One of our guys likes to use tools (like the claw method), but he uses little things called Meatrakes. Look like little garden rakes with small, round tines. He is pretty fast with them, and they just work better than claws (smaller tines are easier to use and don’t mash the pork like claws). They also let him work the pork when it is hotter than we can handle with gloves (when we are in a hurry).

Finally, when we need to cook pork faster than 10-12 hours in the smoker, we cut the butts down into 2 or 3 pieces and rub them in advance. When its time to cook, we put them on the pellet smoker for about 4 hours, (one of our vertical pellet rigs will do about a dozen butts at a time), then we put either wrap in foil or put them in roasting pans (with lids) and cook them in the oven for about 2 hours at 325 -350 degrees. In a pinch (like when we are working remote and don’t have sufficient oven capacity), we often use electric turkey roasters (just put them in,no need to wrap – plus the pans make it easy to move the butts around).

Hey Spencer,
It’s not a good idea to mix it with the meat. My recommendation is to remove all the remaining fat after smoking (if any) and squeeze it over the pulled pork. This will give it extra flavor. Hope this helps.