The Noob's guide to a pork shoulder

[Muttley]

So, I have finally finished my first shoulder.  It wasn't difficult but I did a lot of research and came to the conclusion there are a lot of opinions and some great advice.  I think I absorbed and used what was useful and not overly burdensome.  This smoke is pretty easy and doesn't need to be any more complicated to finish with a great result. 

I took in a lot of information from a lot of sources, discarded some info; this is my story. 

Your experience may vary.  I would count on it.  

The product:
8 lbs bone-in shoulder. 
Meowey's rub slathered on with a mustard binding, wrapped in saran and foil overnight.

I chose bourbon barrel and hickory as my woods.  Into the smoker fat-side down @ 250F @ 8:00AM today.



I spritzed every three hours ((apple cider (3/4) and Scotch (1/4) ))

Times and temp

0hour 34F
1hour 51F
2hour 76F
3hour 110F (spritz)
4hour 135F
5hour 151F
6hour 162F (spritz)
7hour 171F
8hour 178F
9hour 181 (was having battery issues with the wireless) (spritz)
10hour (missed it)
11hour 188F
12hour 196F
12.5hour 200F

Pulled out and pulled apart at 12.5hours





Finished with SoFlaQuer's finishing sauce.

I didn't foil on purpose for two reasons.  1.) I had too much to do today and didn't want to. 2.) I wanted to see how it turned out with foiling. 

I didn't let it sit in foil in my cooler for one reason: I have too much on the figurative plate tonight and needed to get this out of the way since I am bringing it to work tomorrow.

I was really happy with my bark.  I will use meowey's rub on the ribs next time. 

What I would change (or try different):

I might consider supplementing with the AMZNPS just to see what happens. 

Next time I will cook fat side up to see the difference, if any.  I am not too concerned with the heat spikes so I am not entirely certain the fat needs to be down for me.  Your experience may vary.  Again, I'll do it to take the Pepsi Challenge if for nothing else.

I'll foil it next time, just to see what that is all about, but really to see the moisture retention during braising.  Pulling was easy, but it wasn't as I had expected it to be.  I thought it would be more tender than it was.  Note: I shredded this with a carving fork, it wasn't tough at all.  It wasn't dry, but I thought it would be a sopping mess with the all the fat rendering, and that just wasn't the case.

Overall, I'd give it a B+/A-.  This was ridiculously easy given the amount of effort and it will be ridiculously good.  I am looking for crazy good though so I will continue to improve and do no harm in the process.   

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[DivotMaker]

Looks incredible, Muttley!  Two minor suggestions to take that "over the top:" First, always do pork or beef with the fat cap UP.  This lets the rendering fat soak into the meat.  Secondly, always foil wrap and let large cuts rest for at least 30 minutes to an hour before slicing or pulling.  This is critical to tenderness.  When large cuts cook, the fat liquifies and moves to the surface as the meat cooks.  When you wrap it and let it rest, the liquified fat and connective tissue reverses course and gets "reabsorbed" by the meat, which helps make the meat more moist and tender.

Just my 2-cents....  The pics look great!

[benjammn]

Looks like you are off to a great start though! It is always fun to enjoy the experiments. Sacrificing for the good of others.

[Muttley]

The next one will be more toward a Kalua pig endeavor.  I have to get a couple of banana leaves though. 

[McSev2010]

The next one will be more toward a Kalua pig endeavor.  I have to get a couple of banana leaves though.

You can get them frozen from Amazon if you don't have any Latin groceries close to you.  They work pretty well.