Sunday Pork Shoulder

bbqpigskin · 03-20-2006, 10:42 AM

I smoked (oak and apple wood) two 7lb boneless pork shoulders yesterday. They went for about 10 hrs and 15 mins. I used a homemade mustard slather and a brown sugar paprika based rub. I was able to hold my smoker at 250* for the first five and a half hrs, but when I re-fueld, the wind whipped up and I could not get it to get back up past 225*. I sprayed them with apple juice every hr. I was kind of worried, so after another two hours I wrapped them in foil (Int. temp was 165*) and let them go for another two hrs. The the final temp ws 208*. This was the first time that I ever used foil. The shoulders fell apart, shredded easily and tasted great, but were a little dry.

I have one question: should I inject the meat to make it more moist, and if so, what should I use?

Yours in Pork,
Mike

thirdeye · 03-20-2006, 11:35 AM

Mike,

At the 165° you could have been ready to break out of the plateau, so the foil just sped up the process a little and locked in a little moisture as well. That was a good move. The bone-in butts will generally be moister and you may not need to baste them as much either, but that's a personal thing. Injecting will help on the moistness factor. I have some oldie-but-goodie injections on my site that are a good starting place. Link is below.

bbqpigskin · 03-20-2006, 03:05 PM

Thirdeye,

Thanks for the information. Your site has a lot of great stuff on it.

Mike

Sawdustguy · 03-20-2006, 10:50 PM

Mike,

It wouldn't hurt you to inject your butt. We do in competition.

boatnut · 03-21-2006, 06:48 AM

Mike,
Last butt i did, i brined for 24 hrs in apple juice, salt, brown sugar, garlic, bay leaf. rinsed well, put on smoker till internal of 165, foiled brought it up to 195, then coolered for an hour. thing fell apart. very tasty and moist.

bbqpigskin · 03-21-2006, 08:45 AM

Thanks guys! I appreciate the input. I think I'll try injecting it next time.

Mike

Yakfishingfool · 03-21-2006, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sawdustguy

Mike,

It wouldn't hurt you to inject your butt. We do in competition.

Gotta get you guys off the 'roids....

Hawgsnheifers · 03-21-2006, 10:32 PM

Where is the food porn?

Jeff_in_KC · 03-21-2006, 10:43 PM

Definitely would go with bone-in pork butts to help with moisture. But 208? I haven't cooked but one boneless... I would guess 208 would be about 10 or 12 degrees too high to take it to. That could have contributed to dryness also. I agree: inject or brine a boneless butt.

03-20-2006, 10:42 AM	#1
bbqpigskin Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 01-31-06 Location: Auburn, Ca	Sunday Pork Shoulder I smoked (oak and apple wood) two 7lb boneless pork shoulders yesterday. They went for about 10 hrs and 15 mins. I used a homemade mustard slather and a brown sugar paprika based rub. I was able to hold my smoker at 250* for the first five and a half hrs, but when I re-fueld, the wind whipped up and I could not get it to get back up past 225. I sprayed them with apple juice every hr. I was kind of worried, so after another two hours I wrapped them in foil (Int. temp was 165) and let them go for another two hrs. The the final temp ws 208*. This was the first time that I ever used foil. The shoulders fell apart, shredded easily and tasted great, but were a little dry. I have one question: should I inject the meat to make it more moist, and if so, what should I use? Yours in Pork, Mike __________________ Mike Bar-B-Chef offset Ancient Weber Kettle Weber Kettle Gold Proud owner of "The Hog"

03-20-2006, 11:35 AM	#2
thirdeye somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 01-14-06 Location: At home on the range in Wyoming	Mike, At the 165° you could have been ready to break out of the plateau, so the foil just sped up the process a little and locked in a little moisture as well. That was a good move. The bone-in butts will generally be moister and you may not need to baste them as much either, but that's a personal thing. Injecting will help on the moistness factor. I have some oldie-but-goodie injections on my site that are a good starting place. Link is below. __________________ ~thirdeye~ I Play With Fire and Smoke *Barbecuist ~ Charcuterist ~ KCBS Master Judge & CTC* Big Green Eggs, Big Drum Smokers, Big Chiefs, Weber Smokey Joe "Custom Tall Boy" Oil Patch Horizontal, SnS Deluxe Kettle Visit my Cookin' Site by clicking HERE Barbecue is not rocket surgery “The problem with quotes on the Internet is that it's hard to verify their authenticity” ~ Abraham Lincoln

03-20-2006, 03:05 PM	#3
bbqpigskin Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 01-31-06 Location: Auburn, Ca	Thirdeye, Thanks for the information. Your site has a lot of great stuff on it. Mike __________________ Mike Bar-B-Chef offset Ancient Weber Kettle Weber Kettle Gold Proud owner of "The Hog"

03-20-2006, 10:50 PM	#4
Sawdustguy Quintessential Chatty Farker Join Date: 09-14-05 Location: Vernon, Connecticut	Mike, It wouldn't hurt you to inject your butt. We do in competition. __________________ Guy (Pitmaster) BBQ Team: Lawn Guyland Smokers Stupidity for Dummies …because sometimes, you just can’t dumb it down enough…

03-21-2006, 06:48 AM	#5
boatnut is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 03-22-05 Location: Ohio	Mike, Last butt i did, i brined for 24 hrs in apple juice, salt, brown sugar, garlic, bay leaf. rinsed well, put on smoker till internal of 165, foiled brought it up to 195, then coolered for an hour. thing fell apart. very tasty and moist. __________________ Mike GOSM smoker (gas) Masterbuilt (electric) Weber Kettle Weber Gasser (2) Weber WSM I'd rather have a bottle in front of me then a frontal lobotomy

03-21-2006, 08:45 AM	#6
bbqpigskin Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 01-31-06 Location: Auburn, Ca	Thanks guys! I appreciate the input. I think I'll try injecting it next time. Mike __________________ Mike Bar-B-Chef offset Ancient Weber Kettle Weber Kettle Gold Proud owner of "The Hog"

03-21-2006, 10:32 PM	#8
Hawgsnheifers Take a breath! Join Date: 01-26-06 Location: Topeka, Kansas	Where is the food porn? __________________ HawgsnHeifers Smoke Shack BBQ 18.5 WSM with BBQ Guru Competition MOD Bandera with Spicewine Firebox MOD (Lives at Chiefs now) Silver Smoker with "leak like a Sive" MOD Brinkman Gourmet with "Critter Infestation" MOD Jenn-Air 4 Burner Gas Passer with "Lazy" MOD "Life is hard. It's harder when your stupid."

03-21-2006, 10:43 PM	#9
Jeff_in_KC somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 01-04-05 Location: Pleasant Hill, MO	Definitely would go with bone-in pork butts to help with moisture. But 208? I haven't cooked but one boneless... I would guess 208 would be about 10 or 12 degrees too high to take it to. That could have contributed to dryness also. I agree: inject or brine a boneless butt. __________________ KCBS Member #14287