Another BBQ Adventure

I love my new smoker!  On Friday, I had a friend coming over to watch the Iowa-Oklahoma Bowl Game.  I decided I wanted to smoke something, and that something was pulled pork.  So, I bought a pork shoulder (3.2 lbs, boneless) and dressed it up with my favorite Pork Rub and let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours.  Here's the rub recipe (I use it for ribs as well because it just works for pork):

Pork Rub:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne

Just mix it all together and you have the magic pork rub. 

After 24 hours, I took the pork out of the fridge and let it come up to room temperature.  While it was doing that, I preheated my smoker to 225 degrees...I tried really hard to keep the smoker between 225-250 degrees on this one.  Then I threw on the pork shoulder and added the hickory wood.  I added more wood chips every 45 minutes or so for the first 4 hours.

After 2 hours, I started spraying the pork with a "mop" that was really simple...1/4 cup water and 3/4 cup cider vinegar.  This helped keep the pork from drying out.

After 4 and a half hours, the pork was at 145 degrees...you want it at 190, so I wrapped it in the foil and put it in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour to git 'r done.  I figured this was ok since after 3-4 hours, you really don't impart much smoke flavor.  Plus, it was getting cold outside which was making it more difficult to keep things warm.

After the pork reached 185, I pulled it from the oven and let it rest for 1 hour.  During this time, it came up to 192 degrees.  After an hour I shredded it and served it on white junior hamburger buns with my homemade barbecue sauce.  I also provided pickles for those who wanted it.  My friend and my wife both ate some, and gave it rave reviews.  The next day, my son had a sandwich, but used Famous Dave's Devil's Spit sauce instead and loved it.

I thought it was a really good first attempt at pulled pork.  I'm excited to try a full, bone-in, pork shoulder next.  That will take all day to cook.  I am thinking I might need to play with different woods too, though I really like the flavor I get from hickory.  Also, I learned an important lesson about smoking when cold...it takes longer!  I should've known that.

Anyway, another great experience with my smoker.  That was a great investment!