Smoked Pork Bites

Easy, healthier chicken nuggets, made in a flash!

Anyone else love a good Smoked/BBQ meal? My hubby and I recently got a Traeger Ironwood Smoker and it’s honestly been such a great investment for us. It’s something we use often and will continue to use for years to come. It’s true what we’ve heard, Pellet Smokers really do live up to their “set it and forget it” mentality.

We have made a number of meals in our smoker, everything from appetizers and sides, to delicious smoked meats. It’s been incredibly versatile and the flavor combinations we have been encouraged to try has not been disappointing.

We found our Traeger Ironwood 885 for around $400 on a resale site (OfferUp I think, but don’t quote me, my husband handles those transactions lol). It was barely used, looked brand new, and it has been a huge blessing to us — I highly suggest you look around on resale sites such as OfferUp or Facebook Marketplace for a good deal, but if you decide to buy new, I would honestly spend the money if I had to again because I love this grill so much. You can get it at many local hardware stores or here on Amazon*, but the choice is yours. There are also smaller and newer models available, but this one has been great for us. 

Of all the things we’ve made thus far, I personally find that our pork recipes have been my favorite. Here is a recipe my husband and I have made on a number of occasions, and it’s always mouthwatering!

Ingredients

• 6 Large Pork Butt Strips

• 1/2 - 1 Bottle of Meat Church Honey Hog Hot Rub (or dry rub of choice)

• 1 Bottle of Traeger Apricot BBQ Sauce (or bbq sauce of choice)

• Hot Honey (to taste)

Instructions

1. Cut your pork butt into 1 to 1.5-inch squares

2. Generously coat all 4 sides of each pork bites (I use about half a 12-ounc bottle of rub), 

3. Line your bites in single layer on a cookie sheet or disposable foil pan - you may need 2 sheets or pans, just be sure they're in a single layer.

4. Let your meat sit for a little bit to soak up all the flavors and to bring to room temperature - while it sits you can preheat your Smoker to 250°F.

5. Once to temp, smoke your pork butt bites in their single layer for 3.5 hours.

6. Remove from Smoker and add 1 bottle of bbq sauce, making sure to cover each pork butt bite, then drizzle over with hot honey (I like Kroger's Honey Bear infused with chilis).

7. Return to Smoker and allow to caramelize for 30 min to 1 hour longer.

8. Your meat will be done once internal temp reaches 195-200°F - remove from Smoker at that time.

9. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving, and enjoy!