How to Smoke Pork Butt Overnight on a Pellet Grill

Sometimes you just need to get a full night’s sleep — and still have a perfectly smoked pork butt ready for your event the next day. That’s exactly what we’re tackling today: an easy, stress-free way to smoke pork butt overnight on a pellet grill. Let’s walk through the full setup, gear you’ll want on hand, and how to pull off an overnight cook without babysitting the smoker.

Getting Your Pork Butt Prepped

Start by patting your pork butts dry with paper towels. Apply your favorite binder — we used yellow mustard — and get a good coat all over. You won't taste it once it’s cooked. Some folks skip the binder altogether; you do you.

Next, hit it with a two-layer seasoning: first a generous coat of BBQ by Biggs Chicken & Pork Rub, followed by a second layer of BBQ by Biggs Honey BBQ Rub. Pork butt is a big cut and can handle a heavy seasoning hand, so don't be shy!

Setting Up Your Pit for Overnight Success

We’re running a Yoder pellet smoker tonight, set low at around 212-215°F. Before placing the meat, we prep the pit for moisture and fire prevention:

• Fill two half-size aluminum pans halfway with water.
• Add half a can of beer to each pan (optional — helps create vapor faster).
• Place wire cooling racks on top of each pan.

This setup keeps moisture in the pit, protects the meat from direct heat, and catches any drippings — cutting down on fire risk during unattended cooking.

Monitoring the Cook Overnight

We use a two-tier thermometer setup for safety:

• Inkbird INT-12-BW wireless thermometer for real-time meat temps.
• Built-in Yoder fireboard monitoring pit temp and sending alerts.

If you don’t have a Fireboard system, the Inkbird unit is affordable and packed with features to help you sleep easy.

Morning Check-In: Raising the Temperature

After a good night’s sleep, the pork butts looked fantastic — good bark, tons of moisture retained. We bumped the pit up to 275°F, spritzed lightly with a 50/50 apple cider vinegar and water mix, and pushed the internal temp to 160-165°F before wrapping in foil pans.

Wrapping and Finishing the Pork Butt

Once wrapped in foil with a splash of 50/50 water and apple cider vinegar, we finished the cook at 300°F. The pork butts hit perfect tenderness around 201-203°F internal.

And the final test? Bone pulled clean. Bark locked in. Smoke ring glowing. Absolute money.

Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions

1. Pat pork butts dry with paper towels.
2. Apply yellow mustard as binder (or binder of choice).
3. Season heavily with BBQ by Biggs Chicken & Pork Rub, then Honey BBQ Rub.
4. Let the butts sweat while bringing the smoker to 212°F.
5. Fill half-size aluminum pans halfway with water. Add half a beer to each.
6. Place cooling racks on pans and set pork butts on top, fat side up.
7. Insert wireless thermometer probes into each butt.
8. Let cook overnight until internal temp hits ~154°F (about 10 hours).
9. In the morning, spritz with 50/50 vinegar and water, bump smoker to 275°F.
10. When internal hits 160-165°F, wrap in foil pans with another heavy spritz.
11. Return to smoker at 300°F. Cook until internal hits 201-203°F.
12. Let rest 45 minutes, then shred and serve!

Watch the Full Cook on YouTube

Want to see every step in action? Check out our full video below:

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