Dry Spots On Shoulder Cook...

[darita]

Just did my first pork shoulder and it turned out great, thanks to you all. 90% of it was juicy and tender, but that last 10% was dry and tough. Wish I could remember exactly where it was on the shoulder, but it was my first pulled pork and I was pulling frantically.
Anyhow, is there any way to keep the dryness from happening at all or is this the norm? I put the shoulder directly on the grill and never turned it.

 

[Captain P.J.]

What kind of grill or smoker? And did you put fat cap up or down? Inject?

 

[42BBQ]

Fat cap down (in my humble opinion), foil at 160* and spray with apple juice/water/bourbon mix every hour after foil. Injecting is probably a great idea, I don't have a kit for that though.

 

[darita]

What kind of grill or smoker? And did you put fat cap up or down? Inject?

Traeger smoker, fat cap up and not injected.

 

[Ron_L]

Was it dry on the outside, or inside?

With a Traeger, the heat source is below the meat, so I would put the butt (or brisket for that matter) fat cap down. The fat will shield the meat from the heat source.

 

[darita]

Was it dry on the outside, or inside?

With a Traeger, the heat source is below the meat, so I would put the butt (or brisket for that matter) fat cap down. The fat will shield the meat from the heat source.

I believe it was dry on the outside and likely the bottom, like you said. I thought about putting the butt on a piece of foil, so I could keep the fat cap on top to let the fat bath the meat.

 

[Johnny_Crunch]

the foil won't do anything, just keep your fat cap down and it should help. there is enough fat on a butt/shoulder it won't matter.