Can I get some advice on pork shoulder?

[Canyon Runner]

I just impulse bought a "pork shoulder roast - bone in" and in looking around here I am more confused on how to bbq it now then I was when I was paying for it! LOL

I do not believe it is a whole "butt" rather perhaps one that has been cut in half? It only weighs in at 4.6lbs, is 8" long, 5" across and 3" thick and the top and bottom are both fat free while one side has a thick layer of fat on it. I will try to include a picture.

I saw a lot of people inject or otherwise brine their "butts" so I went ahead and put the whole thing in a gallon ziploc and poured in 1 cup of apple juice, sealed it and put it in the fridge with the intent of letting it marinade for at least 12 hours, it is about 5PM as I write this. Then I was planning on rubbing it down with my pork baby back rub and cooking it on my indirect med grill, uncovered, til it hit 190, then removing it and foil it to rest for an hour...

Questions...
1, What the hell did I buy? LOL Is this a Boston butt in your opinion cut in half or?
2. How long will this piece of meat take to cook at what temp you recommend, 8 hours at 250?
3. Does it have to be pulled pork? I was kinda looking forward to slicing it but can pull it if that's what should be done?

 

[Canyon Runner]

I hope this view helps, on the top now is the fat layer and the left side you can see the little bone...

 

[MUShand]

There isn't any reason you can't slice it, chop it, or pull it! BBQ what you like. I have never brined but I have injected. Butts are so forgiving you can do just about anything! I agree it's on the smaller side. Next time check a club store you may get a better price per pound. Here in SW missouri some folks have the but cut to steaks and then grilled up. So if fire is involved you can't go wrong! Send us pics after the cook. FYI most brines use salt and sugar. Check out amazing ribs.com for some ideas

 

[MUShand]

As for time check the temp after 3 hours. Pulling temp will be about 190 so lower temp more tinsel for slicing.

 

[oompappy]

Questions...
1, What the hell did I buy? LOL Is this a Boston butt in your opinion cut in half or?

From your description it sounds like you got HALF of a Boston Butt. A whole Butt would normally weigh somewhere between 7 and 9 lbs. The one you have probably had a couple steaks sawed off and then packaged as a "pork shoulder roast". Also, if you were looking at a whole one, the side with the fat layer on it would be considered the Top.

Oh yeah... You should look for a better price. Around here whole Butts are $1.29 lb everyday until the end of August.
http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/s...toreId=10052&catalogId=10002&productId=375622

 

[Canyon Runner]

Thank you both for your input. I sincerely appreciate it.

Today has been a learning experience. I soaked some alder ships for half an hour, wrapped in foil (3 single layers) poked some small holes in it and set it on the reflector above my burner to heat up, got a little smoke started but not much so I poaked larger holes in it and they were on fire 5 minutes later, so much for that...

The reason they caught on fire MAY be that while my hood thermometer says 275 degrees, the old dial therm that tells meat temp and oven temp said 325! Now I have a good idea why my ribs are always done in an hour, lol. I know a dial therm is not necessarily accurate, but with the evidence I think I am cooking way too hot and have ordered a Maverick ET732. I promptly turned off the 2nd burner and now the hood therm says 200 and the meat probe says 230 so I think I am on target again.

Anyway, the roast has been on for 3:21 as I type and I'm going to go check the meat therm and see what it reads. Here is a pic of my rubbed down little buddy before he went on the grill...

 

[Canyon Runner]

BBQ 225, roast at 140...hmmmm, was hoping to be eating soon, how much longer do you think?




It does look good though!

 

[MUShand]

It's at 140 you are in the stall. I would recommend that you wrap it tight in double Aluminum foil. You then"power" through the stall.

 

[Canyon Runner]

It's at 140 you are in the stall. I would recommend that you wrap it tight in double Aluminum foil. You then"power" through the stall.

Wrap it and leave it on the grill at the same temp? nothing changes but wrapping it? Sorry, want to be sure I understand...

 

[MUShand]

That's it wrap it and put it back on same temp

 

[bigwheel]

Looking good. We have a crappy brand of grocery store called Minyards which plays tricks with butts like that. They run an ad saying bone in butt for .99 as an example. When you get there you find they have busted them out of the cryo and cut them half in two and stick in cellophane. They will sell you the boney side for .99 or two bucks for the boneless half. Dirty scum bags. Looks like your specimen is progressing nicely just a while longer. I dont very often try for sliceable butts but try pull picnics at that stage. Anywhere above 185 and not much past 190 usually make them come out about right to slice. I wrap butts sometimes and sometimes I dont. Just depends if somebody like nice crunchy meat or sorta wet stuff. If you going to wrap I like to throw a handful of rub and half a handful of brown sugar out on the foil and lay the meat on that.maybe about half a cup of apple cider or juice to provide a little moisture. In an ideal world a person would have a big butt cut half in two. Wrap the meat side and let the bone side cook nekked..then mix em together. Thats my favorite strategy which was taught to me by a nice yankee..lol.

 

[Canyon Runner]

Thanks bigwheel, I will give that a try next time. This time I just double wrapped it and put it back on for another hour or so and she hit 165, I pulled her and let her sit still wrapped on the cutting board for about 30 minutes. The wife and I both loved it so in the end all my trials and errors didn't cost us a nice chunk of meat at least. I need to make a better smoker tray for my next cook though, no smoke ring at all, saw a video on using a tuna can set right on my vaporizer, might try that next time. Anyway, here is a pic, enjoy and thank you all for your input!

 

[bigwheel]

Dang..I have seen pigs hurt worse than that recover and join its litter mates in the slop wallow...lol. It bound to have been real chewy maybe? That would be considered not quite done enough in most circles. I dont even consider wrapping till it gets in the 170's. It terminal temps after a ride in the foil was 165 it got to have been purt near alive at the point where it got wrapped. Not sure it had enough time to form a good ring or bark. Anyway..Rome was not built in a day..or so my Daddy said..lol. If yall like it that way..cook it that way. 165 should be nearly high enough to kill most of the crazy beastes of the field which inhabit pork products. Trying to make a regular old gasser learn to turn out copious smoke is a hard job. Best of fortunes on that.

 

[MUShand]

Looks great. I remember someone say (I think Fast Eddie) you can get a smoke ring w/o smoke. It's not the smoke that makes the ring. Did you get smoke flavor?

 

[Canyon Runner]

You made me laugh bigweheel! LOL We like it when they just chase them by the fire and put em on the plate! LOL Seriously though it was done, but a bit tough, not bad at all though, I still think my dial therm is wrong, but the Maverick will be here soon. I see the FDA lowered their definition of done to 145 for pork, so figured we were safe from the beasties lol.

MUShand, no, in fact we did not taste any apple, 12 hour soak didn't appear to do much, bought an injector for next time now...and we didn't taste any Alder, although like I mentioned my foil packet burst into flame early in the process so I have ordered a little v shaped smoker box that will sit between my vaporizers, would really like to get some smoke going some day. I am an experienced grill guy, but BBQ is new to me so this low and slow and smokey is like my first date all over again, no patience, nervous as hell, but ready and willing lol.

 

[MUShand]

Just like (eh-hem) dating. You get better with practice! Trust me my first cook was a brisket. I had pizza that night. Smoking is not a science but an art. Remember , as Greg Rempe says trust your Pal-ate

 

[Canyon Runner]

Wife just had me go to the store for odds and ends, damn meat department was actually squealing for me to come take a looksee...half of a bone in tenderloin, picnic thingy-ma-jig, whole hams...I'm gonna go do some more reading before I buy anything else! LOL

 

[bigwheel]

Bone in loins are real tasty but hard to deal with logistically..sorta like trying to eat a coconut. Best to tip the butcher a couple of bucks to turn it into porkchops.