Superbowl Pork Shoulder
Date: February 7th 2016
The Superbowl pork shoulder was iconic for a couple reasons:
- Smoked shoulder of the year
- It was the best one to date
tldr;
17# shoulder smoked over Cherry @ 270 for 5 hours - wrapped and placed in oven for 2 hours.
Anyway here is the quick ingredients list:
- 17# pork shoulder (Costco) - $34
Injection
- Apple Juice Concentrate (Frozen)
- Cinnamon
- Garlic powder
- Salt/Pepper
- Cumin
- Red Wine Vinegar (half cup)
Rub
- Light dusting of Butt Rub. - Amazon
- Light dusting of Most Powerful Stuff - Amazon
- Light dusting of Zero to Hero - Amazon
Wood
Cherry Chips - Amazon
Smoker
Masterbuilt Electric - Amazon
Process
Start this one by give the shoulder a good trim. Removing excess outer fat etc. It was a boneless shoulder, which I do not prefer, but, it was decent looking.
Next was a rinse and dry, just run the should under water and rub it down, removing excess blood that has started to get sticky. Then pat dry.
Next I did an injection (ingredients above). Making sure to saturate this bad boy.
Then a light dusting of each of the above rubs, which will result in this but being pretty well covered in rub.
Smoked @ 270 for 5 hours uncovered with a water pan.
Pulled and put in oven covered for 2 more hours.
The result was wonderful. The shoulder had a great crust developed that had a nice mixture of the rubs present with the heavy cherry smoke. The crust had a very peppery bit to it, that was made a little easier by the caramelized sugars from the sweet rub.
The butt itself wasnt 100% fall apart tender, but, it turns out, thats ok. While the but did require a little more effort to shred, that provided with a much meatier or substantial bite. The meat didnt dissolve in your mouth totally, allowing you to get a great taste of the injection throughout.
In all this butt was a major success. I will be trying this recipe again over coals and logs.