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1
Combine salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and brown sugar. Coat the shoulder on all surfaces, pressing the rub firmly into the meat. No resting time is specified; proceed directly to the smoker.
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2
Establish the smoker at 110–130°C with hardwood. Place the shoulder fat-side up, away from direct heat. Maintain temperature throughout the cook.
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3
Smoke for the first several hours unwrapped to build bark. The exterior will darken to a deep mahogany; the surface will feel firm and dry to the touch. This is the bark forming.
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4
At the stall — internal temperature plateauing between 68–72°C for an extended period — wrap the shoulder tightly in foil or butcher paper to shorten the stall and continue cooking. Total cook time runs 8–14 hours depending on the size of the shoulder and the consistency of the pit temperature.
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5
This is where the dish lives or dies: cook until the internal temperature reads 93–96°C and the bone can be gripped and pulled free with no resistance. At 82°C the meat is cooked but the collagen has not converted; the last 10°C are the transformation. Do not pull the shoulder from the smoker before the bone moves freely.
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6
Remove the shoulder from the smoker and rest, still wrapped, for 30–60 minutes. The juices redistribute through the meat during this period. Pulling immediately produces dry exterior meat and wet interior meat.
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7
Unwrap and pull the meat by hand with heat-resistant gloves, or with two forks, following the grain of the meat to produce long, moist strands. Break the bark into the pulled pile and mix it through — the bark's concentrated flavour seasons every bite. The finished pile should be stranded, not mushy and not chunky; a strand should separate with gentle pressure.