That actually makes a ton of sense. It was only my second smoke, and my first attempt with lump charcoal and trying the minion method. It is entirely possible that I overloaded on charcoal? How much lump would you start out with for this shoulder? I guess it is going to take somewhere between 11 and 14 hours to smoke. One full chimney? Half a chimney?
Lump can be a little tricky for low and slow. It tends to burn a little hotter and more "willingly" than briquettes. If you're married to low and slow and want to use lump, just fill your water pan with water, and start with maybe a quarter chimney of lit lump on top of a full coal pan. If you switch to briquettes, use 10 lit ones on top of a full pan. The full water pan will let you keep your temps down easier. You can also use sand.
HOWEVER....Given that you already have the lump, and dealing with a water pan is a pain in the butt (sorry, couldn't resist), if it were me, I'd just go with an empty pan and use the lump, as well as 3 or 4 chunks of smoke wood. Use the minion method and once your temp hits 200˚ shut your vents down so you just have one maybe a quarter inch open. The temp will continue to rise, but it's ok. See if you can get it to stabilize in the upper 200's. Let it ride until you get to an IT of 150˚. This should happen in well under 4 hours. And by the way, your meat will have taken on PLENTY of smoke flavor, trust me. Once you hit 150˚, take it out of the smoker and put it in a pan with about a cup of braising liquid. I usually use half cider vinegar and half apple juice with some rub added in for flavor in my finishing sauce. Insert your Maverick probe, then cover the pan TIGHTLY with foil, and put it in the oven at 275˚. Set your temp alarm for 190˚, make a drink, and RELAX. Once it hits 190˚, check for tenderness by poking at it with a toothpick or skewer. When it's ready, it should probe with little to no resistance. It might be ready at 190˚, or it might take 200˚, or even 205˚. I'd check every half hour once it hits 190˚. Once it's tender, pull it out, wrap tightly in foil and put in a cooler with old towels on top, or in a 200˚ oven. SAVE THE JUICE!!! You'll wanna put the juice in a bowl and let it sit on the counter until the fat separates, about 15 minutes is usually enough. If you have a fat separator, use it to pour off the juice. If you don't, once the fat has separated, put the bowl in the freezer for an hour or so until the fat hardens on top. Remove the fat and discard or save for something else. Put the defatted juice in a skillet and reduce over medium high heat until it's a thick syrup. Then kill the heat and add cider vinegar, brown sugar and pepper flakes to make your finishing sauce. Look up a recipe on here for the proper ratios. Your pork should have had an hour or 2 of rest by this point, so unwrap it, pull it, add your sauce and ENJOY!!
This is your first pulled pork and you want results. No sense in sitting up all night with a balky smoker if you can get the same product in half the time, with none of the stress. Once you're comfortable with your smoker and the process, by all means go "old school" and do the Long, low, slow method. I think you'll find there is little if any difference in the eventual sandwich.
