BBQ’ing for the 4th of July, 2011

By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com

Pork Shoulder in the Smoker

My wife and I did not have our 12-year-running 4th of July party this year, but I did not let it stop me from smoking some BBQ!

I bought a 10 pound pork shoulder from the store and oiled it with olive oil.  I then coated it completely with dry rub consisting of paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt, pepper, sugar, and cayenne pepper.

I let it sit in the refrigerator overnight, most of the next day, and brought it to room temperature at 7pm.  I set my FEC-100 smoker on 224 degrees, put the probe to cook until 196 degrees, filled the hopper with apple wood, and started it up at around 8pm.

I checked the BBQ at around 10am the next morning and noted the probe was at 186 degrees.  This indicated the BBQ had another 4 hours or so to go so I started putting together the sauce.

Out of the Smoker, Resting

For the sauce I combined paprika, ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, the spice rub from earlier, worcestershire, and chopped jalapenos.  I cooked it down for about 30 minutes on low heat over the stove.

Once the sauce cooled, I removed the pork from the smoker, drained the liquid (fat, spices, oil, etc. had pooled by this time,) and poured the sauce over the top to cover completely.  I put aluminum foil over the top of the pan and put the pork back into the smoker.

Four hours later, the pork was done (196 degrees,) so I removed it from the smoker and let it sit for twenty minutes.  I removed the foil, shredded it, and mixed it in with the pan juices.

The meat was super tender which allowed me to remove the blade bone with my hands.  We put it on sandwiches, sided with baked beans, fresh corn on the cob, and potato salad.  A good way to start the 4th of July Holiday weekend. 🙂

Shredded Pork Shoulder

 

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