Carnitas style Pork Shoulder

[ecowper]

I haven’t done much BBQ the last months, but back in March I managed to cook a pork butt. I’ve totally changed my rub on pork butt cause the whole family loves it this way. I have a rub that gives a Mexican/carnitas flavor to the pork butt. I make sure and keep my WSM temp running at an average of 240F and the water pan is full. You can definitely cook pork butt at 275 or 300, but a longer, slower cook renders the fat and such better and my family likes it more.

Served with macaroni salad and coleslaw ....

The Rub ..... this is enough for a 8-9 lb bone in pork butt

2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp white table sugar
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground oregano
½ tsp cayenne pepper

I dry brine overnight. I don’t put the rub on until 5 minutes before going on the WSM. I pull the pork butt from the fridge, put the rub on and then straight on the WSM. The colder the meat, the better from a smoke perspective.

I use red oak typically for the wood and did that this time, too.

[Jerod Broussard]

Nice cook.

[ecowper]

It was fairly good considering how little cooking I’ve done the last few months.

[HouseHomey]

Mmm... pork!!

[texastweeter]

LOOKS GREAT! I go chili heavy on all my rubs. I like that you add oregano, i use Mexican oregano in mine (totally different plant), and several smoke dried chilis. Due to my family's affinity to the KCBS "sweet" profile, I have more sugar in my rub and some molasses. I'D EAT THAT!

[ecowper]

I used to do a Memphis style rub (lots of sugar) on pork butt .... family really prefers this to the sweeter rub. The white sugar just helps to build the bark, no real sweet taste.

[texastweeter]

ecowper I would omit most of the sweet stuff in my rub if I had it my way. I like the way you think.

[Sweaty Paul]

Mmm. Wow.

[RonB]

Great lookin' cook.

[Troutman]

Boy you have a nice butt.....er I mean your butt looks nice....oh you know what I mean.

[ecowper]

I see you checking out my butt!

[SmokeyGator]

Thanks! Borrowed your rub recipie. Going to do an overnight low and slow for a feast tomorrow!

[ecowper]

Hope you like it

[SmokeyGator]

It was great! Followed the directions except I used dark brown sugar because I had no other. i don't use very much sugar so it was very good on the pork.

[ecowper]

SmokeyGator .... awesome! I only put that sugar in to develop bark, anyhow.

[Spacecase]

ecowper I tried your rub on a small 4 lb butt yesterday. I thought it was great and a nice change of pace from my typical pulled pork. This is going to make fantastic tacos. Thanks for the recipe.

[Spinaker]

Great looking cook! Thanks for sharing the recipe too!

[Telespielstube]

I'm going to try your rub the on my next pork.

[fzxdoc]

Yum.

[BRic]

Nice cook , Thank You for sharing

[Santamarina]

When I do pork shoulder for carnitas it gets a totally different rub than all other pork.

Chili powder 10 parts
Paprika 10 parts
Garlic 6 parts
Onion 6 parts
Red pepper 2 parts
Cumin 2 parts
Coriander 1 part
(I always keep a big batch on hand, so I use these ratios instead of specific measurements. Makes for fast scaling.)
No sugar. 12+ hours in the pit make a beautiful bark!

Dry brine the day before. Liberally apply rub with a little corn oil. Smoke with oak (or fruit wood...anything light) in 250°F pit. Water pan is a must.

Pull and serve in warm tortillas with rice and beans. A bit of salsa, some fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime are nice additions too.

If you you really wanna make the flavor go BANG, after you pull...fry in corn oil until crispy. Tacos you won’t believe!!!

[Buck Flicks]

Thanks Santam.... I have a butt I'm about to do in the InstantPot for Carnitas tacos and I was looking for a good rub recipe. This will fill that bill nicely.

[parkerj2]

If I may add a suggestion to this for the IP....if you weren't already planning on this step that is.

Cut the meat into chunks and sear it deeply before it goes into the IP cook. makes a world of difference.

[lemayp]

Try this one for instant pot carnitas. My wife likes it better than smoked... https://www.platingsandpairings.com/...pork-carnitas/

[Buck Flicks]

Instead of carnitas, I kind of made a Memphis/Asian hybrid. Cut the butt into smaller chunks, liberally Memphis Dust them, sear them, then deglaze the pot with beef stock (better than bullion - love that stuff), light soy sauce, rice vinegar, minced garlic, minced ginger, and a shake or two of chinese 5 spice (a little goes a LONG way) and about half a Mexican beer. Top with toasted sesame seeds and green onions and serve over rice (next time I'm making barley.)