M635_Guy
MemberGot rid of the matchlight.
This was my fourth or fifth time cooking with the Performer (and charcoal in general - I'm not really counting what I did in college nearly 30 years ago...). I started prepping around 8:30 AM today and had the meat on the cooker by 9:30.
Pix and Thoughts:
I got a 7.5lb bone-in shoulder from the only real butcher shop in the area. It was pricey. I've got a Whole Foods that gets local stuff in every Friday and is a lot closer, so the next time I'm feeling like spending that much on one I'll probably try theirs. I could use some opinions on the Harris Teeter or Publix shoulders vs. the butcher in terms of price-for-value.
I dry-brined the shoulder for about 18 hours.
The process is a life-lesson in being judicious in course-correction and going with the flow. I had some peaks and valleys on temperature that had me fretting a bit. Eventually I'll figure out the nuances of the vents, but a little can mean a lot. I'm a little high-strung by nature, so I'll need to learn to relax. That's a good thing
(I'm sure once I figure it out my friends will say I should have gotten this grill a long time ago...)
Again, the remote thermometer (one in the meat, 1 at the grate) is worth its weight in gold. Flattens the learning curve and allowed me to get other things done without worrying if I was screwing up some pretty expensive meat.
I probably could have used more seasoning.
Since I went fat-side up (which was the recommendation for the slow & sear), it was less-pretty than I expected when I checked it at 4 hours (and the "top" was imprinted by the grate). Oh well - it gets chopped up anyway, tight?
I wrapped at about 5 hours, and then went to 195F. Almost exactly 8 hours total.
I wound up with one of my chunks of hickory un-burnt, though the other two were entirely gone. I also had a fair amount of charcoal - guessing there was several-more hours of cooking available. Wondering if 25% less coals would work better? Any reason to think too much charcoal is less even, etc.? Will probably try lump next time... Maybe. In any case, I'll just re-use what's left for whatever is next (thinking a spatchcocked chicken or maybe the redonkulous jalapeno-stuffed bacon-wrapped chicken thighs I saw on the HowToBBQRight channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZvhpkaAcqs. That guy is evil, but the best kind of evil. Anyway...
After about 80 minutes of rest. Grate-marks are from the rack I used. Not gobs of bark, since the flesh-side was down (?)
I'm wondering if flesh-side up is better, but don't want to dry out the shoulder.
Bone came out nice and clean
Looks pretty good to my complete noob-ness (any insight appreciated)
This pic under-sells it
I made Eastern-NC style sauce from white wine and apple cider vinegars, brown sugar, cayenne, salt, white pepper, some pepper flakes, cholula and a secret ingredient (a few splashes of bourbon - I figured it would soften/round out the vinegar a bit)
I was pretty happy - it was tasty! Still happy to learn any ways to improve
Next time I'll probably go with a smaller piece of pork. Four pounds would still yield plenty with leftovers. Going to surprise some friends with BBQ care-packages tomorrow.
Pix and Thoughts:
I got a 7.5lb bone-in shoulder from the only real butcher shop in the area. It was pricey. I've got a Whole Foods that gets local stuff in every Friday and is a lot closer, so the next time I'm feeling like spending that much on one I'll probably try theirs. I could use some opinions on the Harris Teeter or Publix shoulders vs. the butcher in terms of price-for-value.
I dry-brined the shoulder for about 18 hours.
The process is a life-lesson in being judicious in course-correction and going with the flow. I had some peaks and valleys on temperature that had me fretting a bit. Eventually I'll figure out the nuances of the vents, but a little can mean a lot. I'm a little high-strung by nature, so I'll need to learn to relax. That's a good thing
(I'm sure once I figure it out my friends will say I should have gotten this grill a long time ago...)Again, the remote thermometer (one in the meat, 1 at the grate) is worth its weight in gold. Flattens the learning curve and allowed me to get other things done without worrying if I was screwing up some pretty expensive meat.
I probably could have used more seasoning.
Since I went fat-side up (which was the recommendation for the slow & sear), it was less-pretty than I expected when I checked it at 4 hours (and the "top" was imprinted by the grate). Oh well - it gets chopped up anyway, tight?
I wrapped at about 5 hours, and then went to 195F. Almost exactly 8 hours total.
I wound up with one of my chunks of hickory un-burnt, though the other two were entirely gone. I also had a fair amount of charcoal - guessing there was several-more hours of cooking available. Wondering if 25% less coals would work better? Any reason to think too much charcoal is less even, etc.? Will probably try lump next time... Maybe. In any case, I'll just re-use what's left for whatever is next (thinking a spatchcocked chicken or maybe the redonkulous jalapeno-stuffed bacon-wrapped chicken thighs I saw on the HowToBBQRight channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZvhpkaAcqs. That guy is evil, but the best kind of evil. Anyway...
After about 80 minutes of rest. Grate-marks are from the rack I used. Not gobs of bark, since the flesh-side was down (?)
I'm wondering if flesh-side up is better, but don't want to dry out the shoulder.
Bone came out nice and clean
Looks pretty good to my complete noob-ness (any insight appreciated)
This pic under-sells it
I made Eastern-NC style sauce from white wine and apple cider vinegars, brown sugar, cayenne, salt, white pepper, some pepper flakes, cholula and a secret ingredient (a few splashes of bourbon - I figured it would soften/round out the vinegar a bit)
I was pretty happy - it was tasty! Still happy to learn any ways to improve
Next time I'll probably go with a smaller piece of pork. Four pounds would still yield plenty with leftovers. Going to surprise some friends with BBQ care-packages tomorrow.
