Easy Pulled Pork on a Charcoal Grill (No Smoker Needed)

After living in the same apartment in the Philippines for almost six years, it was finally time for me to move out.

So, I invited my landlord Steve over for one last dinner — and since I know he likes pulled pork, the menu was pretty easy to decide!

There was just one problem: this was a last-minute idea. I had no smoker, no fancy burger buns, and no special BBQ equipment.

What I did have was my old Weber Go-Anywhere charcoal grill, some charcoal, apple wood chips, and about a 2 lb piece of pork belly.

That turned out to be more than enough!

A few hours later, we were eating smoky, tender pulled pork piled onto toasted bread with homemade coleslaw and BBQ sauce — and it was honestly really good!

Pulled Pork Without a Smoker? Absolutely

A proper smoker makes temperature control easier, but a charcoal grill with a lid can basically become a small smoker when you set it up for indirect cooking.

The important things are:

• Keep the pork away from the burning charcoal.
• Keep the grill covered.
• Add a little smoking wood.
• Control the airflow so the grill doesn’t get too hot.
• Cook until the pork is tender — not simply until a timer tells you it’s ready.

My Weber Go-Anywhere charcoal grill is tiny compared to most smokers, but for a 2 lb (1 kg) piece of pork it worked surprisingly well.

Ingredients and Equipment You’ll Need

I deliberately kept everything simple because this was a last-minute dinner.

For the Pulled Pork

• 2 lb (about 1 kg) pork belly, skin removed
• 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 50–100 ml apple juice, water, or beer, for wrapping
• BBQ sauce, for serving (try my homemade BBQ sauce!)

For the Coleslaw

• ½ small cabbage, finely sliced
• 1 large carrot, grated
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or other mild vinegar
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• Black pepper, to taste

Equipment

• Weber Go-Anywhere or other lidded charcoal grill
• Charcoal
• Apple wood chips (or other wood chips like hickory)
• Instant-read or probe thermometer
• Aluminum foil

How to Make Pulled Pork on a Charcoal Grill

1. Season the Pork

My pork belly still had the skin attached, so I started by removing it.

Mix the black pepper, salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and brown sugar. Rub the seasoning generously over every side of the pork.

Let it sit while you prepare the charcoal grill.

2. Set Up the Grill for Indirect Heat

Put the charcoal on one side of the grill, leaving the other side without direct heat. The wood chips will be put on top of the hot charcoal, and I used a foil pouch for this.

Place the pork on the cooler side and position the lid vent roughly above the meat. This encourages the heat and smoke to travel across the pork before escaping.

I aimed for roughly 250–300°F (120–150°C).

Don’t get obsessed with holding one exact temperature. Especially on a small portable grill, it will fluctuate. Just keep it reasonably low and avoid having the pork directly above the coals.

3. Add Apple Wood and Smoke the Pork

Add a small handful of apple wood chips directly to the charcoal, or inside a foil pouch, and close the lid.

Apple is great here because it gives pork a mild, slightly sweet smoke flavor without overpowering it.

Let the pork cook uncovered until the outside develops a dark BBQ bark and the internal temperature reaches roughly 160–170°F (71–77°C).

You can add another small amount of apple wood during the first part of the cook if needed.

4. Wrap and Finish Cooking

Once the bark looks good, place the pork on a large sheet of aluminum foil.

Add about 50–100 ml of apple juice, water, or beer, then wrap it tightly.

Return the wrapped pork to the indirect side of the grill.

At this stage, you might have to add some charcoal to keep the grill hot. But don’t worry if the grill runs closer to 300°F. The pork already has most of the smoke flavor it needs, and now the goal is simply getting it tender.

Keep cooking until the internal temperature reaches around 200–205°F (93–96°C).

More importantly, check the texture. When a thermometer or skewer slides into the meat with very little resistance, it’s ready.

5. Rest and Pull

Remove the pork from the grill but leave it wrapped for about 30 minutes.

Carefully open the foil and save the juices.

Shred the pork using two forks, then mix some of those cooking juices back into the meat.

That’s where things start looking seriously good!

Make the Quick Coleslaw

While the pork rests, combine the cabbage and carrot in a bowl.

Mix the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt, and black pepper separately, then toss everything together.

I like this coleslaw a little tangy rather than overly creamy because the acidity balances the rich smoked pork.

If you have time, refrigerate it for 20–30 minutes before serving.

No Brioche Buns? Use Toast!

I had originally wanted proper burger buns, but there weren’t any available.

Normal sliced bread worked just fine.

Toast it until crisp, then pile on: toasted bread → pulled pork → cold coleslaw → BBQ sauce

You could obviously use burger buns, brioche buns, rolls, or even serve the pork with rice.

But after spending several hours cooking it over charcoal, nobody at the table is going to complain about the bread.

There were only me, my wife, and Steve eating, and all of the pulled pork disappeared in less than an hour!

This means that despite basic equipment and ingredients, it was definitely a success!!

6 Tips for Charcoal Grill Pulled Pork

• Don’t use too much smoking wood: A small grill can become heavily smoked very quickly.
• Cook indirectly: The pork should never sit directly above the burning charcoal.
• Don’t cook by time alone: Pulled pork is done when it becomes tender enough to shred.
• Wrap once the bark looks good: This speeds up the final part of the cook and helps prevent the meat from drying out.
• Save the juices: Mixing them back into the shredded pork makes a big difference.
• Pork shoulder works too: Pork belly worked great for my smaller cook, but shoulder or pork neck are excellent choices if you want a more traditional cut.

And now it’s time to start cooking that pork! Enjoy!!

-Joonas