Pork Shoulder pulled pork

kerstingm · May 25, 2013

okay now i am confused, I am getting ready to put my pork shoulder roast on and i have always put my fat side facing down so it tenderizes the meat as it cooks. i just read a few threads on here that said to put fat side down to protect the meat in case of a temp spike? I am by no means a pro at this, as this is my 4th attempt with them getting better each time. biggest issue i am having is they just don't fall apart when i pull them. not sure if it is a temp or time thing or a little of both? my flavors are off the hook for what i am looking. one thing i have not tried is the foil wrap at 160 to finish cooking. any pros or cons on this?

thanks for reading, i would appreciate any fast advice as they are about to hit the grill.

jarjarchef · May 25, 2013

What temp is the meat at whgen you try to pull it?

I cook a bit hotter 250-275 and bring it all the way to 190IT and then will place in a pan with some liquid and allow to rest. The carry over cooking will bring it to 195-200 and then pulls very easy.....

Here is a link to a cook I did.........

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/125208/3-shoulder-picnic-ham-smoke-w-q-view

kerstingm · May 25, 2013

jarjarchef said:
What temp is the meat at whgen you try to pull it?

I cook a bit hotter 250-275 and bring it all the way to 190IT and then will place in a pan with some liquid and allow to rest. The carry over cooking will bring it to 195-200 and then pulls very easy.....

Here is a link to a cook I did.........

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/125208/3-shoulder-picnic-ham-smoke-w-q-view

I try to get my temp to around 200, but my smoker is one of thecheap Brinkmen and it is extreamly hard to maintain temp in this, even with the mods i read on here to help. I have asked for a Weber SMOKEY MOUTIAN for Fathers day, i have yet to read a bad review on this one.

thanks for the link.

seenred · May 25, 2013

Hi kerstingm.

Fat cap up or down is often debated, and truth be told there is no wrong way to do it, its just a preference thing for every pitmaster. I personally like fat cap up because I believe the fat bastes the meat as it cooks, but there are just as many folks who swear by fat cap down. jarjarchef has you covered on the meat temps for pulling pork. Make sure you have a reliable meat probe thermometer and let that butt cook until IT reaches near 200*.

Good luck! Be sure to show and tell us how it turns out!

Red

kerstingm · May 25, 2013

Okay lets try this again since my tablet wasn't posting my replys.
I am using a Brinkman vertical smoker and even with the mods I have done to
that I have read on here it is still really hard to maintain the 225 to 250
temp I want.
I will try to post some pics as I go, right now I just hit the two hour mark and they are looking really good.

http://imgur.com/3awCZeZ.jpg

kerstingm · May 25, 2013

1369493122749.jpg

kerstingm
May 25, 2013

okay now we are figuring the sight out, this is about two hours in

oldschoolbbq · May 25, 2013

Hello, and glad to have you here. We enjoy helping out and teaching the New Smokers.

Butt is a very forgiving cut of Pork and one I suggest doing to learn how to Smoke.

Place in a 250*F Smoker, (i don't wrap at all) and let her cook to a temp. of 200*F and the bone should pull out clean and easily. Next step is Pulling it , with luck , it will fall apart as you move it to the plate(carrier).

FOOD I HAVE COOKED - ANYTHING 008.JPG

oldschoolbbq
May 2, 2013

Betty 012.JPG

oldschoolbbq
Sep 29, 2012

see the bone? and the Butt just disintegrated on me . . .but still juicy

.

Have fun and as always . . .

kerstingm · May 25, 2013

20130525_124814.jpg

kerstingm
May 25, 2013

Here we are at 4 hours and 150ish on both, got relly lucky to find two within a couple of oz to the same weight for even cooking.

will check back in a couple of hours.

corndog · May 25, 2013

Looking good...makes me drool :)

kathrynn · May 25, 2013

Looks good so far....keep up with the q-views!

Kat

kerstingm · May 25, 2013

Oldschool that is how my country style (sliced pork shoulder) ribs turn out after a 3 to 4 hour simmer in my "TO DIE FOR" BB sauce.

turnandburn · May 25, 2013

Looking good! Im doing a butt right now as we speak. And I've always done fat cap up. But this smoke im running it at 250* and fat cap down. Just to try out. Matter of fact time to get back outside and add some more wood. Good luck with the rest of your smoke! Be watching for more Q-View! :drool

kerstingm · May 25, 2013

oldschoolbbq said:
Hello, and glad to have you here. We enjoy helping out and teaching the New Smokers.

Butt is a very forgiving cut of Pork and one I suggest doing to learn how to Smoke.

Place in a 250*F Smoker, (i don't wrap at all) and let her cook to a temp. of 200*F and the bone should pull out clean and easily. Next step is Pulling it , with luck , it will fall apart as you move it to the plate(carrier).

FOOD I HAVE COOKED - ANYTHING 008.JPG

oldschoolbbq

May 2, 2013

Betty 012.JPG

oldschoolbbq

Sep 29, 2012

see the bone? and the Butt just disintegrated on me . . .but still juicy :drool .

Have fun and as always . . .

How long did you let it rest before you started pulling it?

seenred · May 25, 2013

Looking good so far...keep the qview coming!

I like to allow for 2 hours rest time when I can, but at least 1 hour.

Red

jarjarchef · May 25, 2013

It looks like you have water in the water pan. I know crazy thing to ask about......but if you do your temps will not get much above 225.........

With butts it is all about the IT temp....you have to get it to 190+ before you can pull it.....like I said before I prefer to remove and let mine rest at 190..... But many pull theirs at 205 and let rest before pulling..........the bone should remove fairly easily.........

kerstingm · May 25, 2013

jarjarchef said:
It looks like you have water in the water pan. I know crazy thing to ask about......but if you do your temps will not get much above 225.........

With butts it is all about the IT temp....you have to get it to 190+ before you can pull it.....like I said before I prefer to remove and let mine rest at 190..... But many pull theirs at 205 and let rest before pulling..........the bone should remove fairly easily.........

Would the water in the pan explain why I have problems with getting to 190 internal temp? I get to 165 to 170 and it seems to just stay there.

jarjarchef · May 25, 2013

No. The temp going to 165-170 and saying there is the stall....that is natural and frustrating....you have to ride it out or you can wrap in foil and that will help it push through it. I tend to cook at a higher temp and that helps push through the stall as well.......

kerstingm · May 25, 2013

I just added some extra lumps of wood and charcoal to get it to temp. Will how it goes.
Thanks for the info

kerstingm · May 25, 2013

Here we are at 7.5 hours still at 170, now i need to know when is a good time to stop the smoke and just let tem cook? I have read on here you can over smoke, I've been lucky i guess cause I have never had this happen from what i can tell.

20130525_162038.jpg

kerstingm
May 25, 2013

kerstingm · May 25, 2013

10.5 hours off to resting, will post shreaded pics in a bit

20130525_194133.jpg

kerstingm
May 25, 2013

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