Depending on who you ask, some pit masters that smoke pork shoulder will call for 2-4 hours wrapped and placed in a cooler (the kind you take on vacation, not a refrigerated cooler). For braised shoulder, I leave it sitting out on a baking sheet for at least 45 minutes to an hour. Letting it rest allows the juices to redistribute throughout the shoulder, giving the pulled pork better flavor and making it easier to pull apart as well.