Smoked Pork Picnic Shoulder
This Smoked Pork Picnic Shoulder is juicy, flavorful, and impossibly tender. Smoked low and slow to perfection with a rich, homemade rub. Perfect for a weekend feast or weekly meal prep, this roast is simple to make but impressive enough to wow any crowd.
Next up: smoked pork back ribs, smoked pork tenderloin, and smoked ground beef jerky.
Craving The Recipe Details?
What it is: A juicy, tender smoked pork picnic shoulder roast with a flavorful homemade rub, smoked low and slow.
Why you’ll love it: This roast delivers rich, smoky flavor and melt-in-your-mouth texture with minimal hands-on time.
How to make it: Rub your pork picnic shoulder roast, place it in your smoker, and cook low and slow for~90 mins per pound, until the internal temperature reaches 200-205°F. Let it rest at least an hour before slicing or shredding.
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If you're new to smoking meat and not quite ready to risk an expensive or large cut, pork picnic is the place to start.
They’re budget friendly, widely available, and incredibly forgiving, exactly what you want when you're learning how your smoker behaves. This was one of the cuts we leaned on early in our Traeger days, back when we were still figuring out temps, timing, and when to stop opening the lid "just to check."
Smoked picnic roasts prove that you don't need a premium cut or years of experience to turn out tender, flavorful BBQ. Just a little patience and some smoke.
This smoked pork picnic shoulder recipe is dedicated to learning.
Once you master this one, try my smoked meatloaf, smoked french onion soup, or smoked pork belly burnt ends!
Pork Picnic Shoulder Versus Pork Butt
The pork picnic shoulder roast comes from the pig's front shoulder, and while pigs walk on four legs and technically have four "shoulders," the rear shoulders are what become ham.
The front shoulder is actually made up of two distinct cuts. The upper portion is the pork butt (also called pork shoulder), while the lower portion is the pork picnic roast.
Pork picnic roasts are usually smaller and rounder than pork butt, have a larger bone, and can come with the skin intact. Pork butts on the other hand, are larger, more square, and have more marbling.
We've found picnics deliver excellent flavor, even though they tend to have less fat and marbling. When smoked low and slow they become incredibly tender and juicy – perfect for pulled pork. Pork picnic shoulder is often overlooked, but when smoked properly, it produces pulled pork that rivals pork butt. Often at a lower cost and with deeper flavor.
This recipe works beautifully with either a pork picnic roast or a pork butt, but if you're specifically cooking a pork butt, I also have a dedicated smoked pork butt recipe you may want to check out.
How To Smoke A Pork Picnic Shoulder Roast
- Step 1: Start smoker according to the manufacturer's directions - set temperature to 225F.
Meanwhile make the rub by combining 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons black pepper, 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt, 1 teaspoon paprika, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder in a small bowl.
- Step 2: Place 3 to 4 lb bone-in pork picnic roast on a flat surface, and gently but thoroughly rub the top and sides with an even coat of yellow mustard, this usually takes 3-5 tablespoons.
- Step 3: Using a spoon, carefully sprinkle the rub across the surface, place some rub on your fingers and pat them along the side to ensure even coverage. Flip over the shoulder and do the same on the backside; mustard and then rub.
- Step 4: Fill a heat-proof dish with ½ can root beer and approximately the same amount of water. I use a tin loaf pan. Place both the water dish and the pork on the rack in your smoker. If you've got an internal temperature probe, place it now.
Fill a food-safe spray bottle with ½ can root beer. Every forty-five minutes to an hour until the pork shoulder hits 160F internal temperature, spritz the top of the roast with the root beer.
- Step 5: Once the pork hits 160F internal temperature, pull it off the grill and wrap it in plain butcher's paper. Return the pork to the grill. Top up your root beer/water dish with more water if it seems to be running low. Increase the temperature of the grill to 250F and cook the pork until the internal temperature reaches 202-205F.
- Step 6: Once the internal temperature of the pork reaches ~203F, remove from the smoker, and wrap in two layers of tinfoil and wrap in a towel. Then place the wrapped roast into into a cooler. This will keep the meat hot while it rests and reabsorbs the juices.
- Step 7: After the pork has rested for at least one hour, remove it from the cooler, and trim any excess fat that didn't render. Set aside any juices that didn't reabsorb into the meat.
- Step 8: Shred the pork, and toss with any remaining juice and bbq sauce if desired.
Expert Tips
- Start your roast early. The rule of thumb is 90 minutes per pound plus a 1-hour rest. We prefer to get the smoked pork roast on the smoker and have the estimated time of doneness to be at least 2-3 hours before we plan on eating. Don’t worry, it will stay hot till serving time.
- Use a rimmed baking sheet when you’re applying the mustard and the rub! This keeps in any and all juices and greatly reduces the amount of rub you’ll be wiping off your counters for the next 3 days. I’ve determined that rub is the glitter of the culinary world.
- Disposable tin foil pans are some of my favourite accessories for our Traeger. Disposable doesn’t mean one use only – especially if I’m using them for the steam bowl. I just wash out and reuse over and over.
- Shred or slice, that’s up to you! This smoked pork shoulder picnic recipe is great either way. If you want to make shredding a breeze, get some awesome meat claws.
- I used smoked kosher salt, from my recipe. You can certainly use any kosher salt you like, but the smoked salt is TOP notch.
Smoking Time
IIt’s really hard to estimate smoking times, as each piece of meat is different. Our go-to is to cook pork roasts for 90 minutes per pound of meat, and we always strive to have it done at least 3 hours before we want to eat.
This gives us a huge margin and fudge factor, as our experience is that smoking meat takes longer than you expect. That 3-hour buffer means we’re never scrambling at dinnertime, especially when the kids or guests are getting hungry!
If the roast finishes early, that’s perfect. Just wrap it in foil and towels and toss it in a cooler as directed in the recipe. It’ll stay warm for hours and actually get better from the rest.
Best Wood Pellets For Smoked Pork Picnic
Choosing Your Wood Pellets
The best pellets for smoking a pork picnic roast are always the pellets you have at home. If you’ve got a selection, I recommend picking a fruit wood or mild wood, such as:
- apple wood
- cherry wood
- maple wood
- alder wood
- peach wood
We use Lumberjack Competition Blend which is equal parts maple, hickory, and cherry for pretty much every cook, it’s our go-to and works beautifully with pork.
I’d skip mesquite for pork roasts, though. It’s way too intense for a multi-hour cook and can turn bitter. Save that for steaks or quicker smokes.
Smoked Pork Picnic Shoulder FAQs
Adding a water pan to the smoker will help to increase the humidity. This serves a couple of purposes:
-Most importantly, water helps aid in bark formation. If you’ll looking for a kick ass bark, this is the way!
– Foods with moisture on them tend to attract smoke better than dry foods, the evaporative nature of the water pan will undoubtedly moisten the surface of your meat, allowing better smoke adherence.
This step is optional, but adds almost no extra work to your cook. Feel free to go either way!
The trick is to use the cooler to keep the meat warm, the same way a cooler keeps things cold, it can keep things hot!
When your smoked pork roast reaches the proper internal temperature, remove it from the smoker, wrap it tightly in a fluffy towel, then slide the fluffy towel into the cooler. Leave the pork in the cooler for at least 1 hour, or you’re ready to serve.
Don’t fret if your smoked picnic roast is done well before dinner, simply keep in in the cooler until you’re ready to slice or shred for serving. I’ve rested smoked meat for almost 8 hours, and it came out of the cooler nice and hot!
Technically, for safe consumption, pork only needs to be cooked to 145F internal temperature.
BUT we are cooking a well-used muscle here, with lots of tendons, which makes it a tougher cut.
Cooking your pork to a ~200-205F internal temperature enables the breakdown of connective tissue and leave you with a deliciously soft, tender, delicious piece of meat.
During the cooking process, the muscle tissues tighten, squeezing out a lot of the juice (water) that is present in the meat. By allowing your meat to rest, you are allowing it to suck up some of the juices that have flowed out of the meat. Resting leads more juicy, tender final product.
Your pulled pork leftovers can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Smoked pork can also be frozen, seal it in a vacuum sealed bag and it will last for 6-9 months in the freezer. Alternatively, you can use a freezer zip-top bag and remove as much air as possible before freezing.
Got Leftovers?
We love smoking pork because we’ve always got leftovers! They can be used in a number of dishes, like pulled pork tacos, pulled pork nachos, pulled pork poutine, pulled pork omelettes, or my absolute favorite pulled pork dip. The options are endless!
If you’re wanting to reheat just plain pulled pork, you can reheat it:
- Microwave: in a covered dish with a splash of water, in one minute intervals, stirring in between until heated through.
- Oven: in a covered dish with a splash of water at 300f for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice during the cooking time.
- Sous vide: toss the pulled pork in a silicone sous vide bag, or zip-top freezer bag and heat in a water bath at 165f for 30-45 minutes until heated through.
Want To See What I’m Smoking?!
If you tried this Smoked Pork Picnic recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Printable Recipe
Smoked Pork Picnic Shoulder Recipe
Ingredients
For The Pork Rub:
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 1 ½ tablespoons black pepper, coarse ground
- 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
For The Pork:
- 3 to 4 lb bone-in pork picnic roast
- 3 to 5 tablespoons mustard
For The Steam Bowl:
- ½ can root beer
For The Spritz:
- ½ can root beer
Instructions Start Cooking
- Start smoker according to the manufacturer’s directions – set temperature to 225F.
- Meanwhile make the rub by combining 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons black pepper, 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt, 1 teaspoon paprika, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder in a small bowl.
- Place 3 to 4 lb bone-in pork picnic roast on a flat surface, and gently but thoroughly rub the top and sides with an even coat of yellow mustard – about 3-5 tablespoons. Using a spoon, carefully sprinkle the rub across the surface, place some rub on your fingers and pat them along the side to ensure even coverage. Flip over the shoulder and do the same on the backside. Mustard and then rub.
- Fill a heat-proof dish with ½ can root beer and approximately the same amount of water. I use a tin loaf pan. Place both the water dish and the pork on the rack in your smoker. If you've got an internal temperature probe, place it now.
- Fill a food-safe spray bottle with ½ can root beer. Every forty-five minutes to an hour until the pork shoulder hits 160F internal temperature, spritz the top of the roast with the root beer.
- Once the pork hits 160F internal temperature, pull it off the grill and wrap it in plain butcher's paper.
- Return the pork to the grill. Top up your root beer/water dish with more water if it seems to be running low. Increase the temperature of the grill to 250F and cook the pork until the internal temperature reaches 202-205F.
- Once the internal temperature of the pork reaches ~203F, remove from the smoker, and wrap in two layers of tinfoil, then wrap in a towel. Then place the wrapped roast into a cooler and rest for at least 1 hour.
- Remove the pork roast from the cooler, save any juices that didn't reabsorb into the meat. Shred the pork, and toss with any remaining juice and your favorite BBQ sauce, if desired.
Notes
- Use a rimmed baking sheet when you're applying the mustard and the rub! This keeps in any and all juices and greatly reduces the amount of rub you'll be wiping off your counters for the next 3 days. I've determined that rub is the glitter of the culinary world.
- Disposable tin foil pans are some of my favourite accessories for our Traeger. Disposable doesn't mean one use only - especially if I'm using them for the steam bowl. I just wash out and reuse over and over.
- Shred or slice, that's up to you! This smoked pork shoulder picnic recipe is great either way. If you want to make shredding a breeze, get some meat claws.
- Start your roast early. The rule of thumb is 90 minutes per pound plus a 1-hour rest. We prefer to get the smoked pork roast on the smoker and have the estimated time of doneness to be at least 2-3 hours before we plan on eating. Don't worry, it will stay hot till serving time.
I just got a 10lb pork picnic roast and if I read your directions that would take about 15 hours of smoke time. How much would you increase the seasonings
Hey Teresa, I would guess at least 15 hours. With a roast that big you can always put your picnic on the night before and follow the smoking guidelines on my smoked pork shoulder recipe!
Hi Ally! I was wondering, what type of wood (pellets in your case) do you use for this recipe?
Hey Greg! My go-to, all-around pellet is Lumberjack Competition which is a blend of hickory, maple, and cherry. If you’re not burning a blend, I’d probably stick to maple, because maple will likely compliment any veggies or sides you intend to cook along with your picnic!
Used your guidelines and rub for my first time smoking. It turned out amazing!!! Thank you for all the info!
do i leave the butchers paper on the roast when i aluminum foil it
Yes, you certainly can! It’s easy to unwrap it all at the end!