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This weekend came to a close with my son and daughter (and their significant others) coming over for an afternoon of games, cigars, and BBQ! To feed all of these hungry faces I wanted to make Pulled Pork BBQ but didn’t have enough time to go low and slow. So, I decided to try a new cooking technique I had recently seen other Big Green Egg cooks master. They cook the Boston Butt using higher heat (Turbo) to get a faster result. I know, there is some debate over using this method vs. low heat for a longer period of time but given the time (and the hungry faces) I wanted to try this out and judge the results for myself. So sit back, grab a cold PBR, and enjoy my recipe for Big Green Egg Hot and Fast Pulled Pork.
Big Green Egg Hot and Fast Pulled Pork
As this recipe would use a higher heat source in a limited time window and I wanted to inject the Boston Butt to prop up my chances for moist pulled pork BBQ. The recipe I used is a mix of apple juice, water, sugar, salt, and Worcestershire.
Next I trimmed all the fat from the opposite side of the fat cap so the rub would have direct contact with the meat.
After trimming the Boston Butt I covered the meat with a little Yellow Mustard and Honey Hog BBQ rub from Meat Church
.
I set the Big Green Egg up using the plate setter for indirect heat and fired up the egg until the dome measured 350°. I used a mix Hickory and Apple Wood. You want the coals to smoke for 30 minutes to an hour until you see that thin blue smoke. This gets you the best flavor and prevents the over-smoked taste you can get by putting your pork in too soon.
I cooked the pork this way for 3 hours or until the meat probe measured 165°. I would check the pork every hour misting it with a 50/50 mix of Apple Juice and Apple Cider Vinegar.
Once the pork measured 165° it was time to wrap the pork in foil with a small amount of apple juice. I let the butt cook this way for another 2 hours until the internal temp reached 195°.
Once the pork came off the Big Green Egg I let it rest for an hour and then pulled the bone. As you can see it came right out! I was very excited this method worked as designed.
I chopped the pork up for sandwiches. You can see the nice smoke ring I got on this Boston Butt even with the shorter cook!
Served the pulled pork on a potato roll with coleslaw and a side of sweet potato fries. The BBQ sauce was homemade and delicious!
Big Green Egg Hot and Fast Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- Injection fluid:
- 3/4 cup apple juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup salt
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire
- BBQ Sauce:
- 2 c ketchup
- 1/3 c brown sugar
- 1/4 c minced onion
- 2 tbls olive oil
- 2 tbls water
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tbls apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbls tomato paste
- 1 tbls Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1 tsp Sriracha Sauce
- Ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- BBQ Sauce:
- Using a blender mix the onion and water into a puree.
- Heat a medium sauce pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil.
- Pour in onion puree and cook until slightly browned.
- Add the remaining ingredients.
- Mix thoroughly and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- For the Boston Butt:
- Inject the Boston Butt
- Make cuts crosswise on the fat cap and covered the Boston Butt with Yellow Mustard and your favorite rub.
- Set the Big Green Egg up using the plate setter for indirect heat and heat the egg until the dome measured 350°.
- Place wood chips or chunks over the warm coals (I used hickory and pecan wood).
- At the 3 hour mark put the pork in an aluminum pan and cover with aluminum foil.
- Let this cook for another 2 hours until the internal temp reached 195°.
- Chop up the pork and serve.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Based on 10 Review(s)
great website, I have had my BGE for approx 4 years and love it. However, I am always open to new and different recipes. Yours are awesome.
Thanks!
James thank you for the comment and the kind words. I love cooking on the BGE and sharing the experience with good people just like you!
First I am new to the green egg, ?I have watched several videos cooking pork butt or as some say pork shoulder, some place it fat side up others flat side down, does it make a difference? I am going to cook my first pork shoulder tomorrow (scared to put it on tonight as is my first cooking)…
Thanks in advance for your comments.
I prefer fat side down as that insulates the meat from the heat source during a long cook. Good luck with the cook as I am sure you will do great.
This my second time using the high heat method on the BGE and I can’t say enough about how well this turned out! Thanks! ??
Once I discovered this method I don’t cook Boston Butt any other way! Thanks for the comment!!!
Chris, what pound butt was yours I’m assuming the time would increase somewhat depending on weight of butt. Looks delicious am trying this Saturday.
It was an 8 pound butt. Yes time will vary but if you follow instructions and cook to temp you’ll be good! Thank You!
Hi, Thanks much for writing about this “High heat” method. Elsewhere I have heard it called “Turbo.” I have yet to try it, but would appreciate your answer to my question that really puzzles me. After hearing “Low and Slow extolled, all my life, as the ONLY way to authentic Q do you really get as good (tender, moist, smoky, good bark if you don’t wrap) as the old low and slow method? If so, I can’t figure why I would ever go back to low and slow again.
Have you tried this without wrapping – just keeping the butt unwrapped until it is finished (I like 203 degrees) so as not to soften the bark? Thanks much! I really look forward to hearing from you Just found your site! Jim Burgin
Jim these are all great questions. To be honest since learning about “turbo” cooking a Boston butt I haven’t done one low and slow any more. I have not tried it without wrapping as I believe you need this more than ever with higher heat i.e. The Texas crutch is what helps get the tender pork with higher heat shorter cook.
Tried this method and I am very impressed.
Followed your directions and it Worked out great. Highly recommended.
Thanks James! It’s hard to gonna know to low and slow after trying this method!
How did the bark turn out with this method? I too am a long time advocate of low and slow, but have been looking for a more practical, quicker solution that takes much less time. Could you describe a little bit more about how the bark compared and also, how easy was it to pull? I see you chopped it up, but was that because it wouldn’t pull easily?
Many thanks for a great post!
This method works great! The bark turns out delicious and the meat pulls easily. I do both methods but the turbo is worth a try!
Chris. What is the rule on injecting pork butt? How many injections and what spacing is needed ?
There is no real rule to injecting. I make the injection recipe and randomly insert the needle in the pork until the injection is all gone. It is good to do this in a pan so the drippings don’t go all over your counter.
No rule… just inject until the liquid is gone. Try to disperse the injections through the meat as to not overload a certain area. It is useful to inject the meat while it is in a pan as the juices will surely run out.
Thank you so much for this recipe for a quicker but no less flavorful smoked pork butt on the Big Green Egg. My husband recently won an Egg in a work raffle and we have never had a smoker. I’ve also never used an injector! Your instructions and photos were super helpful, and our pork butt was incredible.
Welcome to the BGE family! Thanks for the kind words 🙏
350 vs 325. I’ve done both, and 325 just prolongs the cook with little value added. Maybe if you’re in a BBQ competition 325 is where it’s at, but 350 gives me roughly a cook time of 1.5 hours per lb of butt and a taste that cannot be beat. Internal temperature over 205 and the pull is easy and amazing. I use a simple rub of brown sugar, paprika, salt, and pepper, and I don’t trim any fat. Fat side down over a pan full of water under the grate (I have to refill it halfway through the cook). It’s so easy and it comes out amazing. That’s it.
I can’t wait to try the miso salmon plank recipe. Thanks for the website!
Thanks Eric! Let me know how the Salmon turns out.