My father-in-law normally does a shrimp feed for the family around the holidays and this year, our house is the meeting place. My niece also requested something smoked as well as my wife’s potato salad.
Picked up a 9+ lb. picnic shoulder and tried a making a Carolina-style rub I found on the Spruce Eats (with some personal tweaking). Here is the shoulder rubbed down, ready to go.
The WSM was fired up with a mix of apple and hickory. The meat went on just a few minutes after 5 pm. I started it Wednesday evening because of wanting it to not run over into the New Year’s gathering (I was estimating around 13 hours if this was going to be a drawn out shoulder) and the iffy weather situation with rain and wind/no wind.
The WSM ran on the hotter side (275-300) most of the smoke and by 8:30,the pork was up to around 150. I reloaded charcoal twice, and just before 2am, I was in the 195 range and the meat was probing tender. I’m really starting to like no water in the pan and running just a little hotter as it does seem to speed up cook times without sacrificing taste/texture/etc.
After I got it inside, the meat pulled nicely and the bone slid cleanly. The Carolina rub had a nice mix of sweet and heat. Of course I had to help myself to a late night sampler and the dog even came downstairs to check it out. Here’s what I got to tonight’s festivities.
We’ll see what the mass verdict is later today. Thanks for looking and Happy New Year!!!
Picked up a 9+ lb. picnic shoulder and tried a making a Carolina-style rub I found on the Spruce Eats (with some personal tweaking). Here is the shoulder rubbed down, ready to go.
The WSM was fired up with a mix of apple and hickory. The meat went on just a few minutes after 5 pm. I started it Wednesday evening because of wanting it to not run over into the New Year’s gathering (I was estimating around 13 hours if this was going to be a drawn out shoulder) and the iffy weather situation with rain and wind/no wind.
The WSM ran on the hotter side (275-300) most of the smoke and by 8:30,the pork was up to around 150. I reloaded charcoal twice, and just before 2am, I was in the 195 range and the meat was probing tender. I’m really starting to like no water in the pan and running just a little hotter as it does seem to speed up cook times without sacrificing taste/texture/etc.
After I got it inside, the meat pulled nicely and the bone slid cleanly. The Carolina rub had a nice mix of sweet and heat. Of course I had to help myself to a late night sampler and the dog even came downstairs to check it out. Here’s what I got to tonight’s festivities.
We’ll see what the mass verdict is later today. Thanks for looking and Happy New Year!!!
