First Smoke - Pork Shoulder

I just finished my first porkbutt/shoulder in my 08 it was 5lbs at 225 degs cook time to 190 deg
14 hours + - . IT is Great best I have ever done
moist and tender !!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are in for a treat . But on to your question
the books say 1 1/2 to 2+ per pound so if you would apply that to my pork butt it figures out to be 2.8 hours a pound. Hope fully some of the old masters will chime in with there insite

Not sure whether you have a very small shoulder,a butt or picnic,cut from the shoulder.

If a picnic,you might be thinking about pulling it sooner than a butt.

If you don't open the door,10 hrs might be a good time to open up,try to wiggle the bone,feel the pork.

Probably take a little longer.

Good time to read archives and pork 101.

Sooner or later you will need a temp probe. Mavrick, Polder, Pyrex, etc. It's a great investment.

I checked out 101. the "shoulder" looked like the short shank picnic. Will pull it at 12 hours and see. Since this is the cure as well as the first smoke, I don't have any great expectations of the results but since the pork was cheap (1.09 per lb), I was not reluactant to risk a poor outcome with the curing. If it turn out decent, so much the better and I got my thermometer while I wqs out tonight.

By cure, do you mean seasoning the smoker? Probably will be okay. The seasoning is to help keep things from sticking to the sides.

If you don't have a probe therm. the wiggle the bone method Tom mentions is the easiest way to tell when it's done.

Good luck and let us know how it came out.

At 12.5 hours, I opened up the smoker. Put meat thermometer in and it read no higher than 180. Since it was amost 11P.M, decided to take it out and finish it in the oven. Cooked it for an hour at 425 and then pulled it. The meat was tasty but also greasy. Should have taken the skin and the heavy fat off the piece before I started smoking. Made baby backs today. got raves from the family but I was not entirely satisfied. Used 2 oz of apple wood and smoked them for 3 hours at 225 and then sauced them and left them for another hour at 215. Seemed a little tough but again, great flavor.

You must be patient, use a remote probe, and do not open the door until it is done!

Cookshack ribs, simple thing to do perfect everytime, just 5 hours at 225......