Smoked Pork Shoulder Suggestions

[Jbmoney21]

Have a 10lb pork shoulder I'm looking to through on the smoker this weekend. First timer, so anyone have any recipes or suggestions. Ive read to use a fruit type of wood, but have also seen to use hickory. Looks like there is a million different ways to do this.

Thanks

 

[jimmyjames8]

There are a million different ways but the best is to have a burn barrel, burn hickory and shovel the coals into your cooker. THe other way to do this is with an offset smoker. I have never done either. Always had a gas or charcoal smoker but I'm done with that because it just dont taste right. Get your meat to 200 degrees internal temp. Take off the grill and double wrap in foil and let it sit for 2 hours before shredding or chopping.

 

[Catfish]

What smoker do you have?

I do a dry rub and smoke at 230 until meat reaches 203-205 internal. I use a BGE smoker with lump hardwood ( not briquettes) charcoal + apple chunks for smoke. A 10 lb roast might cook 24 hrs and the lid stays closed until its done.

If the fuel runs out before its done, I wrap in foil and put it in a roasting pan in a convection oven at 250 to finish.

Best tip: dont time it for a dinner, it will not cooperate.

 

[Pack72]

I like to use lump charcoal with a few chunks of hickory for smoke, and cook at 250 degrees until the internal temperature hits 200-205 degrees. But I cooked the last one at 275 because it was larger (about 10 pounds) than the ones I usually get, and it turned out great. Use a remote thermometer to monitor the meat temperature so you don't have to open the smoker to check (which loses heat and adds a lot to the cooking time). Be prepared for the internal temperature to stall somewhere around 165 degrees, for as much as an hour or two. This is normal and can be frustrating. As jimmyjames8 said, wrap in foil and let it rest for a couple of hours before shredding.

 

[Mitch Rapp]

As stated above, a million ways.


Choice of wood is yours. Fruitwoods are good, light smoke flavor. Hardwoods are a little heavier.

Trim the fat cap off. The fat on the outside does nothing for the juiciness inside. Trimming it off will give tou more surface area for bark formation and leave less mess in the smoker.

Put rub on just before putting on the smoker. It does no good to put rubs on a hour or two before because none of the spices in a rub except salt soak into the meat. I use saltless rubs, salt it an hour before, then rub just before putting it on. You can use binders for the rub such as mustard if you wish, but with salting prior, Ive never had to.

Cook at whatever temp you want to from 225 to 275. The only effect it has on the meat is overall cook time and time spent in stall. The key is to pull at 203-205 internal.

Dont use a water pan inside the smoker. It resists bark formation and makes the stall last longer.

Do not wrap in tinfoil, ever. You trap heat an moisture inside and steam the meat destroying all that wonderful bark you spent so much time developing. Use butcher paper. It allows the meat to breathe and preserves the bark.


Its actually pretty hard to jack up. You really have to try lol.
Keep smoker temp steady and an eye on the internal temp and you should be fine.

 

[papa_smurf]

I did a 7lb over this past weekend. I rub it down with Bad Byron's Butt Rub, and smoke it in my akorn (poor man's BGE) using lump charcoal and wood chunks of your choosing @ 225 - 275 F. I prefer mesquite over most other wood types, but used apple this time and it came out pretty good. I generally put them on around 10PM and get the temps stable before going to bed. Wake up a little early to check smoker temp, and just wait it out till it gets to ~200 internal. you want to be able to stick a dull butter knife in it up to the handle with little to no effort. Think hot knife through warm butter. I generally just throw it in a pan and stick it in the oven with the oven OFF for a couple hours and then pull and serve. Timing is usually put it on around 10PM and pull it around 3 PM for the 7 - 8 LB butts I normally do. If I do a larger on i'll throw it on earlier so it should still be done around 3 PM. This gives plenty of time for it to rest and then pull before the wife gets too hungry at supper time.