Smoked Pulled Pork at 275°F: Bark, Wrap and Pull Temps

Bone-in pork shoulder, salt and pepper, 275°F until it shreds. Let the bark set before you wrap, usually 4–5 hours in, then wrap and finish. It's done at 200–205°F when the bone wiggles free, not when the clock says so.

Serves 9. One serving: 8 oz pulled pork.

Ingredients

• Pork shoulder (bone-in, 8–10 lb)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Keto BBQ sauce

Steps

1. Salt and pepper the shoulder well on every side. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
2. Heat the smoker to 275°F. Put the shoulder in fat side up. Smoke it unwrapped until the bark is set. Bark is the dark crust on the outside. It's set when it is dark mahogany, dry, and the rub stays put when you scratch it with a finger. That usually takes 4–5 hours for an 8–10 lb shoulder, when the inside reads around 155–170°F.
3. Wrap it in foil or butcher paper and keep smoking, usually another 2–4 hours. All together, plan on 7–9 hours. It's done at 200–205°F and tender: push the thermometer into the thickest part, not touching the bone, and it should slide in easily.
4. Keep it wrapped and let it rest 30–45 minutes; don't shred it yet.
5. Shred it with two forks. Mix the meat with the juices. Stir in keto BBQ sauce if you're using it.

Weight won't tell you when it's done: the stall (when the inside temperature stops rising for hours while moisture evaporates off the surface) happens no matter how big the shoulder is. Two 9 lb shoulders can finish 3 hours apart. Go by feel: the thermometer should slide in with no resistance, like a fork into tender meat. Don't go by the clock. Short on time? Run the smoker at 300–325°F instead of 275°F and you can finish in about 5–7 hours instead of 7–9. Wrap in foil as soon as the bark is set to get through the stall faster. You'll lose a little bark, but it still shreds just as easily.

Keep it juicy (optional, recommended): Once the bark has started, about 3 hours in, spritz it (spray it lightly) with apple cider vinegar mixed 50/50 with water every 45–60 minutes. It keeps the surface from drying and burning. Each time you do it, the smoker loses some heat. When you wrap, add a few spoonfuls of melted lard or beef tallow. You can spritz with apple juice too; a few sprays add almost no sugar per serving.

Per serving

611 calories · 52 g protein · 43 g fat · 0 g net carbs (USDA FoodData Central, for the serving above)

Food safety

USDA's safe minimum for pork roasts is 145°F with a 3-minute rest. Pulled pork goes far past that (200–205°F) because the collagen has to melt before it shreds. Every cut's pull temp and USDA minimum is on our meat temperature chart.