Checklist for first Pulled Pork

[CharcoalJoe]

I've got my first run planning for.

Meat : I've got a 9 pound Picnic shoulder ( I need to cut the skin off but leave some fat from what I gather )
Time : 12-14ish hour slow and low cook
Final done temp : 205 degrees?
Smoker - Weber Kettle with snake method setup with water ( already tested temps in dry run )
Equipment - I got my dual temp thermometer
Wood: I don't know what is the best wood for a shoulder as it's my first attempt. Open to suggestions, I've read Hickory, Pecan, and apple, Cherry on the net.

Food Prep
Inject or not inject? With what?
Rub - I have no idea what to use at this point. If anybody has a go to recipe I'm open.
When can I eat it - after it sets in fridge overnight, or after an hour or so wrapped after done?
Also, When done, I assume I just pull the meat apart and store, and then add bbq or other seasonings when I'm putting together a meal? does that sound about right?

Meal ideas -
Pulled pork kindof new food to me My weeks meal ideas are
* Sandwich with BBQ sauce
* PP Nachos
* Chipotle bowl style with cheese, rice, romaine, Black Beans, etc
* Tacos / taquitos or some kindof mexican food
* May try to make some tamales too ( depends how adventuresome I feel )
* Maybe baked potatoe with cheeze and pork?
* Open to suggestions if anybody has any?

I got some research to do tonight and tomorrow if anybody has some thoughts or tips, feel free to post. Also if somebody has a good start to finish recipe link online for my first go I'd be open to that too ( preferably one that you've tried and liked ).

Does this meat freeze well when prepared? 9 pounds is alot of meat to navigate through in a week.

-------------------------------

Edit: I found this Rub Recipe, and I have all the ingredients. Does this look like a good mixture / quantity for 9 pound picnic??

Memphis Dry Rub (makes .5 cup):

• 1/4 cup paprika
• 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

-------
This one I'm considering as well
Ingredients
5 m2 servings394 cals

• 1/2 cup paprika
• 1/2 cup chili powder
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
  2 teaspoons celery seed
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper

• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons dry brown mustard
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt

Thanks

 

[chopsaw]

Joe , that's alot of thinkin goin on . I don't get that involved . I use salt and pepper , smoke at higher temps , 260 or so . take it to 200 / 205 or what ever probes tender . I like Oak on PP .

 

[Jonok]

I am sorry to burst your bubble, but, while you can make something edible out of a picnic on a smoker, it pales in comparison to a Butt, or "blade roast". If I may make a suggestion: Keep the picnic, and buy a Butt (8+ pounds if you can find it) Rub them both up and cook until the shoulder blade comes out clean. Pull them together, and you will have a superior product (for gosh sakes save the smoky fat that sticks to the grate)

The Butt has more fat and thus, more flavor, but the shoulder has a bunch more collagen which makes things silky and rich. It's got so little fat that it's not worth a damn except as a ham on it's own
(waaaaay to dry)

 

[chopsaw]

Picnic will work for what you want to do . I would leave the skin on .

 

[CharcoalJoe]

Jonos,

It's my first smoke on the Weber Kettle, so I went for inexpensive meat. I already have the meat in fridge, and The butts were 2 bucks a pound vs 1.20 for the shoulder. The Butts were quite a bit larger as well. Definitely noted though - I'll keep that in mind for future smoke.

 

[tallbm]

I've got my first run planning for.

Meat : I've got a 9 pound Picnic shoulder ( I need to cut the skin off but leave some fat from what I gather )
Time : 12-14ish hour slow and low cook
Final done temp : 205 degrees?
Smoker - Weber Kettle with snake method setup with water ( already tested temps in dry run )
Equipment - I got my dual temp thermometer
Wood: I don't know what is the best wood for a shoulder as it's my first attempt. Open to suggestions, I've read Hickory, Pecan, and apple, Cherry on the net.

Food Prep
Inject or not inject? With what?
Rub - I have no idea what to use at this point. If anybody has a go to recipe I'm open.
When can I eat it - after it sets in fridge overnight, or after an hour or so wrapped after done?
Also, When done, I assume I just pull the meat apart and store, and then add bbq or other seasonings when I'm putting together a meal? does that sound about right?

Meal ideas -
Pulled pork kindof new food to me My weeks meal ideas are
* Sandwich with BBQ sauce
* PP Nachos
* Chipotle bowl style with cheese, rice, romaine, Black Beans, etc
* Tacos / taquitos or some kindof mexican food
* May try to make some tamales too ( depends how adventuresome I feel )
* Maybe baked potatoe with cheeze and pork?
* Open to suggestions if anybody has any?

I got some research to do tonight and tomorrow if anybody has some thoughts or tips, feel free to post. Also if somebody has a good start to finish recipe link online for my first go I'd be open to that too ( preferably one that you've tried and liked ).

Does this meat freeze well when prepared? 9 pounds is alot of meat to navigate through in a week.

-------------------------------

Edit: I found this Rub Recipe, and I have all the ingredients. Does this look like a good mixture / quantity for 9 pound picnic??

Memphis Dry Rub (makes .5 cup):

• 1/4 cup paprika
• 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

Thanks

Hi there and welcome!
I'll try and provide some answers and assistance where I can :)

Time: When it is done. It is done when it is pull apart tender. It is Tender when you stab all over with a toothpic or a kabob skewer and it slides in ALL OVER (especially deep in the center) like butter.

Final Done Temp: I think the Internal Temp of 205F is a good safe number PROVIDED that you get the probe deep in the middle of the roast. Again checking for tenderness is the main indicator. If you take to 205F+ it should give you pull apart consistency that you will prove with the tenderness check.

Wood: Most prefer hickory. I don't like going over about a 60-70% hickory mark because it makes things taste too much like bacon to me. I like to have a blend of mostly hickory and a very good blend is like 60-65% Hickory and the rest Apple.

Food Prep: I personally just pull from the cryo package and rub liberally with seasoning/rub. I find simple for seasoning is the best way to go. I recommend Salt, Pepper, Onion, and Garlic (SPOG) and then add Paprika. Do them all in equal parts and you should be fine.
I prefer smoking my Pork Butts naked meaning no wrapping (you are doing a picnic shoulder, but I would do the same way).
When the meat is ready I would pull, wrap in double foil, wrap in 3 bath towels and set on the counter until you plan to eat. I rest like this 3-4 hours easily. When I unwrap at that time I pull it apart. I recommend you shake more of your seasoning and rub into the pulled pork and mix it around and taste. If bland mix more seasoning and repeat until you get the taste right!
At this point people can add BBQ sauce or whatever they want while on their plate so best of both worlds there.

Meal Ideas:
You nailed it!!! If doing nachos or tacos get some real limes and squeeze lime juice on the meat as you eat it and prepare to be blown away.

I hope all this info helps! :)

 

[Preacher Man]

Looks like these guys got you pretty set up. I've smoked several picnics by themselves. No, they aren't as juicy as boston/blade butts, but they still make dang good pulled pork. I always take the skin off (fry it up!)

Rubs are a dime a dozen. I've done salt and pepper, salt-pepper-onion-garlic (SPOG), a complex pork rub, etc. There's a store bought rub called Apple Wood Rub that makes some dang good pulled pork if you want to go cheap and easy.

I've used oak, mesquite, apple, alder, etc. They all taste good.

I'm not sure if I'm reading your post right, but you mentioned putting it in the fridge overnight. If you do that before you pull it, it's not going to pull easy at all. You want to pull it hot. Let it rest for an hour or two wrapped in towels, and then put on some cotton gloves underneath some nitrile gloves and you'll pull that shoulder with ease.

If you want, add some of SoFlaQuers finishing sauce for some added moisture and tenderness.

Speaking of baked potatoes, here's some Smoked Turkey Taters I did, but they'd be just as awesome with pulled pork.

Here's some pulled pork enchiladas that'll make you everyone's favorite.

 

[Preacher Man]

Does this meat freeze well when prepared? 9 pounds is alot of meat to navigate through in a week

For sure. Put it in a vacuum bag, let it cool (you could stick in fridge), then vacuum and seal. I freeze mine in 8 oz portions to bust out anytime I need a quick meal.

If you don't have a vacuum sealer, put it in a freezer ziploc and then submerge the bag under water until only the zipper is above the water line. This will push all the air out and then zip it closed.

 

[fivetricks]

Your checklist looks fine and all I guess, but I don't see beer listed? Seems like that should have two or three spots in your list.

Sorry, I can't approve a list that doesn't involve beer..

 

[mike243]

Take the skin off leave a lot of the fat on, rub with seasoning, you will end up with about 4-4.5 lbs of meat when its all said and done, pull when its hot for best results. Baked potatoes with pulled pork is great ,sandwiches are the bomb for me though or just a pile of the meat and some veggies.

 

[ponzLL]

I used to smear bbq sauce and whatever all over my butts but recently discovered that putting the meat on Hawaiian sweet rolls with nothing but cole slaw is incredible. I won't eat it any other way now, except maybe in pork fried rice. Should add that I didn't even really like cole slaw until I tried this.

When I do butts, I try to do at least 3, because it portions and freezes really nicely. Comes out of the freezer exactly like it went in, even months later.

I know this is overkill, but I always toss mine in a saltwater brine the night before, maybe with a little apple juice in there if I'm feeling it. I've made excellent butts with no brine at all, but if I don't, I still prefer to inject with apple juice.

Usually once I get out of the stall around 155 internal, I wrap in foil and finish in the oven unless it's hot outside, since I don't wanna heat my house.

For rub, I just load it up with salt pepper and garlic, sometimes a put some paprika in there.

My first butt was on my Weber kettle using the snake method!

 

[PoukieBear]

I'm just going to tag along in this thread, i'll be doing my first pork butt this weekend (or next) too!

 

[weev]

Dont forget about Pizza pulled pork w/bbq sauce some moz. cheese maybe a little crumbled bacon and blue cheese so good

 

[Preacher Man]

...or just a pile of the meat and some veggies.

Listen to the man.

 

[zwiller]

Take a hunk of pork and smoke it until it's tender and it will be good. From here it is all debatable.

Any newbie should have Jeff's rub and sauce recipes. These are well known for being awesome. IE sauce wipes the floor with something like Sweet Baby Rays. Rub is great for anything.

Personally, I suggest keeping it simple for now so you learn a bit. Hard to tell what's doing what with all that going on.

 

[jokensmoken]

All.the advice here is exceptional.
I've done both butts and picnics for pulled pork and my personal preference is the butt.
One thing I've learned about making a picnic a bit better (dont fret, it's never bad) is to add a finishing sauce when pulling...
This is simply a flavorful liquid mixed in to the pulled meat to add some moisture and flavor...
My two "go too" finishing sauces are
1. Lemon lime...
1 cup of lemon lime soda (I like sprite)
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup apple juice
1.5 TBS brown sugar...
Mix all together
2. Cherry soda
1 cup cherry Dr. Pepper (cherry Coke and Pepsi will work also
1/2 cup pineapple juice
Juice from one 8 oz jar of maraschino cherries
Mix all together.
I stir in which ever sauce I decide I'm making that cook during the pulling process.
The cherry soda one is sweeter tasting by far and rarely does anyone add additional sauce when I use that one.
There are other finishing sauce recipes in the "sauces" section if you want to get some different ideas
As others here noted that I'll reiterate...
Internal meat temps (IT) are IMHO guidlines for doneness...there is not really a "magic" temperature to always indicates doneness.
Use the probe technique to check for tenderness to determine when your meat is actually done.
I do my first probing at 195°F IT with a kebab skewer and continue to probe every 20 minutes until the skewer will slide right through with no resistance in a couple different places...especially the thickest part of the meat.
Happy smoking, I'm sure it'll turn out great.
Post a few pics along the way so we can give you the "atta boys" you're going to deserve.
Walt.

 

[CharcoalJoe]

Thanks for all the feedback,

I have my own BBQ sauce that is pretty good. Home made out of this world. It's from the Weber recipe Triple Play BBQ that anybody can google for the recipe.

Those finishing sauces look interesting. Didn't even know about those I'll definitely play around with em over time. Thanks

 

[kawboy]

Of you take the skin off, consider making chicherones. I've done this with the skin from the last few picnics I've made. Dang good, far better than store bought, which I can't stand.

 

[CharcoalJoe]

The Butt has more fat and thus, more flavor, but the shoulder has a bunch more collagen which makes things silky and rich. It's got so little fat that it's not worth a damn except as a ham on it's own
(waaaaay to dry)

Thanks,

I ate some picnic sliders tonight with BBQ Sauce. Meat was tender and had decent flavor, Q sauce was great, but I could definitely tell the meat wasn't stewed in fat like you suggested the Butt would have been. I'll definielly grab a butt next time I'm gonna make a shoulder.

 

[CharcoalJoe]

All.
This is simply a flavorful liquid mixed in to the pulled meat to add some moisture and flavor...
My two "go too" finishing sauces are
1. Lemon lime...
1 cup of lemon lime soda (I like sprite)
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup apple juice
1.5 TBS brown sugar...
Mix all together

Had to share. Ate my Picnic shoulder last night, and was a bit disappointed. The meat was tender but a bit drier than I had expected. Probably referenced by the Butt vs Picnic meat having fat vs tendons. Today, I made another BBQ pork sandwich for dinner, but added the Lime Finishing sauce I quoted above.

All I can say is WOWSERS!!! Took a palatable meal and made it VERY GOOD. The sweetness and moisture it added to the meat very nicely complimented the tangy sauce I had on top of it on a Hawaiian bun. Looking forward to eating more.

Does anybody have any other suggestions of how I could flavor or moisten up the meat for various dishes ( Tacos, Nachos, Quesadillas, etc. ). Prior to the finishing sauce, the meat was just ok.