I need some advice for smoking this big guy

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dondr8per

Newbie
Original poster
Oct 10, 2019
15
10
Hello all, I hope you are well and safe! Crazy times. I ordered a pork shoulder from Snake River Farms. I didn't realize it would be this big (17lbs.) and would be more than just the butt. I have smoked butts on a BGE and am now using an off-set smoker, but never smoked anything this big. Any advice on how long this might take? Any general advice for this whole shoulder?
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No different than any other Butt or Shoulder. Remove any skin but smoke it for dog treats. Add rub and smoke at 225 15-20 hours until the IT hits 205. Probe for slide in tenderness. Rest 30 minutes on the counter or longer in a cooler and pull it...JJJ
 
No different than any other Butt or Shoulder. Remove any skin but smoke it for dog treats. Add rub and smoke at 225 15-20 hours until the IT hits 205. Probe for slide in tenderness. Rest 30 minutes on the counter or longer in a cooler and pull it...JJJ
Thank you!! How long do you recommend before wrapping and putting back on?
 
Fantastic! Thank you!
.
Hello all, I hope you are well and safe! Crazy times. I ordered a pork shoulder from Snake River Farms. I didn't realize it would be this big (17lbs.) and would be more than just the butt. I have smoked butts on a BGE and am now using an off-set smoker, but never smoked anything this big. Any advice on how long this might take? Any general advice for this whole shoulder?View attachment 437097
DON after you smoke it ...let it cool .cut small 1 inch pieces milk n egg then mix corn meal n flour .. then deep fry them ...pork Carnitas ...heat up a flour tortilla on grill load it top it with whatever you want ...... damn good eatin ...
 
are you planning to use wood for that smoke flavor? I would wrap and add brown sugar and spread the last 4 hours of the cook. Don’t forget to spray with apple juice throughout the cook
 
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Wrap time depends on what you are smoking in and how much effort you want to put in. If you have a stick burner, feed wood for at least 4 to 6 hours, wrap and finish in your oven. If you don't mind working the smoker, smoke it straight through, no wrapping.Basically, wrap and finish in your oven when you get tired of tending the smoker. 20 hours is a long haul...JJ
 
Wrap time depends on what you are smoking in and how much effort you want to put in. If you have a stick burner, feed wood for at least 4 to 6 hours, wrap and finish in your oven. If you don't mind working the smoker, smoke it straight through, no wrapping.Basically, wrap and finish in your oven when you get tired of tending the smoker. 20 hours is a long haul...JJ
Dont take the fun out of bbqing ....that's why they made pellet pits ...reverse pits ...electric pits ......Stupid proof .....No way get out there and use wood ..learn your pit ..the ups and downs...you put the fire at the hole by the tank or move the fire towards the door ...all this makes you know your pit ... my 2 cents
 
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Dont take the fun out of bbqing ....that's why they made pellet pits ...reverse pits ...electric pits ......Stupid proof .....No way get out there and use wood ..learn your pit ..the ups and downs...you put the fire at the hole by the tank or move the fire towards the door ...all this makes you know your pit ... my 2 cents

" If you don't mind working the smoker, smoke it straight through, no wrapping. " I don't Wrap...JJ
 
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Great advice and thought provoking! Thanks to all of you for your feedback. I have an offset smoker and was planning to use that. I have two college boys home, so maybe I should put them to work for the long haul!
 
Great advice and thought provoking! Thanks to all of you for your feedback. I have an offset smoker and was planning to use that. I have two college boys home, so maybe I should put them to work for the long haul!

You will have no problem getting the Boys to help and tend the fire. You just need to... Buy the BEER!...JJ
 
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So true!! With two bored college athletes bored and eating us out of house and home, you can bet they will be happy to smoke this beast! Thanks to all for your help. This is my first post and happy to see so many helpful people. I hope you are all staying healthy and making the best of this crazy time!
 
Hi there and welcome!

You are getting lots of great advise here.

Something that hasn't been mentioned is that you can remove the "leg" portion keeping it intact and just smoke the shoulder/butt (has the flat triangle shaped bone in it).

I like braising the removed portion to have braised pork.
If you wanted to take this route you could ensure that the both cuts come out perfect rather than risk drying or having less then stellar results on the left because it is done way before the shoulder/butt.

As mentioned remove the skin in any case you decide to take.

Here is a fantastic butchering video on a deer but it applies the same to a pig.
At 5:55 he starts working the font leg which is what u have.
Skip to 7:30 in the video and he will show u where the shoulder blade bone connects with a leg bone and u can cut through the joint to separate the shoulder/butt from the other leg bone.
If you simply and just find the joint and cut through it u can separate the pork butt from the rest of the leg and u can braise the leg as i mention or hell smoke it as well as a separate cut and pull it when it is done... which should be before the shoulder is one.
Here's the video enjoy :)
 
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This is fantastic information. You guys are incredibly helpful. We started at 10:30 last night and I am pulling it off in about 30 minutes. I will send some pictures! Thank you all!!
 
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