Pork shoulder on the ProBBQ

Well I got a day off and I found some pork shoulder on sale at a local grocery real cheap so I decided to smoke some up as its been a while since I have had some pulled pork.



The cut of meat is the lower portion of a shoulder or the picnic. I trimmed off some of the skin and removed a section of meat that didn't want to remain part of the roast which I will smoke up for a mid afternoon snack..

I like to use mustard when smoking pork butt and shoulder as it helps with getting the rub to stick to the meat. I have also used Olive oil with success. I give the meat a good coating of mustard and work it into to meat a bit with the brush.



I will be smoking this hunk of pork skin side down so I start the seasoning process with that part first. Today I am using a new pork rub that I have been working on and I like to give the meat a real good coating making sure I get the sides and all the nook and crannies.



Heres a close up of the rub to show some detail of the size of the bits and pieces. This rub is a two stage application, big bits first to get a good coating and then the small grin to cover. I find I get better coverage and distribution of the seasoning this way.



Today I will be using a mixture of Great Charcoals lump and briquettes for my heat source and maple and some pecan wood for smoke flavouring. I am also using the minion method with the charcoal so I will get a nice long burn from it. Today it is -7 C, not a perfect day for BBQ but something we have to live with here in Canada... Have I told ya I hate winter..



Adding the lit briquettes to the lump.



I like to let the coals get all friendly for a few minutes before I start to put the Frontier together, I find this helps things along a bit.



I add the water pan section of the cooker and add some tap hot water to the pan. In the winter I also do not like to fill the pan all the way as I find this helps me to get higher temps (240ish) from the cooker. I know a lot of folks use sand in the water pan but I personally like the results I get when I use water. To each their own I guess.



Next I assemble the Frontier and allow it to come up to temp before I adjust the air vents. I was able to get the smoker up to 275 degrees and I closed one of my vents 3/4's of the way and the cooker to 245 degrees before I put the meat on.



More to follow.

Three hours and 45 minutes and looking good. Took a nibble off one if the hunks I got there and they are not ready yet.



5 hours in and the chunks are done. Too bad its way past lunch, I would have loved a test run on the pulled pork.



Just checked the temp and its up to 180 degrees and looking fine. Got the slaw made and some nice fresh buns from town.. Oh man, I cant wait.

Heres the rest of the pix. I foiled the shoulder when it hit 170 to speed things along as I wanted to eat some time today...

The shoulder right after I took it from the smoker. Lots of juice that I added back into the pork once it was pulled.



Some nice smoke ring with this hunk of meat, very moist and tender. The flavours of the rub came through nicely.



A money shot.



All plated up and ready to eat. I made some pan fries and coleslaw to go with the pork.

Looking good so far Roxy, but it looks like the grass needs cutting (is that a Canadian variety?)

That is my skating rink for a driveway Ian..

The one neat thing about using the ProBBQ is it melts the ice and snow for a good yard around the cooker..

This has got to be one of the longest cooks ever or are you skating?

There we go.. Sorry for keeping ya all waiting. Kinda hard to think with a full belly..

I have never foiled a butt, but all those juices you had to add back in is making me think about that next time! Lookin at that makes me wanna go pull one out of the freezer

Good looking food there Roxy, makes me even more determined to see if I can get the butcher to understand the cut, so I can do one.

Mack wrote:Good looking food there Roxy, makes me even more determined to see if I can get the butcher to understand the cut, so I can do one.

Its easy Ian, top half of a shoulder is called a butt bottom half is a picnic. Both are good for pulled pork just more bone in the picnic.

Super cook Roxy! I love the idea of using the mustard to help hold the rub. I have always used olive oil but I am definately gonna try the mustard next time.

How about parting with the rub recipe?

U.J.

Uncle Jack wrote:Super cook Roxy! I love the idea of using the mustard to help hold the rub. I have always used olive oil but I am definately gonna try the mustard next time.

How about parting with the rub recipe?

U.J.

I probably could tell ya U.J. but I would have to kill ya right after words...

As long as you fixed my last meal at least I'd die a happy man . . .

U.J.

Uncle Jack wrote:As long as you fixed my last meal at least I'd die a happy man . . .

U.J.

U.J. It would be an honor to be your last cook.. I'd hook ya up right dude.

Roxy, I use mustard too on my pulled pork. Amazing that you can't taste it. I usually foil from 160-175 to gather some of the juices then unwrap tp crisp up the bark a bit. You take some very good pics, alway makes me hungry lookin at your food.

Pig Headed wrote:Roxy, I use mustard too on my pulled pork. Amazing that you can't taste it. I usually foil from 160-175 to gather some of the juices then unwrap tp crisp up the bark a bit. You take some very good pics, alway makes me hungry lookin at your food.

Hey, thats a lot. That is a great compliment indeed. I sure do love to take pix of the food I cook and putting together a pictorial is a great way for me to help those that are just starting out with BBQ to get a an idea or two...

I have heard that some can still taste the mustard but I find that hard to believe given the length of cooking time, smoke and all the seasoning that is on the meat..