Whole shoulder

[yankeerob]

I'm doing my first MBN contest this weekend and smoking a whole shoulder. That is the boston butt and picnic connected together. Anyone ever done this? These things weigh in at 16 lbs.

-rob

 

[white cloud]

Is it your intention on doing the thing as a whole? You could always seaperate it so it won't take as long to smoke. It would look nice being whole, that big ol hunk of meat................

 

[walking dude]

i have YET to do a shoulder.........so i will be following this thread closely

 

[daddio]

check their rules before you seperate the shoulder,it's probably required to cook it whole.if you've done boston butts any we do them about the same way,just trim alot of the fat cap down where it's only about as thick as your already butcherd boston butts are.trim the skin down where there's only a few inches left on the shank,oil it pretty good and may even cover with foil to keep it from burning.just be sure you check the rules about the meat requiements

 

[richtee]

Trimming the skin is usually done. I'd think an injection would be required in a hunk like that. Please keep us updated... and keep it thin and blue :{)

 

[smokebuzz]

i done one for a freind last winter, it had the skin on the whole thing, only place that didnt have skin is where any to begin with. I injected it and let it set for about 6 hrs. rubbed and smoked. it took close to 20 hrs. at 250*. got it to to 200* and it pritty much fell apart. I know you dont get much smoke thru the skin, but was a good trade off, very moist.

 

[bbq bubba]

MBN requires whole shoulder.
Inject (search Chris Lillys injection), rub and slow smoke!
Whole shoulders tend to hold a lot more moisture!
Good luck and get some pics!

 

[flyin'illini]

Sounds like another one for the list. I will also watch this one closely.

Noob question... why would you inject if it hold moisture as well or better than a butt or picnic?

 

[bbq bubba]

Flavor......

 

[yankeerob]

It is indeed a requirement to cook whole. Believe me, if I could cook 2 separate pieces I would. The butcher secured 4 for us at 20 lbs each. I'll need a hacksaw to fit them in the caldera. It will definitely end up being injected with FAB-P.

I hope the spares fit into the WSM with the Pro-Q add-on.

-rob

 

[meat-man]

Good luck bud and keep us posted

 

[yankeerob]

Ok hereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s what happened last weekend at Haverhill, NH MBN contest. Tracy and I located whole shoulders from a local farm and picked them up on Saturday shortly after they opened at 9am. Glad we did because I discovered they were FROZEN! As soon as we got back to camp they went into a cold water bath to thaw. At around noon I took them out 1 by 1 and removed the skin, all but 1/8 inch fat and the stink gland. As I was doing this I noticed the core was STILL FROZEN so back into the bath they went.

By 2 they were OK so I injected and rubbed them whilst the pit was coming up to temp at 250. They were on at 3. I got all 4 of them in the Caldera spaced evenly. Curious though as we looked around that other teams hadnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t even started their cookers and some of them were doing whole hogs.

The pit burned on through the night. The girls got into the tent at like 10pm and I sat in my chair with blankets and monitored the pit adding wood when necessary. It got COLD in that valley pretty quick so I was tossing in more wood then I usually do.

At 2:30 am I got up to start the WSM and rub the ribs. They went on at 3 @250. I stoked fires until 6, foiled them with brown sugar, apple juice and honey put them back on. I had 2 free hours and by that time I was friggin cold to the point of shivering. At 8 I removed the foil then took a look at the shoulder. The temp range varied with the top being the hottest at like 180. I cranked it up to 275 cause these had to be done and boxed soon.

When it came time to box the only one done was at 195. I yanked it then pulled it for the box. The top shoulder would be served to the judges both blind and on site. The ribs were sauced with Blues Hog 30 mins before they needed to come off. 2 of them failed the bend test but the others were perfect. These ribs were perfect – honestly.

So lesson learned – if you are doing whole bone – in shoulder you want 24 hours, foil at 160, pull it at 200.

-rob

 

[capt dan]

Musta been to cold to take pics!

Did ya place with the ribs or shoulder?

 

[daddio]

that's what i'm talking bout captn dan did he place at all???all that info and still leave us hanging!! lol

 

[bbq bubba]

Now c'mon, no more than everybody else aroung here!!

 

[yankeerob]

We got lots of 8's and 9's but problem is - so did everyone else. We placed next to last in both categories. Oh well, next weekend is a KCBS contest - Hudson Valley RibFest..
-rob

 

[richtee]

Comps are a PITA! Good experience tho. So far they taught me I might just give 'em up. ;{)

 

[capt dan]

He's still mad about that chicken Bubba!

 

[yankeerob]

sorry, Tracy might have some pics though. I'll ask. She's occupied at the hospital at the moment.

-rob

 

[earache_my_eye]

<snicker> <tee hee> <BWAHAHAHA*snort*HAHAHAHAHA>

sorry, Rich....couldn't resist.....

L8r,
Eric