First Pork Shoulder

matt44 · Sep 27, 2012

I attempted my very first pork shoulder last weekend and I thought it turned out great. I asked JJ for some advice and he gave me a link to Meowy's tips on how to do it and even threw in some recipes for some great finishing sauces (that were delicious by the way!). I smoked it at about 230 for 8 hours total time using hickory and an occasional spritz with apple juice and then put it in the cooler for two hours. It was amazingly tender, it just fell apart and was extremely juicy! I've been reading about "bark" and from what I've read, mine was very soft so I don't think I got a good bark on it. Any ideas? I would love to post a picture but I'm not the swiftest with computers and can't seem to find the right button. Thanks JJ for your help!

pit 4 brains · Sep 27, 2012

Congrats on the first pulled shoulder. Manya first butt has been slid into the trash for one reason or another. As for the bark, how long did you have it in foil? I like to do mine in disposable aluminum pans tht I can cover and uncover as I please, and they keep the liquid from running all over the smoker.

There's a test area where you can practice posting picks. You'll get beat up pretty bad around here without pics..

smokinhusker · Sep 27, 2012

Congrats on a successful smoke! To power through the stall, foiling at approximately 160*-165* is the norm. I did that with my first few pork butts, but I wanted the wonderful bark on mine, so I no longer foil. I just let them ride in the smoker til the internal temp of 205* and they have the bark that I was looking for.

As for posting pics, since you are a new member keep in mind that the post will have to be approved by a moderator, so it might not appear right away, but we'd love to see any pics you have of the smoke.

If you look at the toolbar above the reply box, there's a picture looking icon, next to a filmstrip icon. Click on the picture looking icon and that will let you upload pictures!

matt44 · Sep 27, 2012

Thanks SmokinHusker and Pit 4 Brains (love that name by the way!) Here's a pic of what came out of the smoker. I've seen prettier pictures on this site but it was very tender and had an awesome flavor. I believe I had it in foil for about 2 hours in the smoker and about 3 hours in the cooler. If you don't foil it at all do you continue to spritz it with apple juice (or whatever) the whole time?

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matt44
Sep 27, 2012

pit 4 brains · Sep 27, 2012

If you don't foil it at all do you continue to spritz it with apple juice (or whatever) the whole time?

I usually pass out on the couch... Seriously, I don't mess with it too much. The butt will start on my top rack (UDS) with a pan under it on the second rack, and go for a while until it starts to render and darken, then it goes into a new pan and foiled/not foiled until done. If it's taking longer than planned, I foil. If I'm just making pulled pork to freeze or I'm right on schedule, no foil and I just keep it in until the bone pulls out freely.

sqwib · Sep 28, 2012

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sqwib
Sep 28, 2012

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First Pork Shoulder

matt44

Newbie

pit 4 brains

Master of the Pit

smokinhusker

Legendary Pitmaster

matt44

Newbie

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pit 4 brains

Master of the Pit

sqwib

Smoking Guru

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