📷 Log in to add your photo | Contributor: John Kirker | ⚑ Report photo
On Time, Every Time.
Smoking a Pork Shoulder – Pulled Pork Time and Temp
Set your dinner time – we’ll plan every step backward and put it on your calendar.
Pulled pork is finished at about 203°F, and pork shoulder is the most forgiving big cut in barbecue. It carries enough fat and collagen that an extra hour rarely hurts it, which is exactly why it is the cut most people should start with.
Shoulder, butt, picnic
The terminology confuses everyone. The whole front leg is the shoulder. It splits into the Boston butt (the upper portion, well marbled, the classic pulled pork cut) and the picnic (the lower portion, leaner, with skin). Despite the name, the butt is not from the rear of the pig. If a recipe says pork butt or pork shoulder for pulled pork, it means the Boston butt.
Time and temperature
Plan on 1.5 to 2 hours per pound at 225°F. An 8 pound butt runs roughly 12 to 16 hours including the stall. At 250°F you can cut that to about 1.25 to 1.5 hours per pound. Cook two smaller butts rather than one huge one if you are short on time.
| Weight | At 225°F | At 250°F |
|---|---|---|
| 4 lb | 6 to 8 hrs | 5 to 6 hrs |
| 6 lb | 9 to 12 hrs | 8 to 9 hrs |
| 8 lb | 12 to 16 hrs | 10 to 12 hrs |
| 10 lb | 15 to 20 hrs | 13 to 15 hrs |
| Stage | Temperature |
|---|---|
| Smoker temperature | 225 to 250°F |
| Wrap through the stall | about 165°F internal |
| Done and ready to pull | 203°F (195 to 205°F) |
| Slice instead of pull | 185 to 190°F |
| Rest, wrapped in a dry cooler | 1 hour or more |
The stall and the wrap
Expect the temperature to park somewhere around 150 to 170°F for a few hours. That is evaporative cooling. Wrapping in foil pushes through it quickly and speeds the cook, at the cost of softening the bark. Butcher paper is the compromise. Riding it out unwrapped gives the best bark if you have the time.
The bone test
Target 203°F, then confirm by feel. On a bone-in butt the definitive test is the blade bone: grip it and twist. When the pork is ready the bone turns freely and pulls clean with no meat clinging to it. If it resists, the collagen has not finished rendering.
Rest before pulling
Rest for at least an hour, wrapped, in a dry cooler. This is not optional. Pulling straight off the smoker squeezes out the moisture you spent all day building. After shredding, mix the bark back through the meat and fold in the rendered juices from the wrap.
If you want sliced pork rather than shredded, stop much earlier, around 185 to 190°F, so the meat still holds together.
Frequently asked questions
What temperature is pulled pork done at?
About 203°F. On a bone-in shoulder, confirm it with the bone test: the blade bone should twist and pull out clean with no meat clinging to it.
How long does a pork shoulder take to smoke?
Roughly 1.5 to 2 hours per pound at 225°F, so 12 to 16 hours for an 8 pound butt. At 250°F expect about 1.25 to 1.5 hours per pound.
What is the difference between pork butt and pork shoulder?
The shoulder is the whole front leg. The Boston butt is its upper, better marbled portion and the standard pulled pork cut; the picnic is the leaner lower portion. Despite the name, the butt is not from the rear of the pig.
Do I have to rest pulled pork?
Yes, at least an hour wrapped in a dry cooler. Shredding immediately drives out the moisture that makes pulled pork juicy.
Set your weight and dinner time in the calculator above and every step gets scheduled backward from when you want to eat. See also the smoking times and temperatures chart.
How much pulled pork do I need to buy and cook?
Fine-tune trim & cook loss
Lost to trim: - · lost to the cook: -
💲 Compare price: boneless vs bone-in
How Much Pulled pork Per Person (Serving Size Chart)
| Guests | Raw Pork butt / shoulder to buy | Trimmed (on the smoker) | Cooked (served) | Good pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | 4.3 lb | 3.7 lb | 2.2 lb | one whole pork butt / shoulder |
| 6-10 | 8.6 lb | 7.3 lb | 4.4 lb | one whole pork butt / shoulder |
| 11-15 | 13 lb | 11 lb | 6.6 lb | 2 whole pork butt / shoulders |
| 16-20 | 17 lb | 15 lb | 8.8 lb | 2 whole pork butt / shoulders |
| 21-30 | 26 lb | 22 lb | 13 lb | 3 whole pork butt / shoulders |
| 31-40 | 35 lb | 29 lb | 18 lb | 4 whole pork butt / shoulders |
| 41-50 | 43 lb | 37 lb | 22 lb | 5 whole pork butt / shoulders |
Raw weight to comfortably feed the top of each range at an average appetite (~0.44 lb cooked per person), no leftovers. Bump up a size for hearty eaters, light sides, or leftovers.
Pork butt / shoulder prices this week (and the trend)
$3.99/lb average grocery feature price (week of Jul 25, 2026)
See prices for every cut → · How much should you buy? · Cooking for money? Price the whole job
Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Market News weekly retail feature reports, tracked by MeatSmokingCalculator. Prices are advertised grocery features – your store will vary.
📊 See the full smoking times & temps chart for every cut →
Top community recipes
Browse all community recipes →
From the community
Written by John Kirker, who built the first meat smoking calculator in 2011. Times come from cooks we have actually run and logged; temperature and feel decide the finish, never the clock alone.
Rated 5by 500+ users
Tagline
Other Options
The MeatSmokingCalculator will help you plan the timeline for any meal.
Planning, ingredients, preparation, and timing are the most critical elements to making and serving great food.
Having enough time is the most important part when it comes to slow and low!
Meat Smoking Calculator takes the thinking out of the process.
It makes cooking and serving amazing tasting smoked meats every time, on time.
SOME OF OUR FAVORITE SITES
Smoking a Turkey for Thanksgiving!
BBQ Brethren
Smoking Meat Forums
Deejay’s Smoke Pit
USDA’s Food Safety Guidelines
Smoking Pit
Virtual Weber Bullet
Smoking Times and Temps
* To help support this free site, posts contain affiliate links. If you use one of the affiliate links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.