A shoulder to cry on for Easter

Off the Core

I am happy to report that my momentous undertaking -- smoking a giant pork shoulder for Easter lunch -- yielded some excellent results this weekend. Considering that it was rainy all day Saturday and Sunday until about noon, with temperatures in the 40s and 50s, I think it turned out spectacularly well.

The "giant shoulder" indeed turned out to be two boneless shoulders placed end to end in the cryovac -- a good thing, since I decided I would cut it in half if it weren't.

I dry marinated the meat with a pretty standard paprika-based rub while the meat warmed to close to room temperature. Knowing we were going to have the barbecue for a late lunch Sunday, I decided, based on the weather, to begin the smoking at 2 on Saturday afternoon. I used a combination of Royal Oak charcoal (for predictability) and hickory logs (mostly branches with bark, because that's what came in the one 60-pound bag of hickory I could find Saturday morning).

I kept the smoker temperature between 220 and 250 until about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, then added a full load of fuel and closed the vents. I awoke about 7 on Sunday, went out to the smoker immediately, and found the top grate temperature hovering around 100 -- not bad for 6-1/2 hours on one load of fuel. I stoked the fire again and continued smoking at about 250 until 1:30 p.m. At that point, the internal temperature had been hovering around 160 - 165 for close to an hour, and I had several mouths around me that were beginning to look hungry...so I decided to take it indoors and finish it in the oven. another 45 minutes at 350 brought the internal temp to 195. The shoulders had a good 1/2- to 3/4-inch smoke ring and the meat was springy and moist with most of the fat rendered into the meat.

I chopped/shredded the meat, added some barbecue sauce and served it on Texas' own Mrs. Baird's hamburger buns with North Carolina cole slaw. I had made Western NC barbecue sauce, but my guests and I opted for Stubbs, which seemed to add a sweetness that offset the intense smokiness of the meat.

The barbecue was deemed to be delicious by everyone at the table, although I admit that I found it better reheated today at lunch than I did yesterday. Then again, yesterday I was pretty tired out by the time the food hit the table, and I also smelled like I had been fighting a five-alarm fire all day thanks to my smoker-tending duties. We've had the windows open all day to try to air out the smoke smell that permeated the house thanks to the oven finishing of the shoulders.

I've still got one of the shoulders left, if anyone wants to stop by!