Oven Roasted Pulled Pork

Ingredients

1 whole Boston butt, 4-9 lbs. (bone in if available)

For Dry Rub

1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground pepper
1 tbsp paprika

Mix well and store in an air tight container.


For Brine Solution

1/2 cup salt
2 qts cold water
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp dry rub mix

Add salt to cold water and stir very well until all the salt is completely dissolved. Then add the dry rub, and bay leaves and stir well to combine.

Directions

1. Rinse the pork and place in a large container, pour in the brine solution until the shoulder is completely covered. Cover the container and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
2. Remove pork from brine solution, pat dry with paper towels, place in baking pan that is bigger than the roast by at least a inch in length and width and at least 3 inches deep. Make sure the roast has the fat layer on top.
3. Sprinkle dry rub onto the surface of the shoulder and massage in such that it adheres to the surface. Coat all sides.
4. Place baking pan uncovered in a 225 degree oven on the middle rack. Insert a probe thermometer into the center or thickest part of the shoulder, but not touching the bone. Monitor the temperature throughout cooking (a digital thermometer with an alarm function is the easiest way to do this). Do not remove from the oven until the center of the shoulder reaches 200 degrees.
5. When the shoulder has reached 200 degrees, shut off the oven and let the roast cool for a couple of hours before removing from the oven. When the temperature drops to 170 degrees or slightly lower, remove from oven. Place on a large, clean work surface such as a cutting board, and remove the large sheet of crusted fat on the top. Pull apart with two forks, discarding the fat as you go along.

Notes
I used a large turkey roasting pan (as seen in the picture above). I didn't take a picture of the shredded pork, but it was delicious! You can serve it as sandwiches, or in recipes. Our whole family loved it!!!

Update: September 2013
I made an almost 10 lb bone in pork shoulder using this recipe, and it was amazing, again!  For a time reference, the roast went in at 9pm the night before we wanted to serve it, and it reached 200 degrees at about 1pm the next afternoon.  We just left it in the oven until we were ready to shred it and serve it, which was at 5pm.  So, a super long cooking time, but so worth time it!!! Yum!