OK, have time now. If you want real, authentic, down-south BBQed pork shoulder, do this the day before:
1. Slather: rub your shoulder down with a thin coat of yellow mustard (any stadium-type smooth yellow mustard will do. Don't use deli mustard).
2. Coat with a rub. You can buy a BBQ rub, or make your own. I make a standard rub for pork with:
- 1/4 cup sweet paprika
- 1/4 cup garlic powder
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 3 tablespoons salt
- 3 tablespoons black pepper
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
- 2 tablespoons ginger
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
(Try not to vary too much- this is a proven recipe. Once you try it, feel free to add/subtract from the ingredients to adjust flavors to your preference.)
3. Massage the rub into the pork thoroughly.
4. Optional: Injection! You can get a Stubbs injection kit for $5 at WalMart. Use it to inject the flavor you're going for. I like to inject a mixture of 1/2 beef broth and 1/2 worcestershire. Inject about every 1" or so on both sides of the shoulder.
5. Wrap tightly in plastic and let it sit overnight.
Cooking
Plan on 8-10 hours of cook time. You want your smoker/grill/whatever at 225F. Don't let it get over 275F or the sugar in your rub will start to burn. A good wireless thermometer comes in really handy here (especially if you want to cook overnight).
You'll want some seasoned wood for flavor. Hickory is my favorite, but fruitwoods work well too. Add some DRY wood to your coals about 10 minutes before putting your meat on ( a handful or two is plenty). You want the wood to burn a bit to get a light bluish-white smoke- this is called 'sweet smoke' and is what gives BBQed food it's flavor. Gray smoke gives a campfire taste and is caused by moisture burning off in the wood. You want to avoid that. I also add a foil pan under the cool surface with 1/2 apple juice and 1/2 water to keep things moist.
Once you got your smoke going, add your meat COLD. Cold meat attracts smoke. Once the outside is cooked, your meat has no more ability to absorb smoke flavor. Add your meat and seal the grill up. Do not open it other than to regulate temperature.
Once the meat his 160F or so, you'll experience what's called "the stall". At 160F, an issue with thermal pressure and steam pressure comes into play, causing the meat to stay here for hours. If you can cook the full 8-12 hours, just wait it out. If you're in a hurry, you can cheat by doing a "Texas crutch", which is essentially wrapping the meat tightly in heavy foil. This forces the temperature up, but you sacrifice the crunch "bark" on the outside of the shoulder that a lot of people desire.
Your goal is to get the internal temperature to 200F. At 202F, the collegen in the pork will liquify, giving you that "pot roast" fall-apart consistency. They outside of the pork should be brownish black- this is perfectly normal and desirable:
Wrap the shoulder up tightly and put it in a cooler for 1-2 hours. This lets everything reconstitute (plus you don't burn the hell out of your fingers when processing it!). Don't worry- it will stay hot.
To prepare: Pull the t-bone out...it should just slide right out. Then, tear the meat up with your hands, or use bear claws (what I use):
Your goal here is to get that crunchy bark mixed in to the center meat, giving a uniform smokey flavor throughout. Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce (or make your own---I can help you with that too . This goes will on onion rolls or just by itself. One of my favorites!
Here's a couple of butts I did last weekend: