What Exactly is Pork Butt?
Pork butt isn’t actually the backend of the pig. That’s the ham. Pork butt is a squarish cut of meat that comes from the upper part of the pork shoulder of the pig and has lots of connective tissue and fat. It’s also known as Boston butt.
Now, pork shoulder (or picnic roast) is the lower, triangular portion of the shoulder and is more muscular.
Where things get confusing is many stores use the terms interchangeably. Luckily, both cuts work in this recipe, but opt for the butt when you can.
Why You’re Gonna Love This Recipe
My testers fell head over heels for this “excellent” oven-roasted pork butt. They loved how effortless, flavorful, and versatile it is. Plus it’s great for leftovers!
What You’ll Need to Make This
- Pork butt–Use a well-marbled cut of pork butt or Boston butt for best results. If your pork comes with the skin on, remove it before cooking.
- Spice blend—Our blend includes brown sugar, paprika, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, creating a sweet, warm, slightly spicy flavor profile.
- Diamond brand kosher salt—Since salt’s weight varies from brand to brand, please weigh your salt and use 9 grams for this recipe. If you don’t have a scale and aren’t using Diamond brand, use 2 teaspoons to avoid oversalting.
How to Make a Pork Butt Roast in the Oven
- Stir together the salt, sugar, paprika, pepper flakes, cumin, and black pepper in a small bowl.
- Rub the pork all over with the spice mixture. It should be coated on all sides.
- Wrap the pork in plastic and refrigerate overnight.
- Roast the pork, fatty side up, on a roasting pan until the internal temperature reaches 190° to 195°F. Let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Use two forks to shred the pork. Serve alone or with your favorite BBQ sauce, if desired.
Common Questions
When buying a pork butt (Boston butt pork roast), look for one around eight to ten pounds. You can find them trimmed down to five or six pounds, but they usually trim off a lot of fat to make that weight, and fat isn’t a bad thing, especially when roasting it.
Also, try to get the butt with the bone. The bone gives the meat much more flavor as it cooks. It also conducts and retains heat exceptionally well, allowing the meat to cook at such a low temperature.
Absolutely. This pork recipe is almost impossible to pull off without a meat thermometer. You can’t judge the pork by sight or feel. I prefer a digital probe thermometer that can be left in the pork as it roasts.
When you insert the thermometer, stick it into the thickest part of the pork butt, and make sure it’s not touching the bone, or you’ll get a false reading.
Serving Suggestions
This Boston butt recipe is stupendously magnificent on its own, butt (get it?!), consider:
- Dousing it with a vinegary barbecue sauce.
- Heaping it upon homemade buns for pulled pork sandwiches.
- Dolloping a tablespoon or three of creamy coleslaw beneath the top bun.
Storage
The pulled pork stores well in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. If you’re freezing it for later, divvy it into 1-pound servings and freeze it in storage bags for up to 3 months. Reheat in a 300°F oven until warmed through.
Helpful Tips
- Letting the pork sit overnight after rubbing it with the spice mixture is optional but I highly recommend it.
- Make sure to let the pork butt rest before shredding it. It will be hot!
- This recipe is suitable for gluten-free and dairy-free diets.
Write a Review
If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
I made this recipe a month ago, and my whole family loved it! Now that my nephew’s in town, and because we all had it on our minds, I decided to make it again. I almost cried when I thought I lost the recipe! Thank you so much for sharing!
Melissa
Roast Pork Butt
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Diamond kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1/2 to 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
- One (6 1/2- to 8-pound) bone-in skinless pork butt (Boston butt), or pork shoulder or two 3 1/2- to 4-pound pork butts
- Your favorite grocery store or homemade BBQ sauce, (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together the salt, sugar, paprika, pepper flakes, cumin, and black pepper.
- Rub the pork butt all over with the spice mixture. The pork butt should be completely coated on all sides. If you have time, tightly wrap the pork in plastic wrap, place it on a plate, and refrigerate overnight to let the flavors mingle.
- Crank the oven temperature to 250°F (121°C). Place a roasting rack in a large pan.
- Place the pork butt, fat side up, on the rack. Roast the pork, uncovered, until the internal temperature reaches 190° to 195°F (88° to 91°C). By this point, the exterior should be crispy and dry. This is similar to what’s referred to as “bark” when smoking on a grill. This can take anywhere from 4 to 10 hours, depending on your oven and the size of your pork butt.
- Remove the pork from the oven and let the roast rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.
☞ TESTER TIP: If you’re craving super-moist meat for pulled pork, remove the pan from the oven, tightly wrap the pork butt in a couple of layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil, and let it rest for 30 to 45 minutes to soften the exterior.
- Shred the roast pork butt with a couple of forks, evenly mixing the crisp, dry edges with the insanely moist, tender pork inside.You may want to slather the pulled pork with barbecue sauce to impart flavor and sauciness, but I urge you to try it naked first.
Notes
- Rest--Letting the pork sit overnight after rubbing it with the spice mixture is optional but highly recommended.
- Cool–Make sure to let the pork butt sit before shredding it. It will be hot.
- Storage–The pulled pork will store well in the fridge for up to 4 days. If you’re freezing it for later, divvy it into 1-pound servings and freeze it in storage bags. Reheat in a 300°F oven until warmed through.
- Dietary–This recipe is suitable for gluten-free and dairy-free diets.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Great Pork Butt Recipes
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
The pork roast recipe is excellent. I rubbed it on and then refrigerated the pork shoulder overnight so the flavors would meld.
The hands-on time is minimal—about 15 minutes to assemble the spice mixture and rub it all over the pork butt. I used about 1/2 the stated amount of red pepper flakes because I thought 1 tablespoon would give too much heat for my taste. I used a bone-in pork shoulder roast that was four pounds, and it took 6 hours in a convection oven set to 225°F.
I served the pork with the classic coleslaw recipe and a bit of barbecue sauce on a soft roll. The pork definitely needs some kind of sauce.
Sometimes we either don’t have access to a smoker or can’t commit 6 or 8 hours to low and slow cooking on a grill. And while slow cookers can make WONDERFUL slow cooker pulled pork, one thing will be missing, and for me, that’s an essential part of pulled pork—the BARK!
When you rub a piece of pork with a spice rub and cook it, low and slow, on a smoker, grill, or in an oven, after several hours, the rub mixes with the hot fat and juices and eventually gets a hard crust called a BARK.
For my money, this is the VERY best part of ANY barbecue! Anyone who loves meat must LOVE a crisp, spice-rubbed exterior.) This bark can be achieved in your oven, and–as long as you have a clock and a thermometer–you can create a nice crust on your pork butt with this recipe. The rub mentioned here is great, but if you have your favorite rub on hand, by all means, use it.
From here, shred the roast pork butt by any means necessary (two forks work nicely) and top it with your favorite sauce, coleslaw, or, as I do, both.
Hi guys, I am starting the seasoning and rubbing the butt now(not as I type). I am using a cheapo oven that has some years on it. I am cooking the “Big Butt” 9.23 lbs. I will keep you updated.
Looking forward to hearing what you think, Bryan!
14 hrs @ 230F and I have a beautiful crisp āBarkā layer. I am now wrapping and taking the temp to 260F.
(swoons)
Hello,
I have a 6 pounder in the oven now. I let it marinate overnight and in the spices per the recipe. The oven temperature is 250 and the internal temperature after eight hours is 180 but I donāt have a lot of bark. Can I just let it continue to cook until I get more bark or 200Ā°? I am cooking it fat side up.
Sure, Jewell. Personally, I prefer to let it in until at least 195Ā°F…
Thank you for this wonderfully delicious recipe – best roasted pork Iāve had or made! Excellent recipe!
Trae, you are more than welcome!
I have a 7 1/2 pound pork shoulder roast. I followed all the steps exactly so far. It has been roasting for 5 hours now, and although it has gotten darker, it is not crispy yet. I actually turned my oven up to 350 for the last hour now and hopefully, I will get a crusty bark eventually. Should I turn it back down to 325? How much longer should I wait. I need to go to bed soon. Can I turn it off once the bark occurs and wrap it in the aluminum foil and start cooking it again in the morning?
Nancy, sorry, I was offline last night. How did it turn out in the end?
Hi David…unfortunately, it didn’t turn out with crispy bark, and even the bottom was soggy??? I’m sure it was me…or my oven (conventional gas)??? I don’t know. The flavor was awesome though and the meat was very tender but not mushy. But I was really looking forward to the crispy bark. I cooked it for 12 hours…and still no crispy. Can you think of what I might have done wrong??? I can’t…I really want to get the crispy bark…I am now getting obsessed…LOL!!!
Hey, Nancy. How is your oven? Is it calibrated correctly? If it took so much longer, my feeling is it’s running cool. You can purchase inexpensive oven thermometers (I use 4 at a time) to make sure it’s correct.
Hi David. Thank you. I had a feeling it might be my oven. I will definitely get the thermometer(s) for my oven. I love to cook and I want to make sure that my oven is working correctly. I will be trying your recipe again as it was delicious even without the crisp.
Nancy, excellent. And let me know what you discover. We’re here for you.
Nancy, did you leave it covered or uncovered? Even though it says to cover it, I left my 7-8 pound roast uncovered the whole time. It took close to 10 hours to cook, maybe longer, I was going by internal temp. I hope you try the recipe again and don’t be discouraged! Good Luck!
Julia, thank you!! We don’t get a lot of reader-to-reader help. I’m delighted you jumped in. You get the Reader of the Day Award!
Thanks David!! I will carry it around today with pride!?
Wonderful!!!!
Made this in the oven according to the recipe and it turned out perfect! I had a 6.5 lb roast and left it uncovered for six hours and then wrapped it in foil for another 3 hours. So tender and delicious. Definitely get a bone-in with a nice layer of fat on it. Thanks so much!
Alisha! Today you get the Reader of the Day Award! Thanks for helping out.
Iāve made many different versions of roast pork, including an authentic Puerto Rican pernil that takes 3 days to make. This is by far the easiest way to get the most succulent pork and incredible flavor ever.
I used my old trick of slicing up an entire head of garlic and making slits in the meat and stuffing in the slivers of garlic. Then I simply seasoned the pork with the rub in the recipe with a few minor adjustments (e.g. using pre-blended creole seasoning in place of some of the other seasonings).
Big win! An 8-lb pork shoulder usually lasts us a couple weeks in leftovers (I freeze 1/2 of it and take it out the following week or so). I doubt this one will last that long!
Lisa, that’s wonderful to hear!