Traeger Smoked Pork Roast Dry Rub

Pulled smoked pork roast with dry rub turns out fantastic. Super fork tender and pulled perfect for sliders, tacos or sliced for dinner. Try this yourself this week for your family or a large crowd for the holidays.

Traeger Pork Roast

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 pulled pork on a smoker 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 pork 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.

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To get your meats absolutely perfect we have this printable meat smoking chart to refer to so each and every time it will be fork tender.

Smoked Pork Butt

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.

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.

• Pulled Pork Dry Rub
• Kosher salt
• 1 tbsp cumin
• Brown sugar for a bit of sweetness
• Oregano
• Paprika
• 1 tsp basil
• Adjust the amount of chili powder to your liking
• 2 tsp black peppercorns

We use some pepperoncinis even when we make this into Mississippi pork roast in the oven.

Smoked Pork Loin Roast

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.

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.

• Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 c pineapple juice

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.

Smoked Pork Roast Pellet Grill

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).

• Mix together dry rub and peppercorns and rub all over pork butt. Fill smoker container with hardwood BBQ pellets.
• Apple wood is a great choice 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 degrees F. Insert probes into each side of the cut of meat and plug into the smoker.
• Alternatively, have a meat thermometer probe handy.
• Place pork butt on smoker grill, fat side up. Smoke 1 hour and then brush mop sauce on every hour for the next 7-9 hours cooking time.
  • cooking time with any sort of pork recipe will vary slightly depending on it’s thickness
  • if is tough to pull it needs more time, period

How Long to Smoke a Pork Roast

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.

Smoked Pork Roast for Pulled Pork

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 your piece of meat is going to have most of the connective tissues broken down so it will literally just want to fall apart. That is what you want so don’t fight it.

The BEST way to serve this is with pulled pork sandwiches. 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.

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.

Reheating leftover pork is quite simple, but there is a method to the madness. You want to add a bit of sauce on the top before heating again. I like a tbsp or so of bbq sauce, toss to coat and then heat in your microwave for about 1 minute until warmed.

It is a great next day lunch for sure, served on rolls, inside pork tacos or on top of a bed of mashed potatoes. You could instead add it into another dish entirely though too. One example of this would be to throw it into a casserole to amp up the protein so it’s not just noodles. I hate wasting food so I will incorporate it in all sorts of dishes.

Pork Roast on Smoker

If you are new to cooking outside you’re in for a treat. 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. Works for all meats like this, chicken or our smoked chuck roast. It will tell you if your pellets are running low too!! Game changer for us.