Newbie Smoked First Pork Shoulders Disappointed!!

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mrv1976

Newbie
Original poster
Feb 23, 2020
1
0
Hello,

I just bought a Camp Chef SmokePro DLX 24 Pellet Grill. I decided to smoke two 8lb pork shoulders. Here's how I prepared and cooked them.


I brushed the pork with olive oil and used the Three Little Pigs Cherry seasoning rub. I wrapped them tight in saran wrap and refrigerated over night. I used Camp Chef Competition Blend Wood Pellets. I cooked them initially on 225. I put the pork shoulders in aluminum pans and once they got to internal temperature of 165 degrees, I transferred them to a clean aluminum pan, put 1 cup of apple juice and wrapped them with foil. I upped the temperature to 250 degrees and once they hit 203 degrees I pulled them out. I took towels and wrapped and put them in a dry cooler to rest for 2 hours. When them pulled them apart, it fell off the bone and shredded very easily. It was very moist and everyone loved it but it had no flavor unless you put some type of sauce on it. What did I do wrong? Should I have injected the pork prior to cooking it and put a glaze on it? I appreciate any tips someone can give me. Like I said I've brand new to smoking and this was my first shot.


FInal.jpg
 
I don’t have a Camp Chef, but all pellet grills emit more smoke at lower temps, and vice versa. Perhaps on that one you need to start and run a while lower than 225. I think the Pit Boss ‘smoke’ setting runs at 180.

You could also ass an A-Maze-N tray or tube to supplement the smoke.
 
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Yes you can inject if you don't like the flavor you are getting without doing so. I would also suggest using a finishing sauce when you shred. Just do a search and you will find plenty of good and easy recipes here.
 
 
Injecting would definitely add flavor for sure! I would suggest not placing them INSIDE the aluminum pans. Place them directly on the rack and set the aluminum pans under them to catch the drippings. The smoke flavor can’t get in if everything is covered by aluminum pan. I also wouldn’t use oil as a binder for your rub. I know a lot of people use mustard. Personally I do everything dry. And let it sit for 6-12 hours. Then I make sure to let the meat sit out till it comes up to room temp before I put it on the smoker.
just my 2 penny’s
 
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I don't have a pellet smoker so no help there, but it sounds like just a lack of "smoke" the way they turned out so moist and tender.
Lose the pans and maybe try an additional smoke generator like Inscrutable suggested...
 
I think they all have you covered. Just wanted to say congrats on your first go round, got two out of three right...tender and juicy. Now just dial in the smoke and seasonings and you'll be golden. Not every smoke turns out great or in worse case edible...happens to all of us.

Good job
Ryan
 
Shoulda seen my first drywall patch, when I introduced the 13-coat tape system

What Ryan said ... always learning ... and butts and thighs are your early friends (very forgiving)

And those big 8+lb butts are tough as the smoke can’t penetrate that deep, so once shredded may not seem super strong. I like to take the drippings, skim off the fat some, and mix some back into the shredded pork for a little flavor boost.

It’s all good, and all fun.
 
Look for jjs finishing sauce on here. You can make it and try it even with the leftovers. My whole family and anyone who has had my pulled pork loves it.
 
Here it is. I call it my secret ingredient for pulled pork haha

 
Run your smoker as low as it will go for 3-4 hours with the buts setting on the rack, then set in pan and turn heat up, the lower you smoke the more smoke flavor you will get, a tube added will also help, have a look thru the pellet forum there's a lot of good info there
 
Once you shred the pork, adding some more of your rub always helps boost the flavor if you don’t want to inject.
 
Yes to the finishing sauces, yes to the adding your rub afterwards. Yes to the adding a smoker tray on your grate.

IMHO, no to pellet smokers. (Again, IMHO) You trade so much flavor for the convenience of a pellet smoker that it's just not worth it.
 
Yes to the finishing sauces, yes to the adding your rub afterwards. Yes to the adding a smoker tray on your grate.

IMHO, no to pellet smokers. (Again, IMHO) You trade so much flavor for the convenience of a pellet smoker that it's just not worth it.
I agree with you on the first points. The last just isnt true. Imho
 
That's why I qualified it with the IMHO part.

It's just been my experience that compared to stick burn, UDS, electric with a pellet tray or vertical charcoal, pellet grills just don't hold up flavorwise because they use pellets for heat production and not flavor.

If you (again, IMHO) like a very light smoke profile, then pellet grills are great. If you, like me, desire something more assertive, then a pellet grill just won't deliver.
 
That's why I qualified it with the IMHO part.

It's just been my experience that compared to stick burn, UDS, electric with a pellet tray or vertical charcoal, pellet grills just don't hold up flavorwise because they use pellets for heat production and not flavor.

If you (again, IMHO) like a very light smoke profile, then pellet grills are great. If you, like me, desire something more assertive, then a pellet grill just won't deliver.
Which pellet smoker do you have?
 
I don't own one..I base my opinion on cooks I've sampled off a couple of camp chef models, one rec-tec and one Yoder. So admittedly my experience isn't complete, but complete enough to post my opinion.

But, once again, that's why I qualified my opinion in each post :-)

There is a real convenience versus flavor formula to be considered here. I can't answer to that, just giving my opinion in flavor alone.
 
I don't own one..I base my opinion on cooks I've sampled off a couple of camp chef models, one rec-tec and one Yoder. So admittedly my experience isn't complete, but complete enough to post my opinion.

But, once again, that's why I qualified my opinion in each post :-)

There is a real convenience versus flavor formula to be considered here. I can't answer to that, just giving my opinion in flavor alone.
Its definitely not the same flavor a stick burner imparts. I'll give you that. But if you know how to use your pellet smoker it wont disappoint on flavor either.
 
I watched a video by Henry Soo and he specifically states that you shouldn't use oils on the meat surface to hold your rub. If you want to use a binder you should use something, like, mustard as the oil keeps the rub from being able to penetrate the meat.
 
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I don't use a binder, I dry the surface and coat heavily with Simply Marvelous Cherry followed by a heavy coat of Spicy Apple. I run my pellet unit at 225 degrees place butt on rack and let it ride until an IT of 165-170ish throw in a pan cover with foil and into the oven(cause why waste the pellets at this point) at 250 degrees until IT of 206 roughly, I probe it to make sure it's like butta. Pull and either rest for awhile or start pulling immediately, I haven't noticed any difference. I remove the juices and remove the fat, adding the juices back to the pulled meat. Hit it with some Big Poppas Happy Ending and either JJ's Finishing Sauce or not. Never had a complaint.
 
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