Editor’s pick
Pulled Pork Shoulder
Low and slow until it pulls apart, bark full of flavor, enough meat you don't have to fight for it, but you might.
Recipe to cook
Smoked Pulled Pork Shoulder, Eastern, NC Style
Wood & charcoal smoke and a long, low burn turn a tough shoulder into something you pull apart with two fingers.
9.5 hrsCook Time
240°FPit Temp
Apple Wood & CharcoalWood
203°FTarget Internal
MediumDifficulty
Gather
Ingredients
Everything you need, whichever way you cook it.
- 8–9 lb bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt)
- Kosher salt (for the dry brine)
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard (binder)
- 1/2 cup Smoke City Pork Rub
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 1 cup apple juice (spritz)
- Sandwich rolls, for serving
Before the pit
Prep
Start this the night before — the dry brine and the smoker both reward patience.
Dry-brine the shoulder with kosher salt at least 12 hours ahead, uncovered on a rack in the fridge.
Coat it in mustard, then pack on the rub until the surface disappears.
Pull it out an hour before the cook to take the chill off.
Low and slow
The Cook
Set it, hold your nerve through the stall, and let the smoker do the work.
Trim the fat cap to about 1/4 inch — enough to render without smothering the bark.
Set the pit to 250°F over hickory, running clean thin smoke.
Smoke the shoulder fat-side up until the bark has set and it reads about 165°F internal, roughly 5–6 hours.
Wrap if you want it in butcher paper once the color's where you like it, or ride it out unwrapped for more bark.
Push through the stall — the temperature will hold around 165–175°F for a while. Keep the pit steady and let it pass.
Pull at 195–203°F, once the shoulder probes like warm butter.
Rest it wrapped in a cooler for at least 45 minutes before you touch it.
Bring it home
Finish & Serve
Pull it, sauce it light, and let people build their own plate.
Pull the pork with two forks or gloved hands, working the bark and rendered fat back through as you go.
Serve on rolls with a splash of vinegar sauce, or plain if the bark speaks for itself.
In this cook
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- Smokeintermediate
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