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Chipotle Smoked Pork Butt

Chipotle Smoked Pork Butt

By Mandy Tanner

Tangy with a little heat, this tender pork can be served in chunks on its own, with rice and beans or shredded for pulled pork. It’s especially good as a taco filling white onion, diced pineapple, cilantro, and a little cotija cheese, if you like. It’s also the perfect choice for our Pulled Pork Taquitos, which you can find on the site. Other great uses include sandwiches, quesadillas, and nachos.

Prep Time

20 Min

Cook Time

6 Hr
30 Min

Pellets

Cherry

Ingredients

This recipe serves:

10

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Units of Measurement:
main
1 6- to 8-lb bone-in or boneless pork butt
2 Cup roughly chopped fresh pineapple
1 Cup roughly chopped white onion
1/2 Cup roughly chopped cilantro stems
1/3 Cup chipotles in adobo (about 4 chiles)
Zest of 2 limes
1/4 Cup fresh lime juice, from 3 to 4 limes
2 Tablespoon canola or other neutral flavored oil
2 Tablespoon honey
5 Clove garlic
1 Teaspoon ground cumin
1 Teaspoon kosher salt

Steps

  • 1

    Preheat the Traeger with the lid closed to 250°F; this will take about 15 minutes.

  • 2

    Put the pork in a roasting pan (disposable foil is fine) and pat it dry with paper towels. With a sharp knife, score the fat on top in a cross-hatch pattern.

  • 3

    Make the marinade: In a blender, combine the pineapple, onion, cilantro, chipotles in adobo, lime zest and juice, oil, honey, garlic, cumin, and salt, and blend until smooth. Reserve 1 cup of the marinade separately and cover and refrigerate it.

  • 4

    Cover the pork with the remaining marinade.

  • 5

    Insert a leave-in meat thermometer into the center of the pork, avoiding any bones, if applicable, or large pockets of fat. Place the roasting pan directly on the grill grates. Close the lid and cook until the internal temperature reaches 160°F, 4 to 6 hours. The time will vary depending on the size of the pork, the weather, and the grill model.

    250 ˚F / 121 ˚C

    160 ˚F / 71 ˚C

  • 6

    Cover the pan with foil but allow the thermometer to poke through for accurate readings. Close the lid and continue to cook until the pork is fork-tender, another 3 to 6 hours. At that point, the internal temperature should be between 195°F and 205°F, but what’s more important than the temperature is that the meat is tender. When properly cooked, a meat thermometer or similar should slide into the meat as easily as if it were a stick of room temp butter and a fork inserted should be able to pull the meat apart easily.

    250 ˚F / 121 ˚C

    195 ˚F / 91 ˚C

  • 7

    Remove the roasting pan from the grill and let the pork rest in the pan for at least 15 minutes to cool slightly. Transfer the pork to a cutting board, and transfer some of the cooking juices to a fat separator. Using your hands or two forks, pull the pork and return it to the roasting pan. Toss with some of the defatted juices to moisten it.

  • 8

    Serve the pork with the reserved chipotle sauce, if desired. Enjoy!

My Notes


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