My New Smoker- Pork Shoulder #1

Allison and her parents both chipped in and bought me an awesome Weber Smoky Mountain smoker for my birthday.  I picked up my present from the hardware store Thursday afternoon and only made it to Saturday morning before I had to smoke something and try it out.  I had smoked two or three pork butts last year on a cheap smoker that my roommate owned.  Each time I worked hard fine tuning and preparing my rub and mop.  In all three cases, after smoking (and smelling) pork all day, I prematurely pulled the butt at a temperature somewhere between 160-170 degrees F.  Pork is certainly done at this temperature but is not yet tender enough to pull currently.  My previous efforts resulted in 'chopped' pork that was extremely tasty but still left something to be desired.  With my previous lessons in mind, I woke at the very early Saturday morning hour of 6am determined to smoke this shoulder longer.

The picture above shows the start of the process at about quarter after six.  Blurry eyed, I got my charcoal started in the chimney and began rubbing down the shoulder with my homemade rub.  My rub contains brown and white sugars mixed with a number of spices including salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, etc. and a few secret ingredients.  I am still working on perfecting the rub, although I was very happy with the one on this day. The pork hit the smoker at 6:45 am, and I set the temperature to just over 250 F.  The temperature can be adjusted by controlling the air flow with three vents located on the bottom of the smoker by the coils and by adding more charcoal. Throughout the day, I tried to check the temperature every 15 minutes or so (besides a few short naps early in the morning) and make appropriate adjustments.  I'd say the temperature varied anywhere from 200-325 degrees throughout the day but stayed closer to 250-270 more often than not.  The following three photos were taken at 0, 5, and 8 hours into the smoke. You can clearly see the nice, dark bark that formed on the shoulder due to the rub.

Looking for an ideal internal temperature of 190 degrees, I checked the pork after 12 hours and read 185 F.  Refusing to give in to the searing pain in my stomach, I put the cover back on and waited another half hour.  After 12.5 hours, the meat thermometer effortlessly slid through the meat to the bone and read 190.  The meat on the top of the shoulder was visibly pulling away from the exposed bone- a wonderful sign.  While trying to transfer the shoulder to a baking sheet, a large chuck easily pulled off and landed back on the grate- another wonderful sign.  I let the meat rest inside for a half hour before touching it to let the juices in the meat restabilize.  To begin the picking process I grabbed the end of the bone and gave it a pull.  With no resistance whatsoever, the bone slid all the way through, and out of, the shoulder.  I took two forks and easily pulled the meat apart producing delicious looking pulled pork.

After a long hard day of work, I tasted the best pork barbecue that I have created to date.  Allison said that it might have been the best that she has ever had; although, she is from Long Island so that clearly caries no weight.  Everyone else at the house seemed to enjoy it.  The meat was a delicious mixture of salty, sweet, and smoky.  Despite cooking to 190, which designates pork as well-done, the meat was still extremely moist  and tender due to the high volume of marbleized fat that dissolves into the meat throughout the smoking process.  In addition to the pork, I made a homemade Carolina style vinegar sauce that contained apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, hot sauce, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt.  This sauce was so tangy and vinegary that I dubbed it 'jet fuel'.  If you love vinegar sauces like I do then you will love it; however, it is not for the faint of heart.  To top everything off, Allison made some coleslaw that she added a little blue cheese to.  I thought this was a great addition, and I couldn't have been happier, or prouder, than the sandwich as a whole.  I loved both the smoker and the finished product.  I think I am going to do a few racks of ribs next; however, I can't wait to make a few adjustments and do the whole pork shoulder thing again.  I leave you with a few notes I have made on smoking below if you care to read.  They are mainly to help me remember for next time.

ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY DEGREES!  This is the magic internal temperature- not one degree above or below.  The meat will remain plenty moist and pull to perfection.

A mop is really not necessary.  I did not use one this time.  If anything I could spray my 'jet fuel' on the pork every time I check it although it is not needed.  The pork was visibly moist on the outside at all times and deliciously moist on the inside upon completion.

I have never messed with a brine and do not plan to.  A brine is meant to add moisture to the meat prior to cooking.  Again, the pork was not in the least bit dry and needs no added moisture.

I think letting the meat rest for at least 30 minutes really helped, and I will continue the practice.

I used only lumped charcoal with added hickory chunks.  Although the lumped coal might add a little flavor, it burns hotter and faster and must be replaced very often.  I think next time I will use briquettes for heat as they burn slower.  I also believe this might help with temperature regulation.  I will simply add a few more hickory chucks for any lost flavor and might even experiment with a mix of wood flavors (I have what I think will be a winner in mind).

I might become obsessed with this hobby.