First Smoke on my WSM - Pork Shoulder

I did my first smoke two weekends ago and had a very successful run. I am only just now getting around to uploading the pictures and detailing my smoke. I was having computer issues and did not want to do this all from my phone.

The meat I bought: 14 1/2 lb pork shoulder, bone in, cut in 2 pieces


After I cut off the fat (trimmings are on the lower left)


The meat with the rub applied. I used a memphis style rub that contained paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, pepper, onion powder, celery seeds, brown sugar, oregano, thyme, cumin, mustard, coriander, and allspice


I used the minion method and started with 18 lit coals (Kingsford Blue). I used a tip I read somewhere to get a large can (Bush's beans) and open it on both ends, then fill the coal basket around it. After lighting the coals in the chimney, I poured them into the open can, and removed it with a pair of channel locks. I used cherry wood chunks as my smoke source, and put these large chunks on top and put small pieces interspersed throughout the coals. It maintained a constant flow of smoke for about five hours.


Here is the meat right after I put it on the rack. I put it on at about 12:45 AM so that it would be able to fully cook and then sit for an hour before pulling for a noon lunch.


The smoker is in action when I woke up early the next morning, probably about 6:45 AM. The temperature gauge is reading low because I had just opened the smoker up to probe the meat and add more wood. Also, you can catch a glimpse of part of my Genesis and some tools I was using to assemble a new gazebo.


This is the meat with about an hour or 2 left to go. I took this picture when it was about 170-175 degrees. I figured that would give me ample time to go on a beer run, as we had run low the night before while making preparations for the festivities.


Right before I pulled off the meat from the smoker, probably about 10:30-10:45. It was reading between 192-196 degrees, exactly where I wanted it. I was so excited.


After letting it sit wrapped in HD foil inside a styrofoam cooler for an hour, I finally opened it up to begin pulling. It fell right apart when I stuck it.


One of the pieces after being pulled. There was twice as much meat when I pulled both. The second picture, with all of the meat, came out blurry.


Overall, I was very pleased with the results. I still have lots of learning to do, but this was an easy and fun way to start. I'll probably do it once or twice more in the next couple of weeks, then move on to something more challenging - probably turkey breast or chickens.