Pork Shoulder for the Grill
Serves 10-12
Ingredients
The Brine:
1 gal. water
1 cup salt
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 oz. sel rose (curing salt)
2 heads of garlic
2 oranges, zested
2 limes, zested
2 lemons, zested
2 sprigs of rosemary
6 sprigs of thyme
½ tbsp. cracked black pepper
2 tbsp. coriander seeds
The Pork:
1 boneless pork shoulder (cooking time is about 10 hours for a 14-lb. shoulder)
¼ cup black pepper
¼ cup coriander seeds
¼ cup fennel seeds
¼ cup Maldon sea salt
Preparation
Combine all the ingredients for the brine into a large saucepot. Bring the brine to a simmer, and simmer for 10 min. Cool the brine and pour it over the pork shoulder, refrigerating for seven days.
After the pork is removed from the brine, let the shoulder dry a bit overnight as this will help the smoke adhere to the shoulder.
For a conventional hot smoker:
Start smoker and heat to 250°F. Add the pork and smoke at least 45 min. per pound. The internal temperature should reach about 180°F. Pull apart the meat and place into a crockpot. Cover with your favorite barbecue sauce and let set on the warm setting until serving.
For a charcoal or wood-fired grill:
One day prior, soak 5 lb. of hickory wood in water covered for 24 hours
On the day of cooking, start the grill with hardwood charcoal and/or briquettes until the internal temperature of the grill reaches between 225°F and 250°F. Add the soaked wood at the edges of the fire — this will ensure slow, long smoking. Cook the pork on the grill until the internal temperature reaches about 180°F. (Cooking time should be 1 lb. per 45 min. if the heat is consistent.) Keep moving and turning the pork shoulder — if you have a rotisserie attachment available, use it. The meat should pull from the shoulder relatively easily. Either place the shoulder in a casserole with your favorite barbecue sauce and braise low until you are ready to serve, or simply keep it on the grill, lowering the temperature to 150°F to 200°F and basting as you pull the pork with your sauce, serving from the grill.
—Courtesy of Bryan Voltaggio, Volt restaurant, Frederick, MD.