Perfect Pulled Pork***

By Gigirox

Ingredients

• 1 pork shoulder
• Dry Rub
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp ground pepper
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• Mix well and store in an air tight container.
• Brine Solution
• 2 Tbsp salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 qts (2 litres) cold water
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 tbsp dry rub mix

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from entertainingrecipes.org

Preparation

Step 1

Add salt to cold water and stir very well until all the salt is completely dissolved. Then add the brown sugar, dry rub, and bay leaves and stir well to combine.

Pork shoulder preparation:

Rinse the pork shoulder and place in a large container, pour in the brine solution until the shoulder is completely covered. Cover the container and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. Then remove pork shoulder from brine solution, pat dry with paper towels, place in baking pan that is bigger than the shoulder by at least a inch in length and width and at least 3 inches deep. Sprinkle dry rub onto the surface of the shoulder and massage in such that it adheres to the surface. Coat all sides. Add 1.5 cups of brine solution to the baking pan. Make sure the fat layer on the shoulder is facing up before cooking! Place baking pan uncovered in a 225 degree oven on the middle rack. Insert a probe thermometer into the center or thickest part of the shoulder, but not touching the bone. Monitor the temperature throughout cooking (a digital thermometer with an alarm function is the easiest way to do this). Do not remove from the oven until the center of the shoulder reaches 200 degrees. When the shoulder has reached 200 degrees, shut off the oven and let the roast cool for a couple of hours before removing from the oven. If the bottom of the pan is dry (or crusted with dried spices) then cover the pan with foil to retain internal moisture of the meat during the cooling period. When the temperature drops to 170 degrees or slightly lower, remove from oven.

Now, cooking at 225 degrees, this shoulder will take between 1.5 to 2 hours per pound to cook. As it happens, this 8 lb shoulder took 13 hours, so a little over an hour and a half per pound. I cook the shoulder overnight.

Place on a large, clean work surface such as a cutting board, and remove the large sheet of crusted fat on the top. Pull apart with two forks, it will pull apart very easily. Add some of the cooking liquid back to the pulled pork, along with a little barbeque sauce, if desired. I also added a few tablespoons of the dry rub to the pulled pork and mixed well before serving.