Help smoking large pork shoulder

[Prichard]

Now we're all curious!

Ok I’m gonna get to this thing in a bit and open it up and post. If it is in 2 or I can get it cut can I safely inject and cook at 225? If I can’t get it in two will I need to cook at a higher temp to get above danger zone? I always inject my shoulders but worried about this one...

 

[Dunstablegrizzly]

I used a sawzal to split it. You can cook the whole thing together though. Even the it is 28 pounds its uniformly the same thickness between the picnic and the shoulder. So cooking time should be the same whether or not you split it. It will take some more fuel though as it is quite a big heatsink.

 

[SmokyMose]

Ok I’m gonna get to this thing in a bit and open it up and post. If it is in 2 or I can get it cut can I safely inject and cook at 225? If I can’t get it in two will I need to cook at a higher temp to get above danger zone? I always inject my shoulders but worried about this one...

See what Dunstablegrizzly said. I personally would cook higher than 225 whether you cut it or not, but that's just me....

 

[zwiller]

He splits it apart with only a knife, as was said, there is joint there. Interesting!


Since we got some knowledgeable people in this thread and have always wondered. How to make a tool food safe. IE Sawzall. Use new blade, clean well with soap and water, clean with alcohol, good to go?

 

[Dunstablegrizzly]

splitting.the picnic from the shoulder - Google Search

This one shows a hacksaw

 

[Dunstablegrizzly]

He splits it apart with only a knife, as was said, there is joint there. Interesting!


Since we got some knowledgeable people in this thread and have always wondered. How to make a tool food safe. IE Sawzall. Use new blade, clean well with soap and water, clean with alcohol, good to go?

Wow that was good knife cutting! I went all commando with my sawzal lol.

 

[conradjw]

 

[conradjw]

That is basically the entire front leg which once separated you then have a picnic and the butt.

 

[conradjw]

The picnic has more bone, darker meat, more cartilage and may be a little tougher than the butt.

 

[chilerelleno]

Yep, it's the entire shoulder, Butt and Picnic together.
What a great cut, and seldom seen in today's grocers or even butchers.

I'm going to say, " Cook it Whole!",
just to have the experience.
You can always vacuum bag the leftovers into individual meals.

Go ahead and inject it thoroughly, and then crosshatch score, and get the rub in good.
Smoke it Hot-n-Fast at 275°-300°.
That's a lot of meat and more importantly, bone, to bring up to temp, tender and ready for pulling.

And by all means, make a good finishing sauce to go with it.
SoFlaquers is a good one.
And it really helps keep reheated PP moist.

 

[Prichard]

Yep, it's the entire shoulder, Butt and Picnic together.
What a great cut, and seldom seen in today's grocers or even butchers.

I'm going to say, " Cook it Whole!",
just to have the experience.
You can always vacuum bag the leftovers into individual meals.


Go ahead and inject it thoroughly, and then crosshatch score, and get the rub in good.

Smoke it Hot-n-Fast at 275°-300°.
That's a lot of meat and more importantly, bone, to bring up to temp, tender and ready for pulling.

And by all means, make a good finishing sauce to go with it.
SoFlaquers is a good one.
And it really helps keep reheated PP moist.

Ok this thing is all one piece. I appreciate all the suggestions - super helpful. I am going to try to cook it in one piece. My plan is to trim in up, inject it and let it sit for a few hours in the fridge, put a run on it and then throw it on the smoker at 275. Because I am injecting it is it ok to put a temp probe in it from the start or should I wait? I was planning on putting it on around 3 tomorrow afternoon so that I could mop it every now and then while it was cooking uncovered and make sure it got above the danger zone in time, then wrap it in a pan with apple juice before bed. Wake up in am and finish it off when 200 with a glaze. Anything sound dumb? Is there a specific place I should put the probe in you think? Thanks for all the help!!!!

 

[Bearcarver]

Ok this thing is all one piece. I appreciate all the suggestions - super helpful. I am going to try to cook it in one piece. My plan is to trim in up, inject it and let it sit for a few hours in the fridge, put a run on it and then throw it on the smoker at 275. Because I am injecting it is it ok to put a temp probe in it from the start or should I wait? I was planning on putting it on around 3 tomorrow afternoon so that I could mop it every now and then while it was cooking uncovered and make sure it got above the danger zone in time, then wrap it in a pan with apple juice before bed. Wake up in am and finish it off when 200 with a glaze. Anything sound dumb? Is there a specific place I should put the probe in you think? Thanks for all the help!!!!

I don't know what smoker you have, but if you're planning on sleeping while it cooks, I would suggest you have it in a place where if for some crazy reason the whole thing lit up, it won't be close enough to light your house or garage with it.

I use an electric smoker on my all wood front porch, which is why I have never done an "All-nighter" in the 10 years I've been smoking.
It's not worth losing your house or loved ones.

Bear

 

[SmokyMose]

Ok this thing is all one piece. I appreciate all the suggestions - super helpful. I am going to try to cook it in one piece. My plan is to trim in up, inject it and let it sit for a few hours in the fridge, put a run on it and then throw it on the smoker at 275. Because I am injecting it is it ok to put a temp probe in it from the start or should I wait? I was planning on putting it on around 3 tomorrow afternoon so that I could mop it every now and then while it was cooking uncovered and make sure it got above the danger zone in time, then wrap it in a pan with apple juice before bed. Wake up in am and finish it off when 200 with a glaze. Anything sound dumb? Is there a specific place I should put the probe in you think? Thanks for all the help!!!!

Sounds like you have a good plan. You might want to back the heat off a bit overnight, just in case it cooks faster than you expect. You may want to wait a bit before sticking in the temp probe, unless you're sure you won't run out of battery overnight...
I always stick the probe in the thickest part, though others may disagree.
I know I'm looking forward to seeing how this "Hog Leg"turns out!

 

[Prichard]

Sounds like you have a good plan. You might want to back the heat off a bit overnight, just in case it cooks faster than you expect. You may want to wait a bit before sticking in the temp probe, unless you're sure you won't run out of battery overnight...
I always stick the probe in the thickest part, though others may disagree.
I know I'm looking forward to seeing how this "Hog Leg"turns out!

I will post follow up pics for sure and thanks again for the help. I have an XL green egg that is on a patio away from house. Have a flame boss probe that is a plug in unit so no batteries and sends temp to my phone. Actually been told I can have Alexa wake me up if it gets too close to final temp :). I’ll back the heat to 225 overnight good idea. I might start the pit at 250 to begin with and only crank up if it doesn’t look like I’ll get out of the danger zone. Thanks guys!

 

[smokngun]

 

[wbf610]

Can’t wait to see the results of this cook.

 

[Prichard]

Can’t wait to see the results of this cook.

Update - could use some advice. Started this thing yesterday at 4. Everything went like clockwork. Got it wrapped at 145 IT when I went to bed and pit was at 250 on way to 225. Cooked it at 250 until out of danger zone. Woke up at 4am and Thermometer was saying 210 IT. I pulled it off the egg and brought it inside. Tried to probe in a couple areas and got similar readings. That was after 12 hours and I checked the pit temperature history at it had held steady at 225 no spikes. I put it in the oven at 225 and poked around for another thermometer. Found one and IT on that read in the 170s, where it has been for three hours flat now in a 225 oven. It’s so confusing - I tested the probes with boiling water and they were fine. Being at 170 after 17 hours is not surprising given it trimmed up to over 20lbs, but I’m worried about the high reading. Any ideas? Thx!

 

[Dunstablegrizzly]

That's strange but it maybe that the whole shoulder is loaded with fat. Fat usually temps higher. I would concentrate on getting it to probe tender in the deepest part.

 

[wbf610]

Update - could use some advice. Started this thing yesterday at 4. Everything went like clockwork. Got it wrapped at 145 IT when I went to bed and pit was at 250 on way to 225. Cooked it at 250 until out of danger zone. Woke up at 4am and Thermometer was saying 210 IT. I pulled it off the egg and brought it inside. Tried to probe in a couple areas and got similar readings. That was after 12 hours and I checked the pit temperature history at it had held steady at 225 no spikes. I put it in the oven at 225 and poked around for another thermometer. Found one and IT on that read in the 170s, where it has been for three hours flat now in a 225 oven. It’s so confusing - I tested the probes with boiling water and they were fine. Being at 170 after 17 hours is not surprising given it trimmed up to over 20lbs, but I’m worried about the high reading. Any ideas? Thx!

Is the bone separating from the meat yet? I’ve never had one undercooked when the bone pulled free from the meat.

 

[Prichard]

Is the bone separating from the meat yet? I’ve never had one undercooked when the bone pulled free from the meat.

I gave the bone a wiggle and it was loose but not fall apart. The shoulder was still relatively firm which made me suspect a thermometer issue. I have had it back in the oven at 225 and it’s sort of back on track with what I would have expected. It was stalled at 170 for a few hours. At 180 now after 18.5 hours which all seems reasonable. Weird part is I tested all the therms in boiling water and they seem fine. Oh well - something weird must of happened. Doesn’t seem possible that a 22 lb shoulder would be 210 after 12 hours at 225-250 so I’m hoping that it was really on track the whole time and won’t be a hockey puck...