Pork Shoulder

[brianj517]

I have two gorgeous 8lb shoulders at home, ready to be coated with yellow mustard and rubbed down with a good dry rub. (I'm thinking of using the porkers rib rub from the website). I have experimented some with mop sauce by combining cider vinegar, sugar, salt & various spices, but I haven't discovered a truly stunning combination yet.

Any help would be much appreciated, as my Mom is visiting this weekend and is bringing a couple family friends that I haven't seen in a very long time. They were very close to my Dad before he passed away, and they have practically watched me grow up. I'd really like to impress them.

Thanks, in advance for any help.

Brian

 

[bwsmith_2000]

Hey Brian, I'm envious. Those shoulders sound great and you're on the right track. Go with what You are doing. Use Hickory or Mesquite but don't go overboard with the smoke. Remember "soft light grey" smoke. Be patient. Keep the cooking temperature around 225* until the internal temp comes up to 180* to 190*. Then let the meat rest for about 30 minutes. And by the way, don't forget the ABT and the Fatties with hot biscuits. They'll love you for it. Good Luck!!! Bill Smith

 

[smokin_all_night]

I saw on a TV show one time where the famous Arthur Bryant's in Kansas city uses pickle juice. Probably left over from pickles used in the resturant.

I personally use 1/5 cider vinegar and 4/5 water. I do not believe in sugar or salt in the mop. Salt leaches out the moisture and sugar glazes so as to seal the surface prventing smoke penetration (I could be wrong but everyone's gotta have an opinion). BTW, pickle juice contains lots of vinegar. Apple juice while tasty contains lots of sugar.

Regards,
Aubrey Page

 

[Dutch]

Brian, What I like to use for a mop is
2 cups UNSWEETEND Apple cider
1/8 -1/4 cup white vinegar
1 - 2 Tablespoons of Pork Rub
2 cloves minced garlic
and for added heat I add 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of dry mustard

Mix together and enjoy!!

 

[brianj517]

Thanks to all who responded.

My smoke was a smashing success! The roasts went in around 5:30am and came out a little after 3:00pm. The mop sauce that I went with was as follows;
1c. Cider vinegar
1/2c. dark brown sugar
3-4 tbs coarse sea salt
2tsp black pepper
3tsp red pepper flakes
3-4 dashes Tobasco sauce
finely chopped green onion
3 cloves chopped/minced garlic
5-6 paper thin slices fresh jalepeno peppers (seeds and all)

Combine everything and wisk together to dissolve sugar and salt. Oh yeah, I popped the cap on a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, took two healthy chugs off the top (for test purposes :twisted: ) and dumped the rest in for good measure!

I divided the mixture into two parts and mopped every hour and a half or so throughout the cook with the first half. To the second half of the sauce, I added approximately 3 or 4 TBS Heinz Ketchup to thicken a bit and served on the side as a finishing sauce.

The roasts were tender and juicy! The blade shaped bone pulled out easily by hand and the meat pulled/shredded into what was quite possibly the most perfect bbq sandwich ever! It was absolute nirvana!

I had also smoke grilled some vegetable skewers that consisted of zucchini and yellow squash from the garden mixed with red onion and cubanelle peppers to serve on the side. Of course the old stand by appetizer ABT's were there, too!

WOW! What a meal...

Cheers, everyone!
Brian

 

[TulsaJeff]

You guys have this uncanny way of posting all the juicy details of your latest smoke right around lunch time..

I am sitting here salivating getting ready to go get a hamburger and fries and pretend it is smoked :cry:

Knew I should have brought in leftovers!