Slow Smoked Pork Shoulder

Howdy everyone. I decided to make one of my favorite foods and share the Instructable for it. We cooked a 8.7 pound pork shoulder today and here is how to do a savory smoked pork shoulder.

I injected the shoulder while it was still in the vacuum packaging (I put it in a garbage bag so it wouldn't leak everywhere in the refrigerator). The injection needs to compliment the meat so what I used was apple juice. apple cider vinegar, some sugar (dissolved in the juice), and a 12 oz. bottle of Shiner beer. I injected it the night before (at least 12 hours) and then brought it out for the rub. After wiping the meat down with paper towels, rub the pork with olive oil; this allows the dry rub to adhere to the meat better. The dry rub I used consisted of Harley's All Purpose rub, a small amount of cinnamon, onion powder, garlic powder, Everglades All Purpose spice, and a little spicy powder. Mix it all together and spread on liberally.

We used hickory and pecan wood for this shoulder. Start some charcoal (doesn't matter what type) and use that as the heat. I let the shoulder have some smoke for 4 hours (sometimes I will do up to 5 hours) at 220 degrees. I like cooking pork, especially bone in pork, at a lower temperature for a longer time. Spray the meat every 30 minutes with a concoction of apple cider and orange juice. I always cook fat cap (the side with the fat on it) up but you can do it either way.

After 4 or 5 hours (it depends on the color of the meat), pull it off and get ready to wrap it. I put it in a pan this time but normally I wrap it all in an aluminum cocoon of goodness. When you go to wrap, add some extra juice (like what you were spraying on it) so the meat will steam with its own juices that come out. After you wrap it good, place it back on your heat source and then proceed to the next step. Boom, deliciousness.

After the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees, go ahead an pull the shoulder off of the heat source for an hour. Much like a brisket, the pork shoulder needs to rest and soak up the juices again. The pork can be sliced, chopped, or pulled; with the bone in the meat, it will be good. Remember, it is all about the temperature and not the time so monitor your meat every hour. Any specific questions, post a comment or send me a message.