Water Pan

Smoke flavors permeate the meat best when smoked in a moist environment. If your cooker does not have a water pan, a simple foil pan helps provide moisture.

Olive Oil

Slather your pork shoulder with olive oil or yellow mustard to help the rub adhere to the meat. (You likely won’t pick up the mustard flavor later.)

Rubs

There’s a whole universe of rubs out there that you can choose from. Here are a few of our favorite rubs.

Texas Crutch

Some people wrap their ribs after two hours or so of smoking. The so-called “Texas Crutch” can help speed cooking and keep ribs moist. However, the ribs can overcook, so the meat falls too easily off of the bone.

Rib Racks

To cook several racks of ribs at once on your smoker or grill, roll each rack into a ring with the bones standing vertically, and secure them with a bamboo skewer.