EIGHT-TIME WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PORK SHOULDER
The whole pork shoulder is exactly that, a hog's entire front haunch. The average shoulder weighs sixteen to twenty pounds and is the shape of a large shoe box. The shoulder is comprised of two different cuts: the "picnic," which is the lower portion and includes the leg bone, and the "butt," which is the top of the shoulder, including the blade bone. In the barbecue world, restaurant cooking is different from competition cooking. A restaurant customer expects to enjoy a full plate of barbecue and to enjoy the last bite as much as the first. Judges at competitions, on the other hand, usually taste only a bite or two for each entry they are served. If your meat doesn't grab the judges' taste buds and make them whimper with pleasure, the blue ribbon is history. In fact I once heard a master barbecue judge say, "You can't win with good eatin' barbecue." It is very difficult to walk the fine line between good eatin' and good scorin' 'Q, but this recipe does it. It takes the base flavors and cooking techniques that Big Bob Gibson always used in his restaurant and amplifies them for competition. We add a seasoning blend to enhance the flavor of the bark-the outside crust of the meat-and we use injection to increase the moisture in the pork and permeate the meat throughout with flavorings. We use the same vinegar-based sauce that Big Bob created in the early 1920s to finish the shoulder. These modifications resulted in six straight first place finishes at the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest in the pork shoulder category, an added victory at the Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue, and a first place at the largest barbecue contest in the world, the American Royal.
Yield serves 20 to 24
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- Build a fire (wood or a combination of charcoal and wood) for indirect cooking by situating the coals on only one side of the grill, leaving the other side void.
- In a small bowl, combine the dry rub ingredients. Mix well and set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, combine all the injection ingredients and blend until the sugar dissolves. Using a meat syringe, inject the meat evenly at 1-inch intervals from the top side, using the entire amount of the injection solution. Apply the dry rub to the meat in an even coating, patting so the rub adheres.
- When the heat reaches 225°F, place the pork shoulder, skin side down, on the void side of the grill and close the lid. Cook for 14 to 16 hours, adding charcoal as needed during the cooking process to keep the cooker temperature at 225°F. Two small wood chunks should be added every hour to increase the smoke flavor. When the meat has cooked for 13 hours, start basting the shoulder with the vinegar sop mop every hour. When done, the blade bone (the bone visible on the side of the shoulder) should release with a firm tug and the internal temperature of the meat should reach 195°F.
- Remove the pork to a cutting board and let it rest for 30 minutes. Wearing insulated rubber gloves, pull the pork from the bonesby hand. Pull off and discard all visible fat.
- Injection is optional, but when done right, it delivers flavor all through the meat right to the bone. Keep in mind that you don't want to overpower the natural flavor of the pork. For the best results, inject the solution evenly throughout the meat from the top side only; this will prevent the liquid from draining out during the cooking process.
- Indirect heat
- Pignut hickory
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