BBQ Pulled Pork

Combine brown sugar, smoked paprika, salt, and spice mix in a bowl. Pat the pork shoulder completely dry with paper towels. Apply the rub all over the shoulder — every surface, including the crevices around the bone. Press firmly so the rub adheres. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. The salt will draw moisture to the surface and then reabsorb it, seasoning deep into the meat.

Set up your smoker or oven at 107–121°C. For smokers, use hickory, apple, or cherry wood. Place pork fat-cap up. Smoke for 5–6 hours, maintaining temperature, until an instant-read thermometer reads 74°C internally. Spritz with apple cider vinegar every 90 minutes to keep the bark moist and add tang. The bark will form and harden during this phase — do not wrap yet.

When the internal temperature stalls between 65–74°C (the infamous BBQ 'stall' caused by evaporative cooling), tightly wrap the pork in two layers of butcher paper or heavy foil. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar inside the wrap. Return to the smoker or move to a 135°C oven. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 93–96°C, approximately 2–3 more hours.

Remove the wrapped pork from heat when it reaches 93–96°C. Without unwrapping, wrap the entire package in a towel and place in a cooler for at least 1 hour, up to 4 hours. This rest is not optional — it allows the temperature to equalize throughout the shoulder and lets the gelatin re-set, which means juicier, more cohesive pulled pork.

Unwrap the pork over a large pan to catch all the juices. Using two forks or heat-resistant gloves, pull the meat apart into shaggy strands. Discard any large pieces of pure fat. Pour some of the collected pan juices back over the pulled pork to keep it moist. Serve with BBQ sauce on the side — never mix it in, so diners can control their sauce level.