Pork Shoulder

My favorite hunk of BBQ goodness is pork shoulder. They are cheap and easy, as long as you got the time to do it right. I usually figure about an hour per pound and my grill bounces between 200 and 300 degrees. Most recommendations are for 1 hour and 15 minutes or even an hour and a half per pound, but that is at a lower average temperature between 225 and 250.

To do a decent pork shoulder you'll need the meat, your favorite rub and a good 8 to 12 hours. I like to finish mine with sauce in the last hour or two, but that step is optional and, while tasty, hard core bbq folk will say the sauce shouldn't be applied until after cooking.

So first things first and that is seasoning the meat. Generously apply the rub to all sides of the meat. You can do this the night before, but in a pinch I've seasoned the meat before getting the fire going. This gives the seasoning 30 - 60 minutes to work in. Overnight, up to 24 hours, is better.

Then get your fire going. I use a combination of charcoal and usually maple for smoking a pork shoulder. The charcoal provides a steady heat that requires less tending and I like the flavor of maple.

After the fire is in a good state (usually 20 - 30 minutes) and the coals are starting to ash over, I'll pull off the chimney and get the meat on. When you put the meat on, put the fattiest side up. I have a fairly wide grill with 3 grates. I will usually put the fire in the middle and the shoulder on the side under the chimney. If I do 2 shoulders, I'll put one on each side of the fire. I usually put more wood and coals on every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. I periodically check the temperature and when it drops to 225 or lower I'll open it up and add more fuel.

About an hour or two before I finish, I'll put some sauce in a dish and bring out a brush and cover the entire hunk o' meat in sauce. I'll usually get my tongs (sometimes I need two if the shoulder is large), turn it over, sauce the bottom and sides, then turn it back fatty side up and sauce the top and sides. One generous slathering of sauce is all it should need. This is also the only time I poke, prod or otherwise touch the meat while it is cooking. If you don't sauce it you shouldn't need to touch it at all.

After your allotted cooking time has expired, get a platter, remove the beautifully cooked hunk of delicousness to the platter and let it sit. A good 20 minutes or so should be fine. It will still be plenty hot. Now comes the fun part and that is ripping the meat apart. You can use your hands if you'd like, and that is the time honored method. I usually use tongs. You should NOT have to use a knife to remove any of the meat and large chunks should come right off the bone. I usually end up with 3 or 4 large hunks of meat and a perfectly clean bone. If you want to show your friends your nice clean bone and have them ooooo and aaaaah at it, go ahead.

Now shread the hunks of meat into whatever size you'd like. I like a mix of large and small chunks, some people like big ol' nuggets of porky goodness and others yet like theirs shredded and even chopped up fine. It's all good and do it however you like. The only recommendation I'll make is to make sure you get a good mix of soft, crusty, light and dark meat. A good size pork shoulder will have generous portions of meat that has a variety of subtle differences in taste and texture.

At this point, I'll mix it up in a bowl and let people put a pile of meat on a bun, sauce it however they want and enjoy.

A note about pork shoulders

There are different parts of the pork shoulder you can get. Most butchers and supermarkets will have Boston butts (sometimes referred to as blade shoulder) and/or picnics, which are different parts of the shoulder. Picnics are generally cheaper but have more bone and more fat. To some this also means more flavor. If you are going to make sandwiches out of it, I'd simply get whichever you like. I think both are delicious. If I were going to do a dinner plate I'd stick with the butt.

I cook pork shoulders often enough that I often buy a few when they are on sale and put them in the chest freezer. When pork shoulder is on sale it is absolutely impossible to get more delicousness per dollar.