prep and cook of whole pork shoulder, looking for tips

I always remove the skin and freeze it until i get enough to make cracklins. I personally would rather have more surface area for rub to create bark.

My suggestion is that if you're wanting "Carolina" style, then go all the way ... salt only, and don't use any smoking wood in the drum.

I would leave the full skin on, and while you will obviously salt the meat side, also salt the skin side with a HEAVY coat. Table salt is what you want here.

For the drum, don't use any baffle/heat diffuser. Go with direct heat with fully lit coals...no minion method. In my WSM I start with a full chimney & then add 1/2-3/4 as needed. You should be high enough over the coals to prevent any charring.

Start with the skin up/meat down and go to somewhere around 175-185 before flipping. The color should be good by then...if you're too dark, then you're keeping it too hot. Brush the salt off the skin before flipping, then cook until tender. When you get close to finishing, check to see if the skin is crisping. If it isn't, then add a full chimney of lit coals...two if needed. You want to crisp it without burning it.

Again, don't add any smoking wood to your coals. The dripping fat will give you that distinctive flavor. Also, smoke doesn't do the skin any favors. "IF" you must add wood, then do it at the very beginning & only do it once. You will not get the true 'Carolina' flavor if you decide to smoke it...that isn't what we're all about.

I would assume you're thinking of using a vinegar sauce. If you do, then remember not to add too much. The barbecue should not taste vinegary...contrary to the belief of many. I often say that when seasoning with sauce after the cook, "If you start tasting vinegar, STOP ... you've likely already added too much." The best vinegar based barbecue is often that in which you really don't taste the vinegar at all...it's in there, but it's a seasoning & NOT a flavoring. This is what many people don't get.

If you want something similar to the style of Eastern/Piedmont NC & PeeDee/Upstate SC barbecue, do what I suggest above. Anything else will simply be something else.

To add to the distinction in regions...Eastern NC & PeeDee SC barbecue is similar to each other in the fact that they both traditionally use whole hogs & pure vinegar based sauces. The Piedmont of NC & the Upstate of SC add a little tomato ketchup to their vinegar sauce, but it's typically still a loose vinegar consistency. In these latter two regions you also see the transition from whole hogs to shoulders.

SmokeRingsMatter said:

I always remove the skin and freeze it until i get enough to make cracklins. I personally would rather have more surface area for rub to create bark.

Click to expand...

He is asking about "Carolina" style ... that immediately crosses off rub & bark created by rubs.

Cook said:

He is asking about "Carolina" style ... that immediately crosses off rub & bark created by rubs.

Click to expand...

Oh, i did not notice. My bad.


So they don't use a rub in Carlolina? Mop?

When I could get shoulders, the skin was removed from the butt, but not the picnic. Let us know how this comes out. There is a new butcher shop in town and they 'claim' they can get shoulders.... but I'm not holding my breath.

Here is a recent thread where we talked about injecting.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=292581&highlight=whole+shoulder

Not to hijack the thread but does anyone have any typical length and width dimensions of a whole shoulder with the trotter removed? I have never cooked one and want to attempt one direct heat style one day. Just need to make sure it will fit on one of my cookers.



I have a vision of trying to cook one Sam Jones style and chopping the crisp skin into the meat with his vinegar hot sauce

I would leave the skin on. It will come off easily when finished. Vacuum seal and save for a pot of beans or greens. That smoked skin which will still have some fat underneath is bbq gold.

blackdogbbq21 said:

Not to hijack the thread but does anyone have any typical length and width dimensions of a whole shoulder with the trotter removed? I have never cooked one and want to attempt one direct heat style one day. Just need to make sure it will fit on one of my cookers.

I have a vision of trying to cook one Sam Jones style and chopping the crisp skin into the meat with his vinegar hot sauce

Click to expand...

They will fit on a Weber 22" grate, which is actually 21" in diameter. If you get one that is taller.... just hacksaw off the shank and cook it separately.

sudsandswine said:

My concern with that is that smoke, salt, and/or other seasoning or flavor that would otherwise penetrate the meat will get shielded by the skin.

Click to expand...

Good observation captain O.

SmokeRingsMatter said:

Oh, i did not notice. My bad.


So they don't use a rub in Carlolina? Mop?

Click to expand...

No...it will burn. Remember when we are talking about "Carolina" barbecue, that nearly all of it is cooked directly over burning coals. That direct heat will turn all that rub black in a hurry...no bueno. That's why the only seasoning you see used is salt.

Mops are commonly used toward the end of the cook...and certain folks will add a seasoning rub to the meat once it is flipped skin down...but you don't see that much.

Our "seasoning" comes after the cook in the form of the ubiquitous vinegar sauces (mustard sauce in the SC Lowcountry & Midlands).

sudsandswine said:

My concern with that is that smoke, salt, and/or other seasoning or flavor that would otherwise penetrate the meat will get shielded by the skin.

Click to expand...

This is exactly why traditional whole hog barbecue in North & South Carolina has a very light smoky flavor. There isn't much meat exposed for the smoke to stick to. It's part of what makes our barbecue what it is...we simply don't do the overly smoky barbecue you typically see in other parts of the country (no disrespect intended).