Picnic Pork Shoulder...

[paleoman]

I've got a 8.5 lb picnic shoulder, that I going to use for pulled pork.

One time (~8 lbs), I scored the fat cap and pellet smoked fat cap up, with a pan of broth under, at 265˚F(9 hours). Hit 200˚F. Bark was very good, fairly moist.

Another time (7lb 3 oz), I did injection and pellet smoked at 225˚F (19 hours), with a pan under (no sauce), spritzed w/apple juice, then increased to 275˚F (2 hrs). Hit 195˚F. Bark was good, great smoke throughout, but a bit dry.

Third time (9.64 lbs), did rub overnight, pellet smoked 275˚F fat cap down on grates (13 hours, 50 mins). Hit 200˚F. Very moist/juicy, not as much bark but tasty, less overall smoky flavor, and fat cap was like jelly.

This time, I'll try brine overnight (Monday), and will pellet smoke Tuesday at 250˚F with fat cap scored and up. Thinking of using a pan under with liquid (broth/juice?).

Trying similar to first run, only with a brine, and a bit lower temp. In the future, I think I want to try 225˚F for a while for smoke, and then raised temp later in the smoke.

Will post results of this run.

 

[paleoman]

I also am interested to see how this turns out, as it is a "picnic shoulder" and not a "Boston Butt", like the others were. I read that it has less marbling and is tougher.

 

[Fueling Around]

I do a lot of smaller cuts off the pork shoulder. I capture all the renderings in a pan. I drop the meat in the pan and foil wrap to finish in the oven. Not the same as a full butt with all the connective tissue but it works for me.

 

[paleoman]

At 5:30pm today, I started brining the shoulder. After removing the wrapper, I did see that it had a skin, which I read (after I bought it - will stick to Boston Butt from here on out) is common. I tried my best to slice it off (assuming that I should do that). Weight is now 7.55 lbs (from 8.47 lbs).

Here's the brine solution, after heating to dissolve the sugar/salt...

Using this recipe: https://farmhouseharvest.net/pork-brine-recipe/

Here's the top side of the pork shoulder (I forgot to photograph the skin side)...

Will pull it tomorrow morning, and start smoking per my plans.

 

[paleoman]

Smoking day!!!

Fat cap side with skin removed...

Applied mustard and rub, and letting sit, while I prepared the smoker...

Started at 5:40am, with apple pellets, set at 250˚F. Here is a quick shot after 2 hours...

Recently, after about 9 hours...

It's been at 160-165˚F on the two probes for over two hours, so I'm tenting now (almost 10 hours). With 7.55 lbs I'm guessing at 11-15 hours. It won't be 11 hours, but we'll see with the tenting, I'm thinking 12-13 hours. The bark looks pretty good (to my untrained eye).

Will post again, when done. I'll rest and the pull to see how it came out. The plan is to vacuum seal, freeze some and reheat for tomorrow's dinner (as I wasn't sure if it would be ready today, and I didn't want to force it).

 

[paleoman]

Well, was going smoothly, until 8pm. Probes were at 189˚F/190˚F... when low temp alarm! I forgot to top off the pellets and it ran out. It seemed like it was trying to restart, but by 8:20pm, it was still around 90-100˚F, cycling on and off, so I started the 15 minute shut down sequence, and turned on the oven to 275˚F.

By 8:35pm, the oven was ready. Readings are 185˚F on both probes. I'm hoping that with the higher temp (275˚F vs 250˚F), it'll start climbing back up soon. I'd like to get it to at least 195˚F, so I can rest it for an hour and then pull tonight. Going to be a long day of cooking.

I didn't (but should have) probed it to see if it was tender, but I was concerned about letting it cool down too much.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I’m in. Sounds delicious.

 

[bigfurmn]

Pretty sure if drink that brine by the gallon. man that looks good.

 

[paleoman]

I’m in. Sounds delicious.

Going for some drama at the end of the cook...

The probes had dipped down to 180˚F/181˚F and are holding there from 8:55pm to 9pm.

Not sure if I should...
- Wait it out and see if it goes up soon
- Uncover, probe tenderness, and if not OK, leave uncovered, or
- Bump oven to 300˚F (still covered).

 

[bigfurmn]

Bump up to 300. You are past the taking flavor point. Time to just get it finished.

 

[paleoman]

Bump up to 300. You are past the taking flavor point. Time to just get it finished.

Think I should uncover?

 

[bigfurmn]

Think I should uncover?

Personally I would leave it covered and bump up the temp. It's got it's flavor. Hell finish it in the oven at 350 if needed.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Think I should uncover?

Leave it covered for pulled meat. It’s actually about perfect now for sliced meat. But personally I’d let it ride until it’s probe tender or I just call it and serve sliced. I love picnics.

 

[paleoman]

At 9:05pm I bumped to 300˚F, at 9:35pm I bumped to 350˚F, still covered. Probes show 181˚F/185˚F (starting to go up). At 10pm, I'm going to uncover and probe for tenderness.

 

[paleoman]

OK. At 10pm, it was 189˚F/194˚F. I probed and it felt tender. Readings from several places showed 194˚F-202˚F. Pulled out, left covered, and will shred in an hour.

Here's how it looks...

Thank god it is a teflon coated roasting pan, as the bottom looks pretty gnarley...

 

[bigfurmn]

OK. At 10pm, it was 189˚F/194˚F. I probed and it felt tender. Readings from several places showed 194˚F-202˚F. Pulled out, left covered, and will shred in an hour.

Here's how it looks...
View attachment 719113
Thank god it is a teflon coated roasting pan, as the bottom looks pretty gnarley...

Bare bottom on gates will look gnarly. Try to get it off if you can otherwise try to mix it in. Some people(especially in my family) love those burnt ends. Remember they are people who love everything. It looks great to me. Very nicely done.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Yup. Nice finish. It will be delicious. Doesn’t take much of a hiccup to mess up a cook, but looks like you finished strong and that’s what counts. Nice work.

 

[paleoman]

Thanks! It was very moist, had a good bark, and the bits I nibbled were tasty. The 7.55 lb shoulder cooked down to just over 5 lbs(I’m not near my exact notes). After pulling the bone (large), it was 4lbs 2oz.

Total cook time was 16 hours and 20 mins (I think it would have been closer to 15 hours, if it wasn’t for my mistake of not refilling pellets, and having to shift over to oven).

Tonight I’ll reheat and serve for dinner. I’ll get some shots off the shredded pieces. It was too late last night, by the time it rested and was pulled.

Thanks for the tips during the drama phase of the cook!

 

[paleoman]

Here is what 1 1/3 lbs of the pork shredded looks like (after reheating in sous vide)...

With it, I made grilled peaches and roasted green beans...

It tasted great, was very moist, and had a nice smoke to it.

 

[paleoman]

I'm happy with this one (along with another that I did at 265˚F with no brine or injection, but placed in a roaster pan with a sauce).

I'd like to try one more experiment, doing 225˚F for an hour or two for smoke, and then bumping to 275˚F to reduce the overall time. Maybe without any brining/injecting to keep the process simple.

Will have to pickup another shoulder (Boston butt this time - no more of the picnic shoulders).