First Picnic! Any tips vs butt

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daveverdo

Fire Starter
Original poster
Jun 8, 2016
54
23
I went out for some pork yesterday and none of my local stores had any butt. I did buy a picnic as it was all they had.

I assume I can pull it.

I have smoked quite a few butts using my pellet smoker but never a picnic.
What are my options?
Anything different from butt in prep or smoking?

Any tips or tricks are greatly appreciated.
 
A picnic makes good pulled pork too.
Smoke the picnic the same way you would smoke a butt.
Just start probing for tenderness at around 190 to 195 degrees internal temperature.
 
The yield is not as high as a butt, and some muscle groups are not as tender. On the upside, the darker meat around the bone and in the shank area is very flavorful. Get your injection deep and plenty in the shank/hock area.
 
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All good info here...JJ
 
Skin it and trim a lot of the exterior fat...it has plenty of interior fat to keep it moist.

FWIW - a picnic roast is my fave for PP...but a Boston Butt is a close second.
 
Thanks everyone. The picnic came out OK. I looked great but cooked very uneven. Some parts had an IT 175° while other sections were 195°.

It tasted good but not as good as the butts I have been smoking.

My pellet smoker starting acting up toward the end so that may have also been as issue.

Dave
 
You can't avoid the funnel shape of a picnic, you just have to cook around that. If your pit was mis-behaving, you could have double wrapped with some liquid and cooked it tender in the oven.
 
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