14 Hour Smoke-Pork

Ever since I worked as a grill cook for a wild game fine dining restaurant, smoking meat has become one of my favorite past times. I am always trying to perfect my recipes, doing research, experimenting. Although smoking meat isn’t always convenient for everyone, it sure does give any protein that awesome flavor and adds some flare with a beautiful smoke ring. I use an electric smoker that I got as a gift for Christmas, so this recipe will need to be adjusted for other types of smokers.

My Rub: (I use this on pork and chicken)

2/3 c brown sugar

2/3 c chili powder

1 tbs kosher salt

1/2 tbs white pepper

The Pig:

7 lb picnic pork shoulder

6 c wood chips (I use a mixture of apple, hickory and oak)

2 c apple juice in a spray bottle

Make the rub and transfer to a storage container. Begin prepping the roast by first removing the skin. I reserve this and freeze it to make chicharron at a later date. Trim off as much fat as possible. Coat the roast in 2 c of rub. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Forty-five minutes before you are ready to put the roast in your smoker, set the time for 15 hours and the temp for 275. Make sure you have fresh smoke chips in your smoker. Close and allow to heat up and fill with smoke. Forty-five minutes later, put the pork on the middle rack. Allow to smoke for 3 hours at 275. After the 3 hours, drop the temperature to 225. Continue cooking for the remaining 11 hours, making sure to spray the roast every 30 minutes-1 hour. Check your smoke chips and change them out as needed. Remember, smoking meat is a lot like babysitting. It takes a lot of patience and attention.

After the 14 hour smoking process, remove the roast from the smoker and wrap in foil, then in several kitchen towels. Place in an insulated cooler and close tight. Allow to rest for a minimum of 1 hour. After the roast has rested it should be ready to be stripped. If you prefer, you can use specially made BBQ gloves to strip the meat from the bone. This should be fairly simple by now. Chop up meat and use it to make sandwiches, nachos, or just by itself.