Smoked Pork Shoulder on the Weber Bullet with Bandiola Barbecue Rub

Smoked Pork Shoulder with Bandiola Rub

Eli won a pork shoulder at the local Legion turkey shoot. Not to worry. They do not chase after and shoot turkies. They just shoot at little blue bulls eye papers. The person who gets closest to the center gets meat bought at the store. Eli has a good eye, and he comes home with lots of good grilling meat ranging from whole turkeys to thick slab bacon. Be sure to try grilling bacon. That's fabulous.

Jimmy offered to smoke the shoulder. Since barbecue shoulder smoking is an overnight deal when planning on a lunch meal, I was down with that. I will babysit smoked meat, but I don't get to turning cartwheels about setting the alarm clock at ungodly hours and checking.

Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker Holds Temperatures Well

Actaully the Weber Smokey Mountain Bullet (which is a bullet shaped water smoker) is really good about holding temperatures, so once the fire is banked up right, I usually check around midnight and then get up at 6 a.m. to double check. All in all, this is easier than tending to a brand new baby, so I will count that blessing. Caleb got up about every 20 minutes all night for about the first year. I've glad I didn't give him back though, because he's turned out great even if he was the colic king when little.

Jimmy used Kingsford Charcoal in the Weber, but he also added some Baxter's wood chips for more flavor. You really can't beat Baxter's wood. Plus, he packs it in mini burlap sacks, so you can give his wood as gifts too.

Bandiola Spice Company Barbecue Rub

I tossed open the spice cabinet and had Jimmy pick what he wanted as far as a rub, and he opted for Bandiola Spice Company Barbecue. It's got sugar, salt, paprika, garlic, orange peel, hickory smoke, red bell pepper, and soy sauce. All in all, it's a pretty traditional shoulder or butt rub with a few nice little extra touches. Smells rvery nice when it's being rubbed on. If you need a solid barbecue rub, you can't go wrong with this one.

Bear Paws (often called also Bear Claws) Make Pulling Pork Super Easy


After smoking all night, the shoulder was ready to chop. North Carolina is chopping country. We, however, have found that Bear Claws are so much quicker and easier that we've been using them lately.

Barbecue Shoulder Pulled with Bear Paws

As you can see, we got a fine pull on the shoulder. If you prefer it chunkier, then just pull it less time. Or do a combination, since some like coarse and some like fine when it comes to pulled pork.

North Carolina Pork Sandwich with Grilled Hash Browned Potatoes

We were keeping things simple again today, so paper plates it was. The pork sandwiches were fabulous, and we all selected out own sauces. I went with Big Butz Cranberry B-B-Q Sauce. It's thicker and richer - more like a Kansas City style but withat delicious cranberry kick. The guys all went with a traditional vinegar based sauce, since that is more common in North Carolina.

Pulling Pork Made Easy with Bear Paws

I finally found an easy way to pull pork. I was looking online and saw Bear Paws. Really simple looking product, but I thought they would be worth a shot, so I bought a set. After all, pulling pork shoulder or butt can be a pain in the . . . well . . . you know.

For the record, I'm from North Carolina barbecue country where we smoke pork shoulders or whole hog low and slow and then CHOP it. I often hear people talk about our NC pulled pork, but really it's chopped pork.

I can chop pork, but it takes a lot of space, time, and sharp knives. Much more labor intensive than pulling, although pulling has been a pretty big job previously too - until I got the Bear Paws.



Bear Paws honestly look too simple to be effective. They are just heavy duty plastic with hand holes and then claw type ends (and I am forever calling them Bear Claws instead of Bear Paws). The claws aren't exactly sharp although they are pointed. The Bear Paws do, however, work great.



Here is Jimmy pulling the barbecue pork shoulder my Mom had for Christmas. She always cuts small amounts at a time, and it takes some time and she has to keep stopping her meal to cut a little more pork to go on the buns. So, she was real impressed with the Bear Claws and how quick and easy the whole shoulder was ready.

I know what I am putting on her birthday or Christmas list for next year. Shhhhh! Let's keep that a secret.



Here is the BBQ shoulder pulled with the Bear Claws. The pork can be pulled more for smaller pieces, but we liked it kind of chunky. And, anyone who wanted the pork shoulder pulled finer could grab the Bear Claws and do a little more pulling. It really took very little muscle to do the pulling, so these work well for various ages and strengths.



Here's the North Carolina pork sandwich on my dinner plate. To be more traditional, I'd have North Carolina red barbecue slaw on there, but I'm not a huge slaw fan so usually pass on the slaw. Most people do like the barbecue slaw, since it does add a nice contrast on flavors and textures. I'd say to give it a try. The slaw is good on there - just not my thing.