I bought a Green Mountain Daniel Boone smoker last fall right after taking a 5 hour introductory barbecue course and enjoying it immensely. I have done ribs three times and made a batch of barbecue sauce twice. All went well.
I recently decided to try pulled pork but on a small scale the first time. I’m guessing the weight of the pork shoulder as about 3 lbs. I followed the instructions received at the barbecue class (preparation of the pork, setting the smoker to 190 degrees and then after the pork got to 160 degrees, wrap it in foil with some apple juice and turn up the smoker to 220 degrees to raise the temp of the pork to 190 degrees. (Done)
I started the cooking at 8:00 am and at about 6 hours later the pork went into a stall at about 135 degrees. It didn’t get to 160 degrees until 8 pm (12 hours from start). I wrapped it but decided to finish it in the oven (didn’t have the confidence to keep the smoker going until the following morning) at 220 degrees for 4 hours.
When I got up and took it out of the oven at about 6 pm the pork was still slightly warm. When I tried to pull the meet away from the bone it had a little more resistance than I expected and the meat didn’t shred but came off more in chunks.
Did this cook time seem extreme for a small pork shoulder or do I need to be more patient?
I recently decided to try pulled pork but on a small scale the first time. I’m guessing the weight of the pork shoulder as about 3 lbs. I followed the instructions received at the barbecue class (preparation of the pork, setting the smoker to 190 degrees and then after the pork got to 160 degrees, wrap it in foil with some apple juice and turn up the smoker to 220 degrees to raise the temp of the pork to 190 degrees. (Done)
I started the cooking at 8:00 am and at about 6 hours later the pork went into a stall at about 135 degrees. It didn’t get to 160 degrees until 8 pm (12 hours from start). I wrapped it but decided to finish it in the oven (didn’t have the confidence to keep the smoker going until the following morning) at 220 degrees for 4 hours.
When I got up and took it out of the oven at about 6 pm the pork was still slightly warm. When I tried to pull the meet away from the bone it had a little more resistance than I expected and the meat didn’t shred but came off more in chunks.
Did this cook time seem extreme for a small pork shoulder or do I need to be more patient?