Smoked pulled pork shoulder

Ingredients

• 3.2 kg bone-in pork shoulder, Boston butt cut if available
• 80 g American yellow mustard
• 55 g fine salt
• 90 g light brown sugar
• 35 g mild smoked paprika
• 18 g ground black pepper
• 2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 3 tbsp garlic powder
• 3 tbsp onion powder
• 250 ml apple cider vinegar
• 150 ml water
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp American vinegar-based hot sauce
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 500 g food-grade oak or hickory wood chips or chunks for smoking

Method

1. Trim the pork shoulder: remove only flaps of hard fat or dry skin, keeping an even layer of fat. Pat the meat thoroughly dry with paper towels; the surface must be dry so the seasoning adheres.
2. Mix the salt, brown sugar, paprika, pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, and onion powder. Coat the entire shoulder with the mustard, then cover generously with the spice mixture, pressing it in with your palm. The surface should be uniformly reddish-brown, with no bare patches.
3. Let the meat rest in the refrigerator, uncovered or lightly covered, until the seasoning moistens and forms a sticky paste. Then take the meat out while the smoker heats so it does not go into the cook ice-cold.
4. Prepare a smoker or grill for low-temperature indirect cooking, stabilized around 110 to 120 °C. Add the smoking wood to the coals or the designated box: the smoke should be thin, bluish, and steady, never thick and white.
5. Place the shoulder fat-side up, away from the direct heat. Close the smoker and cook slowly. During the first few hours, do not open it unnecessarily: the bark should form, become matte, and then turn mahogany brown.
6. When the surface is well set and no longer sticks to your finger, lightly brush it with some of the vinegar mixture made with the cider vinegar, water, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and chili flakes. Repeat only if the surface seems dry; the goal is to moisten the bark, not wash it.
7. Continue cooking until the classic stall: the internal temperature may plateau for a long time around 65 to 75 °C. Do not raise the heat abruptly; this is when moisture evaporates and the collagen begins to give way.
8. When the bark is very dark, firm to the touch, and the meat has taken on plenty of smoke, wrap the shoulder in unwaxed butcher paper or aluminum foil. Return it to the smoker and continue cooking until a probe enters the meat with almost no resistance, like warm butter.
9. Remove the shoulder from the smoker and let it rest, still wrapped, in a clean cooler or a turned-off oven. Resting is essential: the fibers relax, the juices redistribute, and the meat finishes tenderizing.
10. Open the package over a dish to collect the juices. Remove the bone: it should come away cleanly. Discard large pieces of unmelted fat, then pull the meat by hand with a glove or with two forks, keeping long, irregular fibers rather than a fine mince.
11. Toss the pulled meat with its hot juices and some of the vinegar sauce. Taste and adjust with the remaining sauce according to the balance you want: the meat should remain smoky, juicy, slightly sweet, and peppery, with a lift of acidity.
12. Serve hot and simply, with the dark bark well distributed through the meat. The right texture is tender and stringy, with pieces that still hold together and edges that are almost candied.

Nutrition

Per serving

Energy

640.3 kcal

Protein

52.73 g

Carbohydrate

16.05 g

Fat

40.4 g

Fibre

2.05 g

Calcium

65.73 mg

Iron

4.67 mg

Magnesium

63.38 mg