Following is Bobby’s process for smoking a pork shoulder to perfection – pull apart tender smoked pulled pork. Also included is his recipe for an awesome barbecue sauce. To see the barbecue sauce recipe, click on Jump to the Recipe. To view instructions for smoking a pork shoulder, continue reading.
Bobby has been smoking pork shoulders for several years now using a Pit Barrel Cooker and it comes out perfect every time. It’s spicy, pull-apart tender and has a nice crispy bark. His process and pork rub is based on the process at Amazing Ribs with some minor changes. Following is his step-by-step process for smoked pulled pork.
Just in case you are wondering about the difference between a pork shoulder and pork butt, here is an article from Serious Eats that should clear up any confusion. For the following process you can use either a shoulder or a butt.
How To Smoke a Pork Shoulder in a Pit Barrel Cooker
This process takes about 1 hour the night before smoking and about 9 hours the day of smoking: 1 hour to prep the meat and smoker, and 7 – 8 hours to smoke the pork.
Supplies
- A smoker that can handle a large pork shoulder
- Hooks to hang the pork shoulder if required by smoker
- Charcoal
- 2 blocks of hickory
- A dual thermometer that has a thermometer for the meat and one for the inside of the smoker works best, but you could get by with an instant meat thermometer.
- Aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 8 – 10 pound bone-in pork shoulder or pork butt
- Sea salt
- 1 cup salt free Pork Rub* (Meathead’s Memphis Dust Rub recipe + 1/4 cup New Mexico red chile powder)
- Barbecue Sauce (Recipe below)
Instructions – Prepping the meat the night before smoking
- Trim the pork shoulder of its exterior fat leaving about 1/8″ at the most. You want to season the meat, not the fat.
- If your smoker requires hooks for hanging the pork, place two hooks, one on each side of the shoulder.
- Lightly sprinkle the pork shoulder with sea salt. You won’t be washing it off, so don’t go overboard on the salt.
- Wrap or cover and refrigerate overnight.
Instructions – Preparing the meat the morning of
- The morning of, about an hour before placing the pork in the smoker, remove it from the refrigerator and generously cover it with the pork rub.
- Let the seasoned pork rest at room temperature while you prepare the smoker.
Instructions – Preparing the smoker and smoking the pork
- Prepare the charcoal for the smoker. Once you have a good smoke, add the hickory pieces.
- When the temperature reaches about 225°F, hang the shoulder in the smoker.
- If using a dual thermometer, insert the meat thermometer into the center of the meat, but at least an inch or two away from the bone.
- Hang the smoker thermometer in the smoker. During the smoke, check the smoker thermometer periodically and try to maintain a smoker temperature between 225°F and 250°F.
- Cover and let the meat smoke until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (about 6 hours). Sometimes the meat with “stall” at around 150° – 160°F. You’ll know that you are in the stall if the temperature doesn’t increase at all over the next hour.
- When the meat temperature stalls or reaches 165°F, remove the shoulder and the hooks, and double wrap the meat in aluminum foil. Place the wrapped meat on the rack of the smoker. At this time you might need to add a few more pieces of charcoal. Reinsert the meat thermometer.
- Continue to smoke until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 200-205°F (about another 1.5 hours)
- Remove the pork from the smoker and place in a warm oven until ready to serve.
To Serve
- To serve, use two forks and pull the pork from the the roast. Pull only as much as you need for one meal.
- If you plan to freeze any of it, then freeze in large chunks to keep the meat from drying out and getting freezer burn. Once thawed it pulls apart very easily.
Using Your Pulled Pork
There are so many ways to enjoy pulled pork, but sometimes the easiest way is the best way. When the pork is still hot from the smoker, just pull off what you want with a few pieces of bark, put on a plate and enjoy with a complementary side. You could also add a little barbecue sauce (recipe below) if desired. (See the gallery at the end of this post for some complementary sides.)
For a second meal, there is my favorite – the pulled pork sandwich. Toast up a good quality brioche bun with a touch of butter, place a few pulls of pork on the bottom bun, cover it with barbecue sauce, then top with dill pickles and a simple slaw. Oh so very good!!!!
A modification of the pulled pork sandwich is the BBQ pulled pork tamale. An amazingly delicious tamale and when served with a side of coleslaw, yields a hearty and healthy meal.
Other uses include enchiladas, tostadas, beans and rice, and in soups and stews.
Kansas City Style Barbecue Sauce
Even though this smoked pork stands quite well on its own, you have to have a good barbecue sauce for the BBQ sandwich and the tamales. Below is a barbecue sauce recipe adapted from the Kansas City Classic BBQ Sauce recipe at Amazing Ribs.
Instructions for smoking the pulled pork are at the beginning of this post. The following recipe is a modification of the Kansas City Classic BBQ Sauce at Amazing Ribs. A few of the original ingredients have been increased, decreased, eliminated, and one added.
Best if made the day before. It's a sauce and, like soups, a sauce improves with age.
*See Kitchen Notes for more information.
- 2 tablespoons New Mexico red chile powder*
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt or sea salt
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1/2 cup yellow ballpark-style mustard
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)
- 1/4 cup steak sauce
- 1/4 cup dark molasses
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon Tamarind Paste
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or canola oil
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 4 medium cloves of garlic, minced
In a small bowl, mix the chile powder, black pepper, and salt.
In a large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients ketchup, mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire, lemon juice, steak sauce, molasses, honey, and brown sugar.
Over medium to medium-low heat, heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and sauté until translucent but not starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the dry spices and stir for about 2 minutes to extract their oil-soluble flavors.
Add the wet ingredients and combine well with other ingredients. Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce should start to thicken.
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed, but just a little bit at a time*.
Red Chile Powder – It’s very important that you use a “chile” powder, not a “chili” powder. The only ingredient listed on the bottle should be “red chile powder”.
Adjusting for taste – The sauce may taste a bit vinegary at first, but that will be less obvious when you use it on meat. The first time we made this, we followed Meathead’s suggestion and used his recipe. With each subsequent batch, we made some changes until we reached the sauce that we love best (the one above).
Don’t be tempted to strain the sauce of the onions and garlic – As with all sauces, it gets better with age, and the onion and garlic assist in that improvement.
Storage – This sauce keeps in the refrigerator for at least a month. However, if you don’t plan to use it all right away, then freeze it in small portions. In the freezer it keeps for at least a year.
Below are some suggested sides for making a meal of smoked pulled pork.
Yum, yum, yum!!! One of my favorite things to eat when my uncle makes it!! He has a huge pig smoker and it’s soooooo goooood!
Thanks Amy! Obviously you have had the pleasure of biting down on smoked pulled pork. Nothing better. 🙂
This is so amazing! I am jealous that you can smoke meat at home.
Thanks Angie! I know, I feel very special. 🙂 To be honest, I would never smoke anything, but Bobby loves to do it, so back him all the way. 🙂
Wow. Terrific post. Haven’t done any outdoor smoking for a couple of years — been doing slow cooker versions, which are good but really not the same thing — and you’ve got me hankering to do this. Wonderful looking pork, and that sauce looks incredible. Thanks!
Thanks so much John! Bobby does a great job keeping the freezer supplied with smoked meats that we can ue at any time. Last year he smoked an 18.8 pound Tom which turned out incredible. He hopes to smoke another one this year.