Pulled Pork Recipe for a Weber Grill
I use my Weber Kettle for more than just grilling. In this recipe I’ll show you how to set the kettle up for indirect cooking using the “charcoal snake” method which gives me a long, slow burn that is just what a Pork Butt needs. First let’s talk about the set up: Pile a ring of unlit charcoal briquettes around the outer 3/4’s of the 22” Weber Kettle. It’ll take about 10lbs of charcoal. Be sure to only go 3/4 of the way around to create the “charcoal snake”. The goal here is to create an even burn slowly around the kettle. For wood flavor I mix in chunks of pecan and cherry wood with the coals. Just scatter them around about 1/2 of the snake.
I also place my charcoal Vortex in the center of the grill to create a heat deflector. Turn the Vortex wide-side-up in order to keep the direct heat from hitting the butt. This will help throw the heat into the top lid and create an indirect cooking zone. If you don’t have a Vortex just use a small size aluminum pan in the void; it’ll work just as well.
To light the coal I use a couple tumble weed fire starters on one end of the charcoal. Keep the lid open until the first few coals are glowing red and ashed over. Then place the cooking grate on the grill and close the lid. Make sure all of the vents top and bottom are open 100%. As the grill temperature begins to climb to 200°F check the vents back to 50%. This will hold the Weber around 250°F.
Now for the pork butt. I use my Red Handle 5″ Flexible Knife to trim away an excess fat or sinew from the butt. I do leave the majority of the fat cap on the pork butt because its an insulator and as it renders, it will make the meat juicy. A little trick I learned is to score the fat cap. This helps the fat render better and makes some delicious little morsels for the pitmaster. To score the cap just make thin slits in the fat cap spaced about 1” apart. Rotate the butt and score again. It creates a diamond pattern in the fat cap.
Season the butt with your favorite bbq rub. I use my Killer Hogs Hot Rub for this cook but really anything will work. Make sure to get plenty of rub down in-between the score marks on the fat side and coat the edges of the butt as well. All of that seasoning will make a great bark on the outside as it cooks.
Once the Weber is running at 250°F place the butt over the Vortex on the center of the grill. Close the lid and let the “charcoal snake” do all the work. I do like to spritz the butt every hour with a 50/50 mix of apple juice and apple cider vinegar. This helps the bark develop as well.
After 4 hours the bark should be just right and it’s time to wrap. Place the butt on a double layer of aluminum foil and drizzle Killer Hogs Vinegar Sauce over the top. This part is optional but it does make it really good. Bring the foil up tight around the outside and go ahead and stick a wired probe thermometer into the thickest part of the butt away from the bone. I use a Thermoworks DOT Alarm to monitor the internal temperature.
Place the butt back on the grill and continue to cook. Keep the temperature steady at 250°F and keep an eye on the internal temperature and the charcoal. I didn’t have to add any extra coal but if it looks like you’re going to run low just add a couple handfuls to the end of the “snake”.
The pork butt is ready when it hits 200°F internal on the Thermoworks DOT Alarm. At this point carefully remove the butt from the grill.
It helps to set it in an aluminum pan with a small Chicken Rack at the bottom because there is a ton of hot pork jus in the foil. It can burn you if you’re not careful.
Open the foil and carefully remove the pork butt and place on a wire cooling rack over a shallow half pan. Glaze the outside with a 50/50 mix of The BBQ Sauce and Vinegar Sauce (you can use your favorite pork glaze here) and place the pan back on the grill to set the sauce. It only takes about 15 minutes for the sauce to start to caramelize.
At this point you’re done. Just rest the butt for at least 15 minutes before shredding into pulled pork and make some delicious sandwiches!
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Pulled Pork on a Weber Grill
Description
In this recipe it’s all about how to set the Weber Kettle Grill for indirect cooking using the “charcoal snake” method. This will give you a long, even, slow burn that is just what a Pork Butt needs to make perfect pulled pork.
Ingredients
- 8–10lb pork butt
- 1/4 cup Killer Hogs Hot Rub
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups Killer Hogs Vinegar Sauce
- 1 cup Killer Hogs The BBQ Sauce
Instructions
- Set up Weber kettle for indirect cooking by stacking unlit charcoal briquettes in a ring shape 3/4 of the way around the outer edge of the grill; it should take approx. 10lbs of charcoal. Also mix in chunks of of pecan and cherry wood with the charcoal for smoke flavor. (there should be a good size gap so the coals don’t complete a full circle – this creates a “charcoal snake” for an even burn pattern.
- Place a small size Charcoal Vortex in the center of the grill to act as a heat deflector. Turn the Vortex so the wide side is facing up. (a small aluminum pan can be substituted here).
- Trim the pork butt removing excess fat and sinew. Score the thick layer of fat into a diamond pattern by making shallow slits at an angle 1” apart; then rotate the butt and make shallow slits in the opposite direction.
- Season the pork butt on all sides with Killer Hogs Hot rub (substitute your favorite rub if you want). Let the butt sit for 15-20 minutes before placing on the grill.
- Light one end of the “charcoal snake” using tumble weed fire starters; leave the grill open until the charcoal catches (few of the coals turn white). Place the cooking grate on the grill and close the lid. As the temperature climbs to 225°F adjust the top and bottom vents to 50% to hold the cooking temperature at 250°F.
- Place the pork butt in the center of the kettle over the Vortex to protect it. The charcoal will burn around the edge creating even heat and the wood will gradually burn creating smoke flavor.
- Spritz the pork butt with a 50/50 mixture of apple juice and apple cider vinegar after 1 hour. Repeat this step every hour until the bark starts to turn dark on the outer surface of the butt.
- After 4 hours the bark should be developed and it’s time to wrap. Remove the pork butt from the Weber, place on a double layer of aluminum foil. Drizzle Vinegar sauce over the outside, and wrap the foil around the butt. Place a wired probe thermometer into the thickest part of the butt away from the bone.
- Set the pork butt back on the grill and monitor the temperature. It’s done when the internal hits 200°F. Keep an eye on the charcoal. I didn’t have to add any more coal for this cook but if you get close to the end of the “charcoal snake” just add another handful of coal as needed.
- When the internal temperature hits 200°F, remove the butt from the grill. Carefully transfer the butt to a wire rack over a shallow aluminum pan and glaze the outside with a 50/50 mix of vinegar sauce and The BBQ Sauce. Place the pan back on the grill and let the sauce set for 15 minutes until it caramelizes.
- Remove the butt from the grill and let it rest for 15 minutes or so before shredding by hand for delicious pulled pork.
Keywords: pulled pork, weber kettle, pulled pork on weber
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First time smoking a pork butt, and followed this exact recipe. Turned out fantastic! I can’t think of anything I could add or take away to make it better. Other than chicken wings, it’s the best use for the vortex on my kettle I’ve seen.
★★★★★
Hi Malcolm.
I in the UK
Can I use a boneless shoulder for this recipe please.
I have a seller ring and plate for my Webber kettle will that do with charcoal filling 3/4 of the circumstances?
Thanks.
I am new to BBQ and smoking so need all the he advice I can get!
Andy
Dammed predictive text! Smoker ring I meant!
Sorry
If I was to cook this on Saturday to bring over a friends on Sunday. What is the best method to reheating it?
I normally place the foil wrapped Pork Butt in a 250-degree pre-heated oven. I cook until the internal temp reaches 165. You can then place in a pre-heated cooler to rest or you can shred and serve.
Just finished smoking a 10 lb pork BB roast, Just about fell apart getting is out of the tin foil.
WOW !
Viniger and regular bbq sauce; Do you sell in the 1/2 gallon?
Thanks You
Deano
I’ve spent many times carefully setting up the snake and making it stacked just right – never again! It sure did a great job following this instead! thanks for saving me time!
★★★★★
tried this but didn’t score the fat side instead did the other side. Sorry didn’t recipe correctly. Anyway, cooked ab 3 hours and could not pull apart the meat
You didn’t read any part of the recipe correctly!
If you only went 3 hours….you were still about 6 hours short of real pulled pork.
Thanks Malcolm! I’m learning from ya!
★★★★★
Great recipe, came out awesome!
★★★★★
Delicious, did a 10lb roast yesterday and it came out absolutely outstanding! Cooked it to 195 and let it sit for 30 before shredding and couldn’t have been happier. The snake method worked well in my Weber 26″ kettle.
★★★★★
Have you ever brined a pork butt before smoking it, and if so how did it come out?
Made for all the Mother’s in our family today and it turned out fantastic. I only cook on Webber kettles and this is the 1st time I tried the snake method and it worked great. Looking forward to cooking a brisket on my 33 inch kettle with this technique. Thank you Malcom, I’m pretty new to the site, but have loved everything I’ve tried.
Just trying this today! First time with snake method and pork shoulder has been on there 7hrs doing great. Thank you for the great video and tips! It’s working perfectly!
Hey Malcolm,
Is that the small or medium sized vortex?
Thanks!
Came out great
Excellent as always, followed to the letter, pork butt turned out stellar