Smoked BBQ Pork Shoulder -

BBQing a pork shoulder is an all day affair. For me, it is a challenge to get the meat just right, and I love it. To start, you need a plan in place to get the timing right. If you're cooking for a party, I recommend having people over for dinner. This is because a 5-7 pound pork shoulder will take about 10-12 hours to smoke at 225, so it's better to start at 6 AM as opposed to 1 AM (for a lunch). The hardest part of BBQ, it has to be nailing the temperature. If you click here, you can read about my process and which smokers I recommend. I would also recommend doing a test run ahead of any big party, as managing the temperature can be overwhelming. You don't want to have things totally work against you, causing you to freak out while people are arriving (trust me, I know exactly how that feels.)

Print Recipe

Smoked BBQ Pork Shoulder

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time5 hrs

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: BBQ, BBQ Chicken, fall, Grill, Smoking, Summer

Servings:

Calories: 227kcal

Author: SatMorning21

Equipment

Smoker

Ingredients

6 pound Pork Shoulder Whole
My spice rub recipe below
1 Large bag of hickory wood chunks
1 Large bag of charcoal
1 Cup Favorite BBQ Sauce

Spice Rub

3 TB Paprika
2 TB Brown sugar
1 TB Garlic powder
1 TB Ground mustard
1 TB Salt
1 T Ground ginger
1 T Onion powder
1 T Ground black pepper

Instructions

Night Before

Unwrap your pork and rinse under cold water. Pat the pork dry with paper towels.
Mix all ingredients of the spice rub together in a small bowl.
Place the pork on baking sheet and cover with the rub. Really try to press the rub onto the meat to make sure that all surfaces are covered.
Put the pork in the fridge overnight (you can apply the rub an hour before you put the pork on the grill if you’d prefer.)
Start soaking your wood chunks.

Day of (see note below on timing)

If you didn't put the rub on the pork the night before, do so now.
Get your smoker up to 225 degrees.
Cook pork for 10-12 hours, checking the temperature inside the smoker and water level every hour. Adding wood, water and charcoal as need to get the desired smoke level.
Once the pork reaches 170 degrees, that’s when you can pull it from the smoker. Let rest for 10 minutes.
Take 2 forks and start shredding the meat.
Serve on a bun with your favorite BBQ or give mine a try! I hope you enjoy.

Notes

If you're planning to have the pork for dinner, remember, it will take 10-12 hours. So if you want the pork ready to serve by 6PM, it has to be done cooking by 5:30. Based on the cooking time, you should start cooking it at about 6AM. Then, you have to factor in how long you need to get the charcoal and wood setup.

Nutrition

Smoked BBQ Pork Shoulder