair it to your phone to check the temp that way wherever you go and you don’t have to lift the lid to do so. If you don’t, use a meat thermometer in the thickest/center area for accuracy.
Smoked Pork Roast Recipe
Equipment
- 1 smoker
- 1 aluminum pan optional
Ingredients
- 6-7 lb pork roast, aka pork butt
Pork Roast Dry Rub
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 2.5 tsp brown sugar
- 2.5 tsp oregano
- 1.5 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
Pork Sauce
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 c pineapple juice
Instructions
- Prepare mop sauce by mixing together: pineapple juice, whole grain mustard, and apple cider vinegar. Set aside. Trim fat off of fat side so thickness is no more than 1⁄4 inch (if necessary).
- Mix together dry rub and peppercorns and rub all over pork butt. Fill smoker container with hardwood BBQ pellets. Apple wood is a good flavor for this recipe. Prepare smoker by placing 2-3 long sheets of aluminum foil along the bottom of the smoker element, underneath the rack, for easy cleanup. Brush grill rack clean.
- Set smoker to smoke. Once it starts smoking, set temperature to 225° F. Insert probes into each side of the pork butt and plug into the smoker. Alternatively, have a meat thermometer handy.
- Place pork butt on smoker grill, fat side up. Smoke 1 hour and then brush mop sauce (pineapple juice, whole grain mustard, and apple cider vinegar mixture) on every hour for the next 7-9 hours.
- The internal temperature of the pork butt should read 190° when thoroughly cooked and at the point where you can easily pull apart with forks. 6-7 lbs. will typically take a total of 8-10 hours.
- Allow to rest, covered, for 30 minutes before pulling or slicing.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What to make with leftovers
This is a great dish to serve to a crowd. It isn’t too expensive and you could add 2 at a time to your smoker. When done and rested shred inside a pan or two and add on to your buffet table. Then when done you can cover that tightly with foil and store the leftovers in the fridge.
Then toss with more sauce, pull to make 2 ingredient pulled pork the next day. We like those little sweet Hawaiian rolls cut in half with this in the middle. I like a little bit of crunch and cool so I always make a batch of blue cheese coleslaw to serve on top.
