Pulled Pork

8 lb Picnic Shoulder Before Cooking

After cooking it is fall off the bone tender

Butt Rub:

¼ Cup Sweet Paprika

3 TB Kosher Salt

2 TB Ancho Chile Powder

2 TB Garlic Powder

2 TB Turbinado Sugar

2 TB Mexican Oregano

1 TB Coarse ground Black Pepper

1 TB Thyme

2 TS Cumin Powder

2 TS Onion Powder

2 TS Mustard Powder

2 TS Cayenne Pepper

½ TS Celery Seed

Instructions: Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

Makes Approximately 1 Cup

Prep Work:

One day prior to cooking, Trim the skin off the pork shoulder leaving a layer of fat on top. Rinse the meat and pat dry with paper towels. Cover the pork shoulder with Butt Rub and refrigerate overnight. Take it out of the fridge one hour before cooking to knock the chill off the meat.

Cooking Instructions:

I have a Holland Grill so you may have to change it up a little if you don't have one. The key to the tenderness in the meat is getting the internal temperature to 205 degrees.

I used Hickory wood pellets for smoke flavoring from BBQr's Delight to add some smoky flavor to the pork. You can use an aluminum foil pouch(directions on their website) or they sell a cast iron pot.

Once the grill started to smoke, I put the pork shoulder on. I cooked it for one hour per side to put a little crust on it. After the two hours, I inserted a probe from a digital thermometer in the thickest part of the meat and double wrapped the shoulder in Heavy Duty foil. I then cooked it until the internal temperature was 205. Prepare a cooler by putting an old towel on the bottom. When you remove the pork shoulder from the grill, I put mine in an oven bag so if it leaked that the towels are not stained. Then surround the pork shoulder with towels, leaving the end of your temperature probe hanging out of the cooler. I left mine in the cooler for 3 more hours and the temperature was still 179 degrees. The procedure using the cooler will keep the meat in the temperature range that breaks down the connective tissue. Remove from the cooler and foil, save any juices to pour on the pulled pork. The meat should just fall apart. Pull/chop the meat, put a teaspoon of rub into the meat as you are pulling it and mix it up, put pork on a toasted bun and serve. I personally don't put BBQ sauce on mine, but I usually make one or two varieties for the rest of the crowd.

The total cooking time of the meat was about 4 hours, then another 3 hours in the cooler. Your time may vary depending on your grill and the size of the pork shoulder you buy.