How To Cook a Picnic Shoulder

[Oak]

My wife brought home a 9.6 pound picnic shoulder and I have been wondering how to best cook it. It has the skin on it. I was planning on smoking it like I typically cook a Boston butt, but I was wondering what I should do with the skin. Does the picnic shoulder take 1.5 to 2 hours per pound at 250º?

Thanks,
Oak

 

[Nick Prochilo]

I use to get those all the time. I've cooked with the skin on and with the skin off. You won't need to waste time rubbing the skin down, it won't pass through. I prefer to take the skin off and a good portion of the fat under it. Then rub it down and cook it up! If you leave the skin on, put it skin side down so when you take it off the smoker only the skin will stick to the grates. Now I'm sure somebody will chime in real soon about cracklins!

 

[bigwheel]

My crew love those thangs and I've tried it every whichaway. Lesser of the evils is give it a mustard slather and a rub. Cook it about 3 hours..250 works just fine..then skin it and place the skin with the inside part down. Re-rub the nekked spot on the picnic where the skin used to reside and continueth to cook. Cook them as separate units. When the skin gets crisp eat it or give it to the dawg. When the picnic hits 180-185 pull it off wrap it and throw in the insulated container for an hour or 4. Slice and serve it just like ham. Hope this helps.

bigwheel

 

[Hillbilly1]

I do mine just like a butt. Cept, I think they gott better taste then a butt! Often times I'll smoke a picnic an a butt an mix the two tagether. Excellent eatin.

 

[bigwheel]

Good point Hillbilly. Picnic do great as a member of the pushed pork family as long as it gets mixed with a butt. It just slightly to hammy to go it alone. Puts a person in mind of overcooked and mushy ham. Thats how the NC yankees do it ya know? They can buy full shoulders for some reason.

bigwheel

 

[Toby Keil]

Personally I like the picnic better and I trim the fat off but leave just enough so it renders through the meat. I've often wondered if I should save the fat for making cracklings...anyone...thoughts...advice? God I love pork!

 

[Greg Rempe]

I find the picnic to be a little more hammy tasting then the butt.

It looks like you got a little jammed up on the price... $1.49/lb seems high to me...should be cheaper than a butt...I can get Boston Butts for $1.09/lb in Cleveland!

 

[dmtky]

when I cook them I make a cut from the shank end to the other thru the skin and the take a small fillet knife and go between the meat and the fat on each side of the cut so I can get my rub in there good. then cool skin up. the skin where you cut it will pucker up during cooking and I spray apple juice on it, heck, I've even poured apple juice and bourbon mix in the slit to add a bit of flavor.

 

[007bond-jb]

Cut off 1/2 the skin & make cracklins, score the rest & apply dry rub

 

[Oak]

I find the picnic to be a little more hammy tasting then the butt.

It looks like you got a little jammed up on the price... $1.49/lb seems high to me...should be cheaper than a butt...I can get Boston Butts for $1.09/lb in Cleveland!

Greg,

It's an organic pig. This little fellow had fields to roam and a beautiful view before it ended up in my smoker. It is worth a little extra. Happy animals taste better.

 

[Oak]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm looking forward to making my first cracklins.

 

[Justaguy]

Organic can be a tricky label, as I've read up a little. Usually it doesn't mean a whole lot. The vegetarian diet thing always makes me laugh too, if a steak comes off a cow who eats some bacon now and again how can you go wrong.

 

[Div]

I use the skin to make survival gloves just in case I get stuck parachuting into siberia , like Bear.