Pork Shoulder (Boneless Blade Roast)

[rangerone]

This was my first attempt at a pork shoulder, or at least a pork shoulder portion. I picked up a 4 pound pork shoulder that was boneless and already tied up. I applied my own rub to it, not putting too much rub on the fat side. I let it sit in the refrigerator for about 10 hours, and removed it about 1 hour before it went on the Weber. I used Maple Leaf Briquets in the Smokenator along with several pieces of cherry wood chunks that I added as the cook went along. Here are my preparation pictures.

Naked Shoulder:


Rubbed Shoulder:


On the Weber, fat side up.


Continued in next post...

[rangerone]

I really love my Smokenator. This cook took almost 8 hours. I checked the Smokenator once an hour to add water and stir up the coals, and I added more charcoal twice (at 4 hour and 6 hour cook times). Once I set my vents, the temperature stayed between 219F and 241F for the entire time with the exception of the last hour. To rush it along a bit, for the last hour I did not add any water to the pan (it went dry) and that pushed the kettle temperatures up to 290F range. During the cook time, I did the grocery shopping, watched TV, and relaxed with some beer. Between the Smokenator and the Maverick, I had nothing to worry about and was free to do other things. I pulled the meat at an internal temperature of 194F, foiled it and put it into the cooler for 40 minutes. Nice bark, tender and juicy with lots of flavour. It pulled quite easily and the wife loved it as much as I did. 

Finished smoking:


Pulled:


The above picture was just the left overs. We enjoyed the sandwiches without any sauce today, but we will add a touch of BBQ sauce tomorrow!!

[ncsmoker]

rangerone that looks delicious. I did the same pulled pork, an 8 lb. butt using apple and a little hickory. Took about 12 hours.



Down here in NC we use a vinegar sauce to toss with the pulled pork, it goes very well with the sweetness and fattiness of the pork. I have used barbeque sauce but it can get heavy and hide the pork flavor. Since pulled pork came from the south here are a list of recipes to try for you bbq.about.com/od/pulledporkbarbecuesauces/ The pork pic is after being dressed with a vinegar, water and rub mixture, it is barely moist. .

Again good smoking and that sure looks good.

Regards,

NC

[rangerone]

Thanks for the link NC. I will book mark it for reference. 
The pulled pork tasted great just as is, and tonight we added just a bit of Honey-Garlic BBQ Sauce. That worked very nicely as well.
I need to get some other woods for smoking. All I have right now are cherry and oak. I definitely want to get some apple, and I might go for some hickory. The wife does not like a strong smokey taste, so I have been sticking with cherry and oak so far.

So, you did an 8 lb. butt and it took about 12 hours? Can you tell me what grill temperature you were using, did you wrap, and at what internal temperature you took the meat off? I am also interested in how long you let it rest. I have read that 1-2 hours is recommended. Me an my lady could not wait that long. After 40 minutes of resting in foil in our cooler, we pulled it. I checked the temperature first and it was still around 191F. 

By the way, it is nice to see you posting pictures!!

Allan aka RangerOne

[ncsmoker]

Hi Allan yes I finally figured out how to reduce the size of the picture on my Canon camera so pictures will be coming whenever I smoke something.

The grill temp was 135. Apple wood used for first 6 hrs. I wrapped as I hit the stall at 165. Took the butt off at 185 still in the foil, set it on the kitchen counter for carry over cooking and to allow the juices to redistribute. After an hour checked temp and it was 196. Opened foil to allow to cool down for pulling. But was hungry and just sliced a couple of slices off the end for Deb and I for supper. LOL Let it cool and placed in frig and pulled out the next day and pulled off in large pieces and used a cleaver to chop like many of the pulled pork places do down here in NC. I normally pull when it is just cool enough to handle. I could have warmed it up and pulled it the traditional way but did not want to waste the time and you really can't tell the difference when done right.

I also recommend that when using fruit wood that you clean your upper hood fairly frequently as they exude an extra amount of ash and creosote deposit on the lid. I found a very nice product at Lowe's and I'll get it from my grilling center and send you a note tomorrow.

Tom aka NC

[ncsmoker]

Allan good morning the product at Lowe's is CITRUCLEAN BBQ GRILL CLEANER. It took off the creosote on the lid easily and really shined up my grills. Just got back from applying for SSN.

Take care, I'm going to do some teriyaki chicken later this week with cherry wood. It's yummy probably do squash with it as we're about to over run with the little buggers. LOL

Take care

Tom aka NC

[rangerone]

Thanks for the tip, Tom! I will go and look for some CITRUCLEAN BBQ GRILL CLEANER tomorrow.

Allan aka RangerOne