General Pork Shoulder smoking help/advice

[Stylez78]

Hey all, I picked up a 11lb bone in Pork Shoulder on manager special for like $.75 a lb. I decided to give it a try on my pellet smoker so I could sleep and have food for today.

I read many many posts and recipes so I decided to try a mixture of things. So first thing I did was I trimmed off a lot of the leather skin fat off the shoulder by I left a layer of the "white" fat on the back. I rubbed with Dijon mustard and hit it with my rub spices everywhere gave it a nice thick coat and let it sit for 30 min to set in. I got the pellet smoker setup for 250 degree and stuck my new ThermoSpike into the top side (hindsight I probably should of went in the side so the ambient was closer to the grate). I got the Pork Shoulder in at around 1:30am. Since I wanted to sleep no spritz every hour, just smoke and go.

After about 2 hours right about when I fell a sleep the Thermospike was reading ambient temp at 205 even though the pellet smoker said it was 250. Now the temp for the pellet smoker is at grate level on the left side of the cook chamber and my ThermoSpike is more in the middle of the cook chamber and sticking out the top of the Pork. I figured well 205 it will go up and I am doing low and slow so no worries.

Fast forward to now about 9 hours later the ambient temp is reading 226, which seems good, the internal temp is 167 and I was targeting to go up to 203-207 depending (I have not opened the smoker at all in 9 hours).

So I assume I am at the stall now, because this has been in the 160's for the past 3 hours or so. Do I just ride it out let it keep doing it's thing if time is not an issue for me? Is there any other benefit to taking it out wrapping it in foil and putting it back in other than helping it "speed up" through the stall? I have read that if you let it sit in the stall for too long at too low a temp it can dry out, but again not sure if this is true or not. I am sure this is preference, just like wrapping ribs in foil or not.

Lastly, when it hits my target temp and I pull it, would wrapping it in foil be okay to let it rest in a cooler? I don't have butcher paper but I do have parchement paper and wasn't sure if that would work or if just sticking with foil is okay and if 1 hour rest time is good for an 11lb Pork shoulder. Thanks all!

 

[Kevin DeShazo]

Yep let it ride, still in the stall, the meat is gonna do what its gonna do. Temps are good, so keep on keeping on.

Id go with the parchment paper vs foil, the parkment will keep it moist without stemming the meat and ending up with soggy bark

 

[Steve H]

Yup, keep going. And don't go just by temp. You should probe for tenderness as well.

 

[Stylez78]

Yup, keep going. And don't go just by temp. You should probe for tenderness as well.

The probing for tenderness is this just taking a meat prob and sticking it in a few spots and if it slides in and out smooth with no stick I should be good to go?

 

[jaxgatorz]

The probing for tenderness is this just taking a meat prob and sticking it in a few spots and if it slides in and out smooth with no stick I should be good to go?

Yes

 

[jcam222]

For butt I highly favor wrapping in a foil pan at the stall. I'll add a cup or two of chicken broth with some rub mixed in it and cover tightly. At about 203 I'll pull and throw in my Cambro ( cooler full of towels is fine). That broth and juice from the butt once you defat it is priceless! Liquid gold! Great toix back in the meat and / or dunk in.

 

[Stylez78]

Think it came out quite good! Kids loved it wife loved it can't ask for more I suppose

 

[jaxgatorz]

Looks fantastic. Good job

 

[02ebz06]

Looks great!!!

 

[JLeonard]

looks like you did good. Hey the wife and kids were happy! They will be your most honest critics.

Jim

 

[tallbm]

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Think it came out quite good! Kids loved it wife loved it can't ask for more I suppose

Hi there and welcome!

Great job on your first pork butt, it looks great!

I imagine you learned a few things with it.
Just an FYI, a pork butt is very forgiving so if you want to simply things you surely can.

Things like:

• If it's a pork butt (not a picnic ham) you don't have to do any trimming
• Foiling/wrapping a pork butt doesn't really do anything to improve flavor but helps speed up the cook... if that even matters (plan for more time and no speed up needed)
• Pork butts, pork ribs, briskets, chucks, beef ribs all do not care what temp you smoke them at as long as you aren't burning them, so crank up the heat to reduce the time (275F is hotter but not super hot and lots of us use that temp)
• A pork butt (brisket, chucks, beef ribs) are all done when tender. Doing the tenderness probing test will tell you if it's tender. The Internal Temp (IT) tells you when to start checking for tenderness.
• For resting, you can wrap tightly in 2 layers of foil and tightly in 3 bath towels and it will be steaming hot 4-5 hours later and ready to pull apart. So it can be as simple as that.
• Planning, planning, planning. At 275F smoker temp I find briskets and pork butts take about 1hr 5-10min per pound of meat in my smoker. So a 10 pound pork butt would take about 11 hours or so before it might become tender. I add 4 hours to that time and start my smoker 15 hours (11+4) before I plan to eat.
  The extra 4 hours is there for cushion should the pork butt not finish in time and if it does finish 4 hours early well you get a great 4 hour rest and it is still piping hot when 4 hours later after being foiled and wrapped in towels.

Keep on doing and improving on your pork butts, they are inexpensive and taste amazing when you start to nail them.

If you find you need more flavor throughout let me know. I have a simple approach of "butterflying" the pork butt so you can get more seasoning, smoke, and bark in the middle of the pork butt which kicks things to a whole other level :D

 

[Stylez78]

Hi there and welcome!

Great job on your first pork butt, it looks great!

I imagine you learned a few things with it.
Just an FYI, a pork butt is very forgiving so if you want to simply things you surely can.

Things like:

• If it's a pork butt (not a picnic ham) you don't have to do any trimming
• Foiling/wrapping a pork butt doesn't really do anything to improve flavor but helps speed up the cook... if that even matters (plan for more time and no speed up needed)
• Pork butts, pork ribs, briskets, chucks, beef ribs all do not care what temp you smoke them at as long as you aren't burning them, so crank up the heat to reduce the time (275F is hotter but not super hot and lots of us use that temp)
• A pork butt (brisket, chucks, beef ribs) are all done when tender. Doing the tenderness probing test will tell you if it's tender. The Internal Temp (IT) tells you when to start checking for tenderness.
• For resting, you can wrap tightly in 2 layers of foil and tightly in 3 bath towels and it will be steaming hot 4-5 hours later and ready to pull apart. So it can be as simple as that.
• Planning, planning, planning. At 275F smoker temp I find briskets and pork butts take about 1hr 5-10min per pound of meat in my smoker. So a 10 pound pork butt would take about 11 hours or so before it might become tender. I add 4 hours to that time and start my smoker 15 hours (11+4) before I plan to eat.
  The extra 4 hours is there for cushion should the pork butt not finish in time and if it does finish 4 hours early well you get a great 4 hour rest and it is still piping hot when 4 hours later after being foiled and wrapped in towels.

Keep on doing and improving on your pork butts, they are inexpensive and taste amazing when you start to nail them.

If you find you need more flavor throughout let me know. I have a simple approach of "butterflying" the pork butt so you can get more seasoning, smoke, and bark in the middle of the pork butt which kicks things to a whole other level :D

Thank you for all the tips!

The pork I had was a Pork Shoulder, so I think it had 3 bones in it and it had that hard leather outside pigskin. I trimmed off all that hard pigskin and left the white fat for flavor. I scored that white fat as well before smoking.

I wrapped mine in 2 layers of Parchment Paper and wrapped it with 3 dish towels (Wife wouldn't let me potentially ruin our bath towels! LOL) stuck it in the cooler for over an hour and it was piping HOT when I was trying to pull it.

Some areas were hard and drier, but man what flavor! Inside was juicy and tender and pulled beautifully! I ate it as is, no need to douse in BBQ sauce or anything just put it on a roll with some slaw and a dab of bbq for extra flavor and man I was eating good! I mean .75 cents a pound on a manager special, that was utterly amazing value. I can't wait to try a brisket, I'm nervous as it isn't as forgiving but if I can nail that it going to be a good summer of smoking meats!

 

[tallbm]

Thank you for all the tips!

The pork I had was a Pork Shoulder, so I think it had 3 bones in it and it had that hard leather outside pigskin. I trimmed off all that hard pigskin and left the white fat for flavor. I scored that white fat as well before smoking.

I wrapped mine in 2 layers of Parchment Paper and wrapped it with 3 dish towels (Wife wouldn't let me potentially ruin our bath towels! LOL) stuck it in the cooler for over an hour and it was piping HOT when I was trying to pull it.

Some areas were hard and drier, but man what flavor! Inside was juicy and tender and pulled beautifully! I ate it as is, no need to douse in BBQ sauce or anything just put it on a roll with some slaw and a dab of bbq for extra flavor and man I was eating good! I mean .75 cents a pound on a manager special, that was utterly amazing value. I can't wait to try a brisket, I'm nervous as it isn't as forgiving but if I can nail that it going to be a good summer of smoking meats!

Thanks for the additional info!

What you describe is know n as a Picnic Shoulder or Picnic Roast.

That is not exactly the same as the Pork Butt/Pork Shoulder/Boston Butt... yeah the names are stupid and confusing and both cuts come from the front leg, not even the back leg hahaha. You will get the idea with this pic here:

If doing a Pork Butt/Boston Butt/Pork Shoulder (no picnic, no skin) it is an easier smoke. Like hard to screw up.

You did a great jobs with the $0.75 picnic shoulder, nothing wrong with it either. Just gotta know they are a little different.

Practicing on Pork Butts and getting them nailed is good practice before attempting a brisket. When doing pork butts you will learn how to do long smokes with your smoker, the temps it likes, time planning, and how to properly discover when the meat is ready (tenderness but using IT to tell you when to check). Oh also you will learn about resting.

Those are are super important things and also apply to doing a brisket.
When moving to do a brisket you will do some additional and very brisket specific things in prep, smoking, temp probing, and checking for tenderness but you will see how close it is to what you did with a pork butt.

Keep at it man and you will be smoking the best BBQ you've ever eaten and doing new cuts of meat in no time :D

 

[Stylez78]

Thanks for the additional info!

What you describe is know n as a Picnic Shoulder or Picnic Roast.

That is not exactly the same as the Pork Butt/Pork Shoulder/Boston Butt... yeah the names are stupid and confusing and both cuts come from the front leg, not even the back leg hahaha. You will get the idea with this pic here:
View attachment 668869

If doing a Pork Butt/Boston Butt/Pork Shoulder (no picnic, no skin) it is an easier smoke. Like hard to screw up.

You did a great jobs with the $0.75 picnic shoulder, nothing wrong with it either. Just gotta know they are a little different.

Practicing on Pork Butts and getting them nailed is good practice before attempting a brisket. When doing pork butts you will learn how to do long smokes with your smoker, the temps it likes, time planning, and how to properly discover when the meat is ready (tenderness but using IT to tell you when to check). Oh also you will learn about resting.

Those are are super important things and also apply to doing a brisket.
When moving to do a brisket you will do some additional and very brisket specific things in prep, smoking, temp probing, and checking for tenderness but you will see how close it is to what you did with a pork butt.

Keep at it man and you will be smoking the best BBQ you've ever eaten and doing new cuts of meat in no time :D

I honestly didn't think about if there was a difference. It was labeled pork shoulder and I saw the price I figured great let rock it out. Even though they say it supposed to be a tougher meat it was quite tender and juicy.

I will buy a pork butt next time cook it same way to compare if I can taste a difference.

 

[zwiller]

I have a simple approach of "butterflying" the pork butt so you can get more seasoning, smoke, and bark in the middle of the pork butt which kicks things to a whole other level :D

OK FINALLY figured out who I learned this from! I can't fit a butterflied in the MES so I just half the thing. OMG NO OTHER WAY! About half the time and 2x bark. WIN WIN THANKS MAN! https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/butt-halved-success.298552/

 

[tallbm]

OK FINALLY figured out who I learned this from! I can't fit a butterflied in the MES so I just half the thing. OMG NO OTHER WAY! About half the time and 2x bark. WIN WIN THANKS MAN! https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/butt-halved-success.298552/

Hahaha nice! Yeah getting the extra flavor, bark, etc. is like an over the top game changer.

Glad the info helped you get to where you are at :D

 

[zwiller]

Hahaha nice! Yeah getting the extra flavor, bark, etc. is like an over the top game changer.

Glad the info helped you get to where you are at :D

IMO the extra flavor and bark are just perks. Half the smoke??? HECK YES!!! Those 15hr smokes were ROUGH. Kinda hard to believe my stuff is THAT good now. I am eyeing a pellet grill now and if I get some smoke ring action you will hear the mic drop all the way down there LOL.