ShoulderCharcoal Smoked Pulled Pork Shoulder
The most forgiving long cook in barbecue. A pork shoulder has so much fat and connective tissue that it tolerates almost every mistake you can make, which is why it should be your first project cook.
ShoulderCypriot Souvla on the Foukou
The Sunday cook of every Cypriot village. Big chunks of pork shoulder turning slowly over charcoal for two and a half hours, seasoned with almost nothing.
ShoulderCuban Lechon Asado
Pork shoulder marinated in mojo, which is sour orange, a great deal of garlic and oregano. Citrus and pork over charcoal, and very little else.
ShoulderChar Siu, Chinese Barbecue Pork
The glossy red barbecue pork that hangs in Cantonese windows. Pork shoulder strips lacquered in a sweet, savoury glaze and cooked until the edges char.
ShoulderAl Pastor Pork Skewers
Mexico by way of Lebanon: spit-grilled pork marinated in dried chillies, achiote and pineapple, the Middle Eastern shawarma technique that Lebanese immigrants brought to Mexico City.
Pork shoulder is the most forgiving long cook in barbecue. It carries so much fat and connective tissue that it tolerates almost every mistake available to you, which is exactly why it should be your first project cook rather than brisket.
Buy bone-in Boston butt, not the leaner picnic shoulder. Both get labelled shoulder, so ask specifically. The blade bone is also your doneness indicator: when it twists free and pulls out clean, the meat is ready.
Reckon on roughly half a pound of raw weight per person, since a bone-in butt loses about 40 percent of its weight to rendering and bone.
At a glance
| Recipe | Method | Grill temp | Cook time | Pull at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charcoal Smoked Pulled Pork Shoulder | Low and slow smoking | 105 to 135°C (225 to 275°F) | 10 to 12 hr | 95°C (203°F) |
| Cypriot Souvla on the Foukou | Rotisserie | 135 to 175°C (275 to 350°F) | 2 hr 30 min | 85°C (185°F) |
| Cuban Lechon Asado | Low and slow smoking | 105 to 135°C (225 to 275°F) | 8 hr | 95°C (203°F) |
| Char Siu, Chinese Barbecue Pork | Two-zone cooking | 135 to 175°C (275 to 350°F) | 1 hr | 70°C (160°F) |
| Al Pastor Pork Skewers | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 20 min | 70°C (160°F) |
Techniques used
Direct heat. Food straight over the coals. Fast, fierce, and finished before the inside overcooks. Rotisserie. Constant rotation, constant self-basting, no hot side to fight. Low and slow smoking. Hours at 105°C (225°F) to 150°C (300°F) with wood on the coals. Collagen melts, bark forms. Two-zone cooking. Coals banked to one side: a searing zone and a gentle zone in one grill. The single most useful technique in charcoal cooking.
Cookers these suit
Bullet smokers. Drum smokers. Foukou rotisseries. Kamado grills. Kettle grills. Portable grills.