How Long to Smoke Pork at 225°F? [Explained]

At 225°F, each smoked pound of pork requires at least 1-1.5 hours. Smoked pork should require anywhere between 2-15 hours inside the smoker. The duration greatly depends on the size and weight of the pork. Additionally, the preparation of the pork determines how good the pulled pork will be eventually.

That’s not all abouthow long to smoke pork at 225. Go through the entire article to get precise instructions on smoking your pulled pork.

Key Takeaways

• A detailed duration table for different pork weights at 225F. 
• Guide to know when the pork is done. 
• Special tips for you in smoking pork. 

Consider This to Smoke Pork Shoulder at 225°F

The duration to smoke pork shoulder at 225°F depends on the size and weight of the shoulder. At 225°F, the general rule is to smoke your pork shoulder for 1 - 1.5 hours per pound. 

Depending on the size and weight of the pork meat, it can take from2-15 hours to smoke the pork meat. Remove the pork meat from the smoker when it’s ready.

This is similar tosmoking briskets at 200 degrees. In general, pork shoulders are very large. You can cut it up to smoke it into smaller pieces. Additionally, you can smoke the entire shoulder if you want.

The chart below gives you a rough duration calculation when smoking pork shoulders, have a look.

Measure your pork with adigital scale and proceed to smoke the pork. I’ve elaborated on the duration and other necessities for the different weights and sizes of pork shoulders below. Give it a read.

Why Should You Smoke Pork at 225°F?

225°F is a sweet spot to smoke pork because it results in tender and juicy pork meat. This temperature helps to break down the connective tissue in pork meat, making it soft.

Smoking pork meat at a lower temperature will slow down the cooking. On the other hand, smoking pork meat at higher temperatures than 225°F might lessen the tenderness of the meat.

How Do You Know When Pork is Done?

Since smoking pork is a long and tedious process, it can be difficult to know when to turn off the smoker. Still, there are a few different ways you can check if your pork is done smoking or not.

• Firstly, check the time. The different durations mentioned earlier can dictate if your pork is smoked enough or not. Don’t open the lid too many times to check though, it messes up the steady temperature and can alter the duration.

• Secondly, use ameat thermometer to monitor the internal temperature of the pork meat. When the heat reaches 195°F, take it off of the smoker.

After smoking the pork butt/shoulder, you can eat anduse the pork butt in different ways; it’s up to you!

3 Special Tips for Smoking Pork 

Expert pitmasters follow a set of rules whenever they’re smoking pork. This results in the moistest, juiciest, and tastiest smoked pork meat! Here are the tips-

Avoid Rushing

This is a common mistake you can avoid to make your smoked pork meat much tastier. Whenever you’re smoking pork meat, keeping itlow and slow is the priority. The more time you put into smoking the meat, the better. Never rush when smoking meat!

225°F is a sweet spot for slow-smoking pork meat. If you want, you can speed-cook the pork meat after a few hours and raise the temperature from 225°F. But don’t speed cook from the start, it’ll dry out the pork meat and steal flavor.

Never Chop, Always Pull

After you’re done smoking the pork, avoid cutting the pork meat. To help retain the maximum moisture inside the pork meat, pulling and shredding is better than chopping.

This helps to distribute moisture, flavor, and all the other crusty bits of pork. If you’re prioritizing the texture of the meat, this is a must!

Plan for The Stall

When smoking the pork shoulder, the temperature rises steadily up to 150-160. However, the temperature stalls in that range for hours. In these situations, you can increase the temperature to speed cook the pork.

Also, wrapping the pork inbutcher paper oraluminum foil can also help in speeding up the smoking process. Keep checking temperature constantly. When the temperature is restored, you can lower the heat and remove the wrappings. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Is a Smoked Pork Shoulder Already Cooked?

No, smoked pork is cooked from the get-go. It has to be cured and smoked for a fixed time for it to be cooked. After that, smoked pork can be eaten sliced, with sandwiches, etc.

What Temp Is Pork the Most Tender?

The most tender porks are cooked at 145°F. It’s recommended by the USDA to cook pork meat at 145°F to get tender, juicy, and healthy slices of pork. The color of the pork meat possibly will be pink.

Is it better to pull pork hot or cold?

It’s better to pull pork hot. When the pork is hot, the protein and muscle fibers tend to shred easily. Cold pork’s protein and muscle fibers are quite stiff, which makes it hard to pull/shred it.

The Final Words

That’s all. Hopefully, now you know exactlyhow long to smoke pulled pork at 225 degrees.

Always keep track of the time whenever you’re smoking pork meat. This way, you can never overcook or undercook your pork meat. Although it’s applicable for all types of meat.

Have fun smoking the pork shoulders!