3 Shoulder / Picnic Ham Smoke w/ Q - View

[jarjarchef]

So, I am going to smoke 3 shoulders this weekend to stock up the freezer and to have a few people over for some yummy bits.

I am going to documents as many steps along the way. If you see I have missed one, please let me know and I'll do my best to correct it.

I usually do not write down my rub recipes and usually go by taste. But, I have written it down and if it passes the test (wife and father in-law), I will post it at the end of the smoke.

So it passed: This made enough to season all 3 shoulders and enough leftover for 2 more.

4c         Sugar in the Raw

1c         Fine Ground Sea Salt

6 Tbl     Granulated Garlic

6 Tbl     Course Onion Powder

3 Tbl     Celery Salt

2 Tbl     Ground Oregano

6 Tbl     Chili Powder

6 Tbl     Fine Ground Black Pepper

Mix all ingredients well and rub onto the meat generously..

To start we got 3 ea shoulders that average 9 lbs ea.

3 Shoulder Start.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 20, 2012

This is after I removed the skin. I used to leave it on and only score it, but you lose out on a lot of the smoke and bark. I did leave a small amount of fat that would render off.

After the skin was removed the average weight was 7 1/2 lbs ea.

3 Shoulder Cleaned.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 20, 2012

Here is the skin. I am going to see if I can make something out of it. Maybe mock smoked crackling's? Not sure any suggestions please let me know.

3 Shoulder Skin.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 20, 2012
• 2

This is after they were seasoned. They will get re-seasoned in the early morning before they go on the smoker. I will be using a Modified Char Griller Outlaw. Been having temp issues and trying something new with the plate under the cook grate.

3 Shoulder Seasoned.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 20, 2012

Total prep time from start to finish including weighing, pictures, mixing & applying the rub, cleaning pork and cleaning work area was only 45 min. I lost a total of 10 degrees. So it was at 45 degrees when they went back into the fridge.

 

[thoseguys26]

regular crackings / chicharones are the way to go. I tried with smoked and they didn't fluff out like unsmoked ones. 

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/118562/pork-rinds-chicharones-homemade-q-view

The smoked skins I had I froze and will use in beans, soups, etc. 

Can't wait to see some more pics on your post!

 

[jarjarchef]

Here are the Shoulders after they were re-seasoned this morning.

3 Shoulder Reseasoned.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 21, 2012

And we start!!  I put them in at 8:30am, only 2 hrs late and now they tell me it is supposed to rain mid afternoon. I am hoping I can get at least 7-8 hrs in the smoker. Then I can finish them in the oven. My target smoker temp range is 225 - 250 degrees.

3 Shoulder Smoke Start.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 21, 2012

See ya in a couple hours with an update.

 

[nc cue]

Looks like I'm not the only one smoking picnics this morning. I'm also looking at some rain later in the day, but I'm hoping my umbrella rig will do the trick and I won't have to transfer to the oven. Will be monitoring your thread--happy smoking!

 

[jarjarchef]

NC Cue,

Thank You and happy smoking to you as well!!!

I am going to try and figure out a way to make some crackling's as well from the skins. I don't have a dehydrator, so going to set the oven on lowest setting and give it a try.

 

[jarjarchef]

So here we are at 2hrs into the cook.

 I have made the Mop Sauce I will use later if needed.

1/2c          Rub

1c             Apple Cider Vinegar

1c             Water

28 oz         Lite Beer

Shoulder Mop.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 21, 2012

I went out at hr 1 to see this:

1 HR TBS.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 21, 2012

After a bit of adjustments I have both side holding at 250 degrees at grate level.

Internal meat temp:

Hr 1   80 degrees

Hr 2   125 degrees

3 Shoulder hr 2.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 21, 2012

3 Shoulder hr 2.1.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 21, 2012

So I closed the lid and threw a couple more chunks of oak on the charcoal.

 

[nc cue]

Looking like a good bit of brown sugar and black pepper in that rub. Am I right? Looks tasty.

 

[jarjarchef]

It is a sweeter rub, the wife does not like spicy food.

. Sugar in the raw and black pepper are in it. But it is a very mild rub to help bring out the pork. We shall see later today, if the flavor is to my liking I'll post the recipe. I don't want to send anyone down a wrong path.

 

[jarjarchef]

Hour 4 Update:

Pork Temps Hr 3 @ 155

Pork Temps Hr 4 @ 170

Smoker holding 250 - 275 with no issues. Going to choke it back a bit.

Shoulder Hr 4.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 21, 2012

Shoulder Hr 4.1.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 21, 2012

See ya in a couple hours.......

 

[woundedyak]

Nice work! I see you have good taste in your cutlery 

 

[jarjarchef]

So here we are at hr 6. So my smoker decided to go on hyper drive and not want to drop below 275 - 300 range. Needless to say we have plowed through the temp stall point.

Pork Temp Hr 5 @ 177

Pork Temp Hr 6 @ 191

So I am placing them in a 6" deep hotel pan and putting a bit of the mop and a lid on them. I have opened the stack all the way and shut the air intake for the fire box. Hoping to get it to hold at 225 for about an hour then rest and pull it. Was not planning on doing the chicken today, but looks like I will have the time.

ShoulderHr 6.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 21, 2012

I did pull some bits off to taste, you know the Chef has to taste everything!!!! This may be some of my best yet.

 

[rdknb]

They look great well done

 

[nc cue]

191 after 6 hours--that ol' boy is running HOT! The meat looks great, though. Bark looks fantastic.

 

[jarjarchef]

Yea she is a bit hot!!!!! Up until today she has been a fight to get to 225, and after a couple adjustments she goes crazy.

 

[i bleed blue]

that looks really good, hope you show us the final result and some "cross section" results too.

 

[jarjarchef]

So they have been pulled out of the smoker and are resting. Should have the final shots up soon.....

 

[startedsmokin]

This is great...thanks for sharing.  I like the hourly temp update...helpful for a newbie (2 smokes in my life).  I just got my mav 732 and am anxious to start my third early tomorrow AM!

 

[earthquake5683]

It looks really good.  I just picked up two butts for a test run (never done big chunks of meat before).  Having some people over next weekend and don't want it to turn out bad. Gonna toss one in tomorrow.  Looking forward to seeing the outcome.
 

 

[jarjarchef]

So here we go with the final product and information.

Pork Temp 8hrs @ 200 (note: I moved them to a 200 degree oven to hold for 1.5 hrs to rest at the 6.5 hr mark.) So total cook time 6.5 hrs and 1.5 hrs rest time before picking.

Final amount of pork 13 lbs, so a little more than a 50% loss in prep and cooking.

For those who have been following: I am adding the rub recipe to the first post!!!

Here is the final presentation photo.

3 Shoulder Final Look.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 21, 2012

Here is the chicken and pork packed and ready to freeze for good easy meals on those crazy days we all have.

Packed and Ready.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 21, 2012

Bonus Pics of the chicken cook.

Start: Store bought seasoning only, no brine

Chicken Start.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 21, 2012

Finished: Only 2 hrs at 300 degrees. At 2 hrs I opened the stack and closed the air intake for the side fire box. They stayed in there for another 45 - 60 min while I picked the pork and cleaned up the kitchen.

Chicken Finished.JPG

• jarjarchef
• Jul 21, 2012

 

[nc cue]

Nicely one. Given how long your pork was in the smoker, I didn't expect such a nice smoke ring. Looks delicious. Did you let the 'cue sit for a little while to cool down before packing into freezer bags, or did you pull straight into the bags and toss them in the freezer?