How to Make Bobby’s Boston Butt on the Big Green Egg

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Here is the full recipe + tips+ video showing how to make Bobby’s famous Boston butt that cooks 16 hours on the BGE and yields the most succulent pulled pork you’ll ever eat.

Bobby's Boston Butt Big Green Egg

Who is Bobby Hewitt?

Bobby Hewitt and his wife Debra (an artist) are Ole Miss graduates who have two adult children. One is married (Maggie Mounger), and one is living in Birmingham (Peyton Hewitt). Bobby and Debra are like family to us. We enjoy doing life with them, and one perk (for us) is enjoying anything that Bobby cooks on the Big Green Egg. I make sure that Zane takes good notes from Bobby, as I am not gonna fire up the Egg lol.

Boston Butt Makes the Best Pulled BBQ Pork

If you want to make the best pulled pork, start with a Boston Butt. When choosing your butt, make sure that it is bone in~not boneless. As with any (most) meats, the bone adds flavor and tenderness. It can be discarded easily after cooking, but it is SO important for best results. SIDE NOTE: For my fellow dog lovers: don’t feed your angel the cooked bone. It can break off and splinter in their intestines. I asked my vet, and this is what he said. 

Bobby Hewitt’s Boston Butt is FABULOUS

My friend Bobby is famous for his Big Green Egg smoking skills. His Boston butt is loved by all who are fortunate enough to enjoy it. I’ve tried for years to get a video of Bobby making his butts from start to finish. Finally, his beautiful wife Debra filmed him. It was quite the task, as Bobby’s Boston Butt is a PROCESS. It has several steps and takes 16 hours from start to finish. I shared this post about a year ago, and I left out part of the video by mistake. I’ve had myriad emails and messages asking for the missing piece; it is in the newly revised video below. Thanks, Debra, for keeping videos on your iPhone!!! 

 

Boston Butt Big Green Egg

 

How to Prep Boston Butt for the Big Green Egg

  • First, Bobby rubs the butts with yellow mustard. Nothing fancy~just good ole’ yellow mustard. This will not only add flavor; it will also act as a foundation for the dry rub that follows.
  • Second, Bobby applies a dry rub to the butts.  In the video, you can see Bobby’s favorite rubs. He actually uses a different dry rub on each butt for variety. 

How to Prep the Big Green Egg to Cook Boston Butt

You will see all of this in the video, but you will have several things to get together to prepare the Big Green Egg for properly cooking the butts. Below is what you need.

  • Drip Pan with onions and citrus (shown in video)
  • Indirect heat plate
  • Grill grid

How to Smoke the Butts on the Grid

Bobby shares his ideal smoking time and temperature for optimal results with the butts. He has made these butts for years, so he has it down pat.

  • The ideal smoking time is 16 hours (see in the video); the minimum smoke time is 12 hours.
  • The ideal temperature is between 210 and 230 degrees. Bobby shares how to adjust and how to keep temp consistent.
  • Do not open the lid at all during the smoking process.

How to Use a Drip Pan to Smoke Boston Butt

As you’ll see in the video, once the butts have fully cooked, there is another step (the “trick” per Bobby). It involves moving the butts from the grill grate, placing them in the drip pan (in the drippings), and leaving them several hours. The lid of the Big Green Egg stays closed during this time. The temperature is low and most charcoal is gone, so the butts are not really cooking (they are already cooked); they are soaking up the drippings AND staying warm.

How to Use a Cooler for Smoked Boston Butts

Once you’ve let the butts sit in the drip pan for several hours, you move them to a cooler. The process involves the following steps.

  • Remove butts from the drip pan.
  • Wrap each butt separately in foil.
  • Place butts in a cooler. 
  • Cover butts with a towel. Place lid on cooler.
  • They will keep warm for hours (Bobby kept his in cooler for 5 hours).

How to Pull Smoked Boston Butt Pork

Now for the BEST part; unwrap the butts, and pull the pork!!! I am hungry just thinking about this; it is so good!! Here are tips for pulling the pork easily.

  • Wear insulated BBQ gloves.
  • Pull bones from butts.
  • Pull meat apart with gloved hands.
  • Enjoy the best pulled pork EVER.

If you want to see the smoke master himself, it is all in the video below. If you have any questions for Bobby, send them my way; I’ll make sure he gets them. 

 

Savvy Big Green Accessories

The following accessories and tools are super handy for those who have a BGEgg, smoker, or BBQ grill. 

  • PitmasterIQ. This is a pricey accessory but a game-changer for marathon smoking sessions. 
  • BBQ Gloves. These help you protect hands while smoking and manage hot meats after cooking. 
  • Aluminum Pans. You’ll need several of these for prepping the butts, as a drip pan for smoking, and for shredded after cooking. I use a fresh pan for every step and toss after using it. The best place to buy these is a Dollar Store.

Watch me pull apart Bobby’s Boston Butt 

We recently enjoy this fabulous Boston butt in our home, so I decided to share how it literally falls apart.

Sides and Sauce for Pulled Pork

We serve this pork with either Zoe’s Greek chopped slaw, crunchy slaw, or the best coleslaw for BBQ. We always serve this with Gourmet Gruyere Cheese Grits and yummy baked beans. And we always put out lots of white and red BBQ sauce, Wickles pickles, and Full Moon chow chow. Not a finer feast will you enjoy anywhere!!!

PLEASE VOTE: Which sauce do YOU prefer~white or red???? Leave in comments. I am WHITE all the way!!!!!

If you make this, please let me hear how you like it. As always, thanks so much for stopping by. Be blessed, and stay savvy!!!

Bobby's Boston Butt {Big Green Egg}

Bobby's Boston Butt on the Big Green Egg

Yield: 20 servings
Cook Time: 16 hours
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 16 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2-3 Boston Butt pork roasts (bone in)
  • yellow mustard
  • dry rub (Char Crust or your favorite)
  • wood chips or chunks (pecan or hickory)
  • drip pan with water and onion/citrus

Instructions

A Few Hours Before Cooking:

  1. Slather butts in mustard.
  2. Coat butts on all sides with dry rub.
  3. Wrap loosely with plastic and keep in fridge until cooking time.

Smoking the Butts

Bring butts to room temperature (30 minutes or so).

  1. Arrange indirect heat plate, drip pan, and wood chunks.
  2. Get temperature to 225 degrees.
  3. Place butts over drip pan so that all fat drips into water.
  4. Close lid and cook for 12-16 hours.

Keeping Butts Warm Until Serving

  1. Remove butts from grid.
  2. Wrap each butt separately in foil.
  3. Place foil wrapped butts in cooler.
  4. Keep in cooler until serving (up to 5-6 hours).

Pulling Pork for Serving

  1. Wear insulated BBQ gloves.
  2. Pull bones from butts.
  3. Pulle pork with hands.
  4. Serve with BBQ sauce.
Nutrition Information
Yield 20 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 55Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 16mgSodium 21mgCarbohydrates 1gNet Carbohydrates 0gFiber 0gSugar 0gSugar Alcohols 0gProtein 4g

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28 Comments

  1. Been smoking on the egg for many years, have done butts several different ways and all produced good results but this method really raises the bar. Just the most incredible pulled pork I’ve ever had.

  2. Hi David, as I recall, Bobby fills the drip pan with about an inch or two of water or fruit juice or a combo. That keeps the pan from drying out, and the fat added to it makes a good dripping. Hope this helps!

  3. My drip pan dries up and turns black. So I can’t soak the pork in it. Any suggestions?

  4. Hello,
    I have a question about Bobby’s Pork butt recipe. Regarding the drip pan with water and citrus …. Is it typical to get evaporation of the liquid? When I tried this recipe last time … at the end of the cook … my drip pan was charred black and no liquid at all was left over. So, of course I wasnt able to do the “trick” and let the butt rest in the drippings.

    What did I do wrong?
    Thanks,
    Craig

  5. Hi there!!! I did see that there was an issue, and I fixed it!!! There is an ad that plays before you get to the Boston Butt video, but you can press “skip add” after a few seconds. Please let me know if you watch it what you think!!!!

  6. Hi Jason! I’m so happy to hear this, and I’ll share this with Bobby!!!! He will be on my podcast soon (The SavvyCast) to “talk through” making this and other BGE recipes. Hope you’ll tune in!!!

  7. I’ve used this recipe a couple times this year and love it. It’s a hit with the whole family! Thank you for sharing.

  8. Hi Kyle I asked Bobby and here is his reply:

    I’ve never checked the temp. I drop it in the drippings after about 10 hours of smoking at 230-240 degrees

    Me—I personally get my internal temp to 200 before wrapping and letting sit.

  9. Hi David! I texted Bobby your question; his answer is below!!!

    Yes. When cooking that long, 12 hours, the larger the butt, it should not change anything

  10. Great video … thank you very much. I know videos can be a lot of work. I have a question.

    Will the size of the butts you cook change the cooking time? In the video, I know he said one butt was about 4 pounds and he cooked it for 12 hours. I usually do one or two 7 -8 pound butts at a time. Would I still stay with the 12 hour time at 225 degrees?

    Thanks,

    Dave

  11. When do you recommend putting the hickory chips in and do they need to soak in water first?

  12. Hi Charles! I asked Bobby about that and he said the BBQ Guru is THE answer to cooking at low temps for long periods without fire going out. He loves his and recommends to everyone. I believe I link to the one he has in my blog post. Let me know if you find a solution!!!

  13. It sounds delicious! However, I have a hard time cooking on my egg at that low of a temp..225. The fire just about goes out completely every time. By the time you get that corrected, temp goes up. Not good to have temp fluctuation. Would appreciate any advice you could offer. Love my egg and cooking on it…just have not been very successful at that low temp.

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