So I was at the grocery store, walking down the meat aisle and saw they had bone in pork shoulder on sale for $1.49 a pound. What a deal! I could not afford to pass that up. We were having friends over so this would make a great meal, especially with the Traeger. Making pulled pork is an all day affair and I love that.
First you need to rub the pork shoulder with a good dry rub and let it sit for an hour or so. I use the following for my rub:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup smoked paprila
- 3 T salt
- 3 T fresh ground pepper
- 2 t dry mustard (Colemans is the best)
- 1/4 t cayenne pepper for some heat
I start my grill and preheat to 220 degrees. Put the seasoned pork shoulder directly on the grates and smoke for 3 hours. Spritz with apple juice every hour, after the first hour.
Now turn the heat up to 250 degrees, place the pork shoulder in a baking dish and continue to cook for 6-8 hours, until the internal temp reaches 190 degrees. Check the temp in the thickest part of the shoulder, away from the bone.
When done pull off the grill and let rest for 20 minutes before pulling. This one had a great “bark” on it and looks delicious. Now slice off big chunks and pull using 2 forks to get those long, stringy threads of goodness. Toss with your favorite BBQ sauce and serve.
We serve our pork with coleslaw and BBQ baked beans. Kris and I do not eat wheat so we just pile the pork on a plate, top with the coleslaw and chow down. Enjoy!!