Aye - There's the pork rub

Well, sometimes you start to brainstorm and simple dinner plans escalate into all-out food insanity.  My mom wanted to have a nice father's day dinner and wanted me to do some grilling, maybe some steaks.  Well, remember, we have all that pork from the pigs we butchered.  (By the way, I have 10 more pounds of bacon curing in the refrigerator).  So, I thought why not some pulled-pork and some ribs?  Ok, so what now?  First, the pork we have is a roast from the ham, not the shoulder.  The shoulders all went into sausage.  That means I need to do a good brine and rub for that.  Might as well make a rub for both the ribs and roast, right?  Well, here is what I have done so far:

First off, this recipe is for a bone-in pork shoulder and I recommend that for the fat content.  This will work for a roast up to about 6 - 8 pounds.

Aye, the rub:

1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 cup brown sugar

I put all of that into a dish with a tight lid, then shake vigorously.  Remove the lid and crush the larger chunks of brown sugar and shake again.

The brine:

2 quarts of cold water
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 bay leaves
3 Tbsp of rub

Pour cold water into bowl, preferably with a spout to pour back out easily.  Add the salt and stir until dissolved.  Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.  Add the rest and stir.  Put the pork roast into a 2 gallon Ziploc bag and pour in brine.  Seal top and put in refrigerator for at least 8 hours.

After brine is complete, pour out and rinse and pat roast.  I put mine in a disposable aluminum pan since I was planning on smoking it.  I wanted to retain as much moisture as possible, and not lose any dripping down through the grate.  Cover the roast liberally with the rub and put on the smoker.  You can use the oven in all honesty, but you'll miss out on the smoke flavor.  Whichever means you decide upon.  Keep the temperature at around 225F and you'll want to cook it for 1.5 to 2 hours per pound.  The internal temperature should reach 200F.  Then, shut off the oven and let the roast slowly cool in the oven until it reaches 170F.  Take it out and use two forks to pull it apart.  This should be very easy at this point.

Yum

So, for right now it just went on the smoke.  I used the rub to coat the ribs as well and I'm cooking them side by side.

Can't wait for dinner.