Easy Traeger Pork Shoulder

traeger pulled pork shredded in aluminum tray

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5 from 4 votes

Easy Traeger Pork Shoulder

Pork shoulder is smoked low and slow on a Traeger Pellet Grill until it easily shredded.

Prep Time10

Cook Time7

Rest Time30

Total Time7 40

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: BBQ

Keyword: pulled pork, smoked

Servings:

Calories: 312kcal

Ingredients

6 pound pork shoulder
¼ cup mustard
salt
black pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
smoked paprika
cumin
brown sugar

Spraying Solution

½ cup apple juice
¼ cup apple cider vinegar

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Instructions

Preparing the Pork Shoulder

Remove the pork from packing and blot the excess moisture with paper towels.
Gently score the fat cap with diagonal cuts. Don't cut into the meat itself. Scoring the fat will help the fat render during the cooking process. If the fat cap is more than ¼" thick, trim it down a ¼" before scoring it.
Rub the entire pork shoulder with yellow mustard.
Season the pork generously with your favorite bbq rub, pork rub, or desired seasoning mixture.
Cover the pork shoulder with plastic wrap and transfer to a sheet pan. Refrigerate overnight or until you are ready to cook it.

Cooking the Pork Shoulder

Remove the pork shoulder from the refrigerator 30-45 minutes before you want to put it on the pellet smoker.
Set your Traeger to 225°F and preheat with the lid closed for 15 minutes.
Place your seasoned pork shoulder fat side up directly on the grill grates and cook for approximately 3 hours with the lid closed.
Spray the pork shoulder every 45 minutes with your apple juice and vinegar mixture.
Insert a meat thermometer into the center of the pork shoulder. When the internal temperature reads 160°F, remove the shoulder from the Traeger and transfer it to a deep pan or disposable aluminum tray. Cover with aluminum foil.
Return the covered pork shoulder to the Traeger and cook with the lid closed until it reaches an internal temperature of 204F. This may take an additional 4 hours*.
After the roast reaches an internal temperature of 204F, remove it and let it rest for 30 minutes up to an hour.
When you are ready to shred the pork shoulder, transfer the pork to a large cutting board. Pour the liquid fro the aluminum tray into a fat separator and set aside.
Shred the pork shoulder with gloved hands or with two large forks. Pour 1 cup of reserved liquid from the fat separator over the shredded pulled pork.
Add sauce if desired and serve.

Notes

You can also use your favorite BBQ rub instead of the spices listed above. You will need ⅓ cup of rub or enough to generously season your pork shoulder on all sides.

During the cooking process, your pork shoulder may hit a stall. If you need to speed up the cooking process, increase the temperature on the Traeger to 250-275F. This will help speed up the cook time.

The important part is to reach an internal temperature of 204F. That could take up to 9 hours depending on the size of your pork shoulder.

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