Brining - worth it for smoked pork shoulder?

A

abrouns

Guest
Hey - I've brined a turkey before and had great results just baking it in the oven. It comes out much jucier, and because turkeys can come out so dry it's worth doing. I've never brined a pork shoulder, but recently have been reading about it. Has anyone tried, and what is your experience?

Thanks,

Alex
 
abrouns said:
Hey - I've brined a turkey before and had great results just baking it in the oven. It comes out much jucier, and because turkeys can come out so dry it's worth doing. I've never brined a pork shoulder, but recently have been reading about it. Has anyone tried, and what is your experience?

Thanks,

Alex
Click to expand...

no no... I had enter no twice because the response has to be at least 4 characters
 
I tried it once.........once

It really wasn't too bad, but if I wanted ham, I would have cooked a ham.
 
A well cooked butt is juicy as is.

Some people inject them for flavor, but I like the taste of pork so don't even do that. :mrgreen:
 
Brining birds is a great idea to help retain moisture and flavor, but butts have enough fat marbeling to keep them moist while cooking low n slow.
 
Nope enough juices in the meat to keep it moist, only way you are going to dry it out is to overcook it.
 
Thanks - just as I suspected. What about flavor injections? Any favorites out there?
 
I brined one once and it came out great! If you have the room, do a side by side comparison.

Paul
 
abrouns said:
Thanks - just as I suspected. What about flavor injections? Any favorites out there?
Click to expand...

The best I've made to date was a spicy rub, mixed into Dr Pepper and injected. The sweetness was awesome...
 
I brine my butts always for comps and catering. However, that is just me!
It never comes out hammy and it delivers a flavor profile that I like. I am not just using sugar and salt in water though.
 
I have brine come out great it appear to cut down cooking time but I usually inject with salty apple juice .
 
I brine...add lots of spices to the salt, molasses mix. Turn out great every time. Never had any come out hammy or salty.
 
I tend to lean towards brining. I have injected I have brined and I have done nothing. I like the flavor more when I brine then anything else I have tried. With the right brine and the right amount of time in the brine it should not taste like a ham. It is preference though. Like milehigh said do a comparison and see what you like best.
 
I wouldn't try it with shoulder because it has enough intramuscular fat to keep it moist during the long cook. I do brine with leaner cuts of pork though.
 
I've done it and liked it, however injection is quicker.
 
big brother smoke said:
I brine my butts always for comps and catering. However, that is just me!
It never comes out hammy and it delivers a flavor profile that I like. I am not just using sugar and salt in water though.
Click to expand...

You care to expand on that??? :biggrin:

Bigmista said:
I've done it and liked it, however injection is quicker.
Click to expand...

I always thought liquor was quicker......:shock:
 
I have tried brining, no brining, rub, no rub, and injecting with a rub. The best combo I have found (for juiciness, pork flavor, and tenderness) is injecting the inside with a rub on the outside. If you don't want a hammy flavor, just don't use any sodium nitrate curing salt (the pink stuff) and it won't taste hammy.

Just smoked 2 butts side by side for comparison (one brined and one injected, both with rub) for 16 hours at around 225 and the injected butt was better. Injectors are cheap and generally easy to obtain and I think that is actually easier than trying to brine a 12 pound hunk of meat.

The brine makes it retain more water during cooking due to the salt gradient but a pork butt is so thick that the brine has trouble penetrating anything more than the outer 1" of meat.

Injecting (using Chris Lilly's injection recipe found on the forum here somewhere) was the best result I have had. Just don't put a bunch of crazy ingredients in your injection and it won't cover up the pork flavor at all.

Make sure you keep temperature spikes to a minimum and it will come out juicy and tender every time.
 
I brined a pork shoulder once, but I didn't rinse it before I cooked it - you're supposed to, right? - anyway, it was WAY too salty, and a little bit soft rubbery. Too much moisture was my deduction, but what do I know? I'm a retard.
 
Most pork comes pre-brined or "enhanced" from the packer whether you like it or not.
 
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