How To Grill Perfect Pork

My husband has perfected his Smoked Pulled Pork this summer. He’s made it 3-4 times, and every time it has been even more delicious than the last. We don’t have a smoker, but that didn’t stop him. He did his research and figured out how to make it happen with our gas grill.

Here’s his method: he purchased a nice 4-5 pound bone-in pork shoulder. The day before he cooked it, he rubbed it all over with a combination of salt, pepper, cumin, smoked paprika, brown sugar and a little cayenne. He let it sit overnight in the fridge, and then took it out a few hours before cooking it the next morning to bring it to room temperature to ensure even cooking throughout. To prepare his grill, he soaked hickory wood chips in water for about 30 minutes, then placed them in two small aluminum loaf pans and set them in the grill. He turned both burners on high and let the chips start smoking for 15-20 minutes. Then he turned one burner off and placed the pork on that side, and turned the other burner down as low as possible. His goal was to maintain the temperature as close to 225 as possible. And then he let that shoulder cook for 8 hours, adding more wood chips as needed, until it reached 190 degrees, his magic number based on previous experience. Then he let it rest for a good 30 minutes. He shredded it up and we devoured some incredible tacos, with pickled red onions, cilantro, lime, and crumbled queso fresco.

If you have a grill, give it a try this summer! It is so worth the effort and provides several days of delicious leftovers for more tacos, sandwiches, nachos, etc. Or if you have a Big Green Egg like we sell at The Chopping Block, smoke your pork shoulder and make the rest of us jealous.

We went to a restaurant this weekend (which shall remain nameless) and ordered some pulled pork. It was tasty. But my husband’s is in a class all its own.

What’s your method for smoking pork?