Smoked Pork Shoulder

People who know me have learned that I LOVE pork, particularly slow-cooked pork. I love the rich flavor that comes from the meat cooking in its own juices. It just melts in your mouth. I’ve made pulled pork many times…I have two different recipes for it that are posted on this website, Kalua Pork and Pork & Kraut Sliders, both which use the braising the method. But the fact that my new Weber grill can be set up for indirect cooking or smoking meat inspired me to think about that cooking method again. I sold my Traeger smoker some time ago when I found that having both a barbecue grill and a smoker on a very small deck outside my apartment took up a lot of space. Boy, have I missed that smoker. But now that we’ve moved to a much bigger house with a nice-sized patio, I have room for a larger gas grill that can both barbecue and smoke meat.

Cooking “low and slow” almost always produces a tender, juicy meat, but the difference between braising and smoking the meat is the nice crusty bark that you get on it when it’s smoked for hours, plus the wonderful smoky flavor. Since it can take the better part of a day to smoke a large cut of pork, it can become kind of an event. Sitting outdoors in the fresh air with a drink in hand while taking in the delicious aroma of the smoke coming from the grill is the perfect way to spend a summer weekend afternoon. And I enjoy it even more when I think about how jealous the neighbors must be when they smell it!

I’ve cooked the pork shoulder at both a low 225-250 degrees (which took about 9 hours) and a slightly higher 300-325 degrees (which was done in about 6 hours). Both methods produced a tender, juicy meat, but the first method resulted in a more melt-in-your-mouth texture. I used my homemade barbecue rub, but you can use a store-bought rub as well. It’s pretty easy to put a rub together because it’s made with common spices most home cooks have in the kitchen.

I used hickory chips in the smoker pan, and I left the wood chips smoking for only half the cooking time. This gave the pork the perfect amount of smoke flavor.

When it’s time to eat the smoked pork, either sliced or pulled apart, you can use your favorite barbecue sauce. I like a vinegar barbecue sauce on pulled pork because it gives a nice tang to a sandwich made with this meat. I have come up with a vinegar BBQ sauce that you can try. The truth is, though, the pork tastes so good I don’t think it actually needs a sauce on it. Try it first with just some juice from the pan poured over the meat. The flavors from the smoke and the rub make for a real winner!

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Ingredients

4 - 5 Pound Pork Shoulder
1/4 Cup BBQ Rub
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Vegetable oil
6 Cups Wood Chips
1 Small Aluminum Foil Pan (for wood chips)
1 Drip Pan with Grate (9 X 13)
1 Instant-Read Thermometer

Directions


Combine BBQ rub and brown sugar in a small bowl and set aside. Coat the pork with the vegetable oil and then rub dry mixture on all sides. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours. Remove pork from refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.

Soak wood chips in water for an hour.

Set up grill for indirect cooking. Remove grate and place 3 cups of wood chips in an aluminum foil pan directly over burner. Add one inch of water to drip pan and place in center of grill. Light burner directly below wood chips and set to high. Once you have smoke, turn burner to low. Maintain a temperature between 225 and 250 degrees.

Place pork shoulder fat side up on grate over drip pan and close grill. About every two hours rotate the drip pan 180 degrees so the pork will cook evenly.

After 2 to 2 1/2 hours, add 3 more cups of wood chips to aluminum foil pan.

After 6 hours, start checking the temperature of the pork shoulder with an instant-read thermometer. Insert in thickest part, making sure not to touch the bone with thermometer. Once the pork shoulder has an internal temperature of 195 degrees, remove from grill. This could take 8 to 10 hours. Don't worry about how long you cook the pork. Just make sure the internal temperature is 195 degrees.

Cover with foil and let pork rest for at least one hour.

Shred pork with a fork and tongs. Add some of the liquid from the drip pan to the shredded pork.

Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce.