Make the Pork Rub

1. Blend dry ingredients with a fork or whisk.
2. Add mustard and continue blending with fork or whisk until well combined.
3. Slather generously on all sides of pork, prior to placing in the smoker. (You can do this up to 12 hours ahead of time)

Prepare the Meat

1. Place pork in aluminum pan and let it rest on the counter until it is room temperature to the touch.
2. Slather the pork generously with my Spicy Pork Rub (Recipe above).

Prepare the Grill

1. Start the hickory wood fire. We used a charcoal chimney and crumpled newspaper as kindling to get the fire going.
2. Once the fire gets going, pour the wood into the smoker box. We also used standard charcoal briquettes to stretch the hickory wood, which we added to the fire now. You could continue with just hickory wood, but using all-wood is more expensive, and I’m not sure that it’s necessary.
3. Close the smoke box to allow the smoke to travel into the main grill compartment. Make sure that the vent on the side of the smoker box is open to allow air in.

Cook the Pork

1. Place the pork, in the aluminum pan, on the grill.
2. Insert the probe of a meat thermometer into the center of the meat. Look for the coldest temperature of the meat, which should be the middle.
3. Close the lid of the grill, and make sure that the chimney on top of the main grill compartment is open to allow the smoke from the smoker box to circulate throughout the grill compartment and exit through the chimney.
4. Maintain a smoke temperature of 225 degrees (found on the grill thermometer) until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees. Add wood and/or charcoal as necessary to keep the heat constant. You will have to do this frequently! Check it every 15-30 minutes. Assume approximately 1.5 hours of smoking per pound of meat.
5. “Mop” the pork (baste) with half of the sauce every 30-60 minutes, as needed to keep the surface moist. A thick crust will form despite the mopping, but do not despair! This protects the juicy goodness inside.
6. Once the pork reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees, immediately take the pork off the grill. Be very careful doing this as it will be very hot!
7. Remove the pork from the aluminum pan and wrap in a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil. Let the pork rest in the foil for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour. **Note: Do not omit this step. This allows the meat to rest and seals in all of the delectable juices!
8. Carefully unwrap the foil – the meat will still be very hot – and using a fork, “pull” the pork apart into bite-sized shredded pieces. Add the reserved sauce, mixing gently to combine.
9. Pile meat generously on burger buns (or any type of sandwich roll), and enjoy!