Pork Shoulder Roast

Linda bought a four pound pork shoulder roast. It looked nice. I had heard and read that this was a forgiving piece to cook, so I was little concerned.

I estimated the usual hour per pound. I figured that it would take a bag of the Kingsford lump charcoal I had previously used. This charcoal is a bit more dense than the Cowboy brand I had first used. It seemed to burn a bit hotter. I prepped my chimney and got everything set up.

The meat I washed and rubbed with the Dollar Tree vegetable and olive oil blend. I then rubbed in my usual simple rub. That is some seasoned salt, table salt, garlic sea salt and black pepper. I then place the meat on the rack and inserted the remote thermometer.

I lit the lighting chimney and waited until the coals had a good heat. I then poured them into the fire box and spread them out. This layer was covered with unlit coals. I had the vents open all of the way. I returned every twenty minutes to add coals. Periodically I added soaked Kingsford Hickory wood chips.

I found the Kingsford chips to be a good value. It is a good sized bag for under four dollars. About the best price I have found. They seemed to work quite well, and burned long enough to provide a good smoke.

The timer had been set for two hours, at which time I turned the meat over and end for end. This exposed the end farthest from the fire to the fire for the second half of the cooking time. The internal temperature of the meat was about 120 degrees at this time.

I continued to monitor at twenty minute intervals. With about ten minutes left on the planned four hours the meat was 158 degrees internal. I applied the hair dryer to the coals for about two minutes, since I had added the last of the bag a few minutes before and wanted to be sure we reached target. It probably was not necessary.

The target temperature was reached at three hours and fifty eight minutes. 160 degrees. I removed the roast and wrapped it, to let it rest for twenty minutes.

I uncovered the roast and began cutting for serving. It was tender throughout. The color was good, and the smoke flavor delicate. I cut slices for some family members, as they preferred it served that way. I chopped quite a bit, anticipating several days of eating.

I did my barbecue spaghetti one day. Another I added the meat to a Rice-A-Roni Mexican dinner. It enhanced that meal a great deal.

On the whole I found the Pork Shoulder Roast to be a quite satisfying barbecue experience.