How to smoke an 8lb boneless pork shoulder in Kettle charcoal grill? UPDATE WITH Q-VIEW

[bbqlover]

Hi,

glad I found this forum.  

We recently purchased 2 boneless pork shoulders.  The package says that it's almost 16lbs, so I'm guessing that they are about 7-8lbs each.  

We have smoked ribs in our kettle grill using charcoal and wood chips before and they turn out delicious, but this is a bigger undertaking and I want to make sure that we know what to expect.  

We are having company at 3pm so we want it ready by then but after reading forums, it looks like it could take about 12 hours or so. 

1.  how long should we figure it will take? 

2. can we smoke for part of the time and then move to the oven to cook it faster?  

     Or smoke it at a higher temp?

3. can we smoke it the day before and re-heat in the oven on party day?  Does the quality/taste change?  

I'm not sure what else to ask.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.  

 

[menk45]

 

[raptor700]

Hi,

glad I found this forum.  

We recently purchased 2 boneless pork shoulders.  The package says that it's almost 16lbs, so I'm guessing that they are about 7-8lbs each.  

We have smoked ribs in our kettle grill using charcoal and wood chips before and they turn out delicious, but this is a bigger undertaking and I want to make sure that we know what to expect.  

We are having company at 3pm so we want it ready by then but after reading forums, it looks like it could take about 12 hours or so. 

1.  how long should we figure it will take? 

 A good rule of thumb is 2 hrs per lb. For PP you want an internal temp of 200º

Foil at 165º and finish on the smoker or in the oven.

2. can we smoke for part of the time and then move to the oven to cook it faster?  

      Yes, you can smoke as long as possible, then double foil and finish in the oven.

     Or smoke it at a higher temp?

     You can, but I like to keep it around 250º          

3. can we smoke it the day before and re-heat in the oven on party day?  Does the quality/taste change?  

Yes, as long as you reach an internal of 165º before refrigerating.

Save the juice and add back to the PP after reheating.

I'm not sure what else to ask.

Just a thought but, I have cut them in ½ to shorten cook time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.  

Hope this gets you pointed in the right direction

 

[SmokinAl]

Good luck & don't forget the Q-view!

 

[bbqlover]

Thanks so much for the replies!  I watched the video as well.  All great advice.

We've decided to smoke it tomorrow and reheat on Sunday, since we are having people earlier in the day and want to be sure that it's ready.

I will not forget the Q-view!

I'm hungry already!

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

 

[bbqlover]

So we are done,  it took 9.5 hours, started at 9:30am, ended at 7pm and smoked it at around 250. Used a recipe from the Weber real grilling book, just used light brown sugar, kosher salt and chili powder.  It tastes amazing. We will make the sauce that goes with it tomorrow and heat it up with that.   If I could only eat it all right now.  Attached are some photos, taken every 3 hours, I'm not not very good at this attachment thing.  So they may be out of order.  you get the idea though.  Taken at 9:30a, 12:30p, 6:30p, 7p. Thanks again!!!!  

. 

 

[meateater]

Nice job, you achieved the sought after smoke ring. 

 

[so ms smoker]

  It looks awesome!. Great job.

Mike

 

[teleburst]

Don't forget the finishing sauce tomorrow! Also, it's just me, but I would leave them as intact a as possible, warm them up in a 180° oven a couple of hours before service, and pull on site. Them keeps them at maximum moistness. But no worries if pulled early.

 

[teleburst]

Or finishing sauce this afternoon!

 

[SmokinAl]

AWESOME!!!

 

[bbqlover]

Thanks for the replies.  The hubby is very proud of his work.   It's a good thing that we served up some other food because the pork was inhaled!  

Gotta figure out what to smoke next.  Brisket, chicken, turkey.......

ENJOY!