By: Paul Jimenez
Fire up your smoker and set for indirect cooking at 250°F. Add wood chunks (apple, cherry, or hickory) for smoke or fill with your favorite wood pellets for a pellet smoker.
Trim excess fat from the pork shoulder and slather with yellow mustard. Generously apply your dry rub on all sides and let it sit while the smoker comes to temp.
Place pork shoulder on the grate, fat side up. Close the smoker and smoke at 250°F for about 4–5 hours, spritzing every hour with a 50/50 mix of apple juice and apple cider vinegar.
Once the bark is set and internal temp hits around 165–170°F, wrap tightly in foil or butcher paper. Return to the smoker and cook until internal temp hits 200–203°F and it probes like butter (another 3–4 hours).
Remove from the grill and let it rest at least 1 hour (still wrapped).
Unwrap, shred the pork, and optionally mix in a little BBQ sauce.
In a bowl, combine softened butter, minced garlic, parsley, salt, and optional chili flakes.
Slice bastone bread into sandwich-size pieces.
Cut each piece in half horizontally and slather generously with garlic butter.
Set the smoker to direct grilling, about 400°F and place buttered bread halves butter-side down on the grill for 1–2 minutes, just until golden and crispy (watch closely!).
Pile the pulled pork high on the bottom half of the toasted garlic bastone and add more BBQ sauce if desired. (Optionally, add pickled onions or slaw for crunch.) Top it off with the other half of the garlic bread.
Serve immediately and prepare for flavor overload!
After the unimaginable loss of his 10-year-old son to cancer, Paul Jimenez—known to many as @bigpaulonthegrill—refused to let the story end in tragedy. He founded The PaulieStrong Foundation to honor his son’s memory and bring hope to other families by funding critical research for childhood cancer. Through his love of grilling and sharing food, Paul built a powerful presence on social media, turning his backyard cooks into a platform for change. With every post, every recipe, and every flame, he’s not just feeding people—he’s fueling a movement to end childhood cancer.
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