Well, today was my first ever long smoke. I had a plan. I had a recipe. I had the tools. What I didn't have was the meat!
See, I wanted to get a 10#'er so it'd fit my 4th of July schedule AND work with a specific recipe. We were at Costco and they had plenty of shoulders that would have fit the plan but I would have to freeze and then thaw it. (Costco is a ways away). My wife told me she'd already talked to our local butcher who told her he'd match the price and we could pick it up fresh. No brainier right? Well, when she went to pick it up the largest one they had was 7.5#'s
Well, that threw the "schedule" out the window. That also meant the original process couldn't be used (timing a pull at 140°F, rapping and putting it in the oven would mean an alarm clock - NO!)
So, there I was, last minute, having to change everything while not loosing my cool. Thankfully I've been doing enough reading on this forum that not only did I know my options, but (and this is the important point) I had enough confidence in it that I was able to feel relaxed.
I rubbed it with yellow mustard, covered it with a mild Bourbon Rub and put it on at 235°F at 11:00 last night. This morning I did the bamboo skewer test and at (10:45) 204°F I shut it off and let it rest for 2 hrs. Then I pulled and served it. It was tasty, jucy and Everyone raved about it.
See, I wanted to get a 10#'er so it'd fit my 4th of July schedule AND work with a specific recipe. We were at Costco and they had plenty of shoulders that would have fit the plan but I would have to freeze and then thaw it. (Costco is a ways away). My wife told me she'd already talked to our local butcher who told her he'd match the price and we could pick it up fresh. No brainier right? Well, when she went to pick it up the largest one they had was 7.5#'s
Well, that threw the "schedule" out the window. That also meant the original process couldn't be used (timing a pull at 140°F, rapping and putting it in the oven would mean an alarm clock - NO!)
So, there I was, last minute, having to change everything while not loosing my cool. Thankfully I've been doing enough reading on this forum that not only did I know my options, but (and this is the important point) I had enough confidence in it that I was able to feel relaxed.
I rubbed it with yellow mustard, covered it with a mild Bourbon Rub and put it on at 235°F at 11:00 last night. This morning I did the bamboo skewer test and at (10:45) 204°F I shut it off and let it rest for 2 hrs. Then I pulled and served it. It was tasty, jucy and Everyone raved about it.
