Pork Shoulder - 2nd attempt

The last disaster taught me an important lesson in bbq. There is no rushing the process. A full day with little planned (labor day) gave me ample time to both prepare and smoke without being rushed. I wanted to try another pork shoulder because the last one was such a memorable failure that I had to prove to myself that I could cook more than chickens. The selection at my local market was limited and I went with another picnic roast. I choose the largest one they had at 4 lbs. There were bigger boston butts with the bone in at around 8 lbs but I wanted to keep it small (and cheap) in case I screwed it up again. Additionally I decided to go without a rub this time. Keep it simple. No reason to complicate things when I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. Order of events:

9:40 Started chimney full of charcoal.

10:20 Coals are ready. Put lit coals on top of approx same amount of unlit ones and 4 chunks of cherry wood in fire pan. Pork shoulder in smoker.

10:30 Temperature at 230 degrees, this is the target throughout the cook.

2:20 Four hours in and the internal temp of pork is at 165 degrees. Double wrapped with foil and back in the smoker. Added a couple hand fulls of brickettes.

4:40 Six hours twenty minutes in and the internal temp of the pork is at 190. Off the smoker still wrapped in foil put on the counter to sit.

5:40 With the pork sitting in foil for an hour on the counter we're ready to tear (pull) it.


Again I used the directions from here. Only for the cooking instructions. No rub. Quote:

Maintain a 200 to 225 degree F cooking temperature inside the grill, adding coals every 2 hours or as necessary. Add wood chips and spray the pork with apple juice every time you add new coals. Try not to lift the lid of the cooker at any other time.

When the pork reaches an internal temperature of 165 to 170 degrees F on an instant read meat thermometer (after about 4 to 5 hours), remove it from the grill and double wrap in aluminum foil to keep the juices from leaking out. Return pork to the grill (or smoker) The pork is finished cooking when it pulls apart easily and reaches an internal temperature of 190 to 195 degrees F, about another 1 to 2 hours. Let rest for 1 hour, then unwrap the pork butt and pull the bone out.

The end result was fantastic. Great smoke penetration and flavor. Only thing I would change is to purchase a bigger cut next time. Not many left overs with only 4 lbs of meat.

This was my 4th smoke and I'm pretty comfortable with the temperature control now. The more I use it the less I mess with it. I know what position the vents have to be now to get a certain temperature so I just set them and that's it. This last one I never touched the bottom vents and only threw on new coals one time. Pretty much all unattended. Contrast that with how my first use went where I was adjusting things every 15 minutes. What a rook...