Boston Butt with a Honey Mustard Glaze

Now that's a Big Butt!

What is a Boston Butt you ask? It's another name for Pork Shoulder. It's one of the meats that we judge at KCBS Competitions and it's incredibly delicious. With another dinner coming up for the Society of Divine Foodies, I was excited to smoke a Boston Butt. It was another cut of meat on my list since I received my Traeger Smoker.

It's amazing the amount of time it takes to smoke a butt, 1 1/2 hours per pound. Thankfully I marinated it Thursday night and put it on the smoker first thing Friday morning. Any day which starts with meat on the grill is a good day. Having never smoked one before, I was a little anxious.

The Smoker, 8:30am. That's the start of a good day!

Honey Mustard glazed Boston Butt

1 5-7 pound Boston Butt/Pork Shoulder
3/4 cup yellow mustard
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Salt & Pepper, to sprinkle
2 cups apple cider

Sprinkle salt & pepper over meat. Mix yellow mustard, honey, Cajun seasoning and brown sugar in bowl. Spread honey mustard mix over every area of meat. Preheat smoker to 225 degrees. Place water pan in smoker to keep meat moist. Spray apple cider over meat every hour. Cook meat for 1 1/2 hours at 225 degrees for every pound of meat. It fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

The Smoker, 3:30pm

It's a sight of pure beauty. I had to be careful not to stand there staring for too long every hour when I sprayed with apple cider. The temperature drops fast and takes a while to recover. Needless to say, it was beautiful when we pulled it off the grill 9 hours later.

6:00pm: off the smoker and resting

I had Sous Chef Sam pull, slice and chop the pork. We couldn't help but taste test every few minutes. The crispy glazed exterior was something which belongs in a meat museum. It was the highlight of my day. Most of the honey mustard cooks off but allows the rub to stay on. There were hints of Cajun seasoning but nothing overpowering. You could taste the apple cider and it was delicious.

Sous Chef Sam performing The Chop

To serve, we placed the pulled pork on rolls, scooped on cole slaw and lathered apricot barbeque sauce over the top. Wow! Due to many people at our home, Sous Chef Sam and I ate at Ruby's little table. Our knees were higher in the air than our plates of food. Uncomfortable but once you bit into the pulled pork slider, all your troubles were forgotten.

In addition to the pulled pork, we had skirt steak with scallion sauce, grilled patty pan squash and caramel chocolate cake among other items. Most of us were too full to move, yet we kept on nibbling. It was a night to remember. And just in case I fell in love with Boston Butt, I bought two. There is one in my freezer just waiting to be smoked. Most people count sheep when they can't sleep. I think about what glaze I can do on my next piece of smoked meat.


Happy Eating