Rub Pork an hour before smoking. Start by rubbing hot sauce on the pork shoulder (consider cutting shoulder in half to get more surface area for smoke/rub and speed up smoking).

Blend all rub spices together until uniform size/texture, and then apply rub to the entire piece of pork (this rub recipe only makes enough rub for 1 pork shoulder).

Smoke the pork at 225F until it reaches internal temp of 165F (depending on size, this could take 6-8hrs).

Once pork is at 165F, remove from smoker and place in a disposable foil pan, large Dutch oven, or roasting pan. Apply hot sauce to the pork again, then more rub. Add braising broth ingredients and cover with foil before placing in oven at 250F until it reaches an internal temp of 200F (this could take 1.5-2.5hrs).

When Pork is up to temp, remove from pan and let it rest on cutting board for 30-60min. Save braising liquid.

While pork is resting, combine Pico de Gallo ingredients and season to taste.

When Pork is cooled, pull it apart. To level it up, crisp it in a frying pan before assembling carnitas.

Pour some of the braising liquid over the crispy pork (you can use a fat separator if you want to cut the fat), and then assemble your carnitas!