This is my pork shoulder recipe from bringing home a pork shoulder to preparing it with a rub to smoking it up delicious. Now you must understand that an actual pork shoulder is very big and most of us usually only smoke a pork butt or a pork picnic roast which is the two parts of an actual pork shoulder.
I Prefer the bone in pork butt which normally runs about 8 pounds or so. They say the meat is sweeter when it cooks with the bone in and I happen to agree.
When I get ready to do my favorite pork shoulder recipe which is basically a nice pork butt rubbed down real good with my own proprietary rub recipe which you can get here and smoked with a good dose of oak and some apricot or peach or some other fruit wood, I like to find a piece of meat that has lots of good fat marbling.
This keeps the meat moist in the smoker and guarantees some excellent flavor.
I always rub the pork shoulder down with a light layer of French's yellow mustard to help the rub to stick better throughout the smoke and apply about 1/2 to 3/4 cups of my special rub to the outside of the meat being careful to massage it into every nick and cranny.
Note: the mustard will lose its flavor during the smoking and will only leave a nice brown crust so you need not worry that your pork will taste like mustard.. it won't.
Prepare the smoker as you normally would to maintain a 225 degree temperature and lay the pork shoulder on the rack for the long smoke.
Pork shoulder cook time can be figured at approximately 1.5 hours per pound so a 8 pound shoulder will require about 12 hours in the smoker. If you are using propane, electric or charcoal then you can stop smoking it when it reaches about 140 degrees since it should be suitably smoked at that point.. feel free to keep smoking if you are a seasoned smoker and know how to do it without oversmoking the meat.
I have a buddy who only leaves the shoulder in the smoker until it reaches the 140 degree mark and then wraps it and finishes it off in the oven for convenience. And that is fine if you need the convenience.
I am big on doing the entire cook time in the smoker but I understand the need for convenience sometimes.
When the pork should reaches about 200 degrees, pull it from the smoker and bring it into the house for a resting period. I like to let it rest for 45 minutes or better before I pull it to allow the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.
I then use two forks to pull the meat apart into chunks.. be sure and add in the brown bark for added flavor and it makes the finished product look really good.. I have to say that because I have seen folks discard the outside bark thinking it is burnt or something. It is the best part.
This pork shoulder recipe is a winner and will get you rave reviews every time.
INGREDIENTS
7 pounds fresh pork butt roast
2 tablespoons ground New Mexico chile powder
4 tablespoons packed brown sugar
DIRECTIONS
1. If desired, soak the pork butt in a brine solution for at least 4 hours or overnight. There's a recipe for a brine on this site titled 'Basic Brine for Smoking Meat'. You should do this covered and in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat an outdoor smoker for 200 to 225 degrees F (95 to 110 degrees C).
3. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, chili powder and any additional seasonings to your taste. Apply this liberally to the meat and rub it in with your fingers. Place a roasting rack in a drip pan and lay the meat on the rack.
4. Smoke at 200 to 225 degrees F (95 to 110 degrees C) for 6 to 18 hours, or until internal pork temperature reaches 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).
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