Ok so my girlfriend woke me up this morning with a present....


 
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Big Al

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LOL and WHAT exactly were you guys thinkin?? hehe
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Nawww...she brought me a shoulder blade cut...square. It weighs in at about 7.44lbs. We put it in the freezer because we don't need it until at least Sunday where I think we are gonna soak it in a brine while it thaws until Tuesday where I will probably fire it up. But a few questions on prep...

1. I was thinking of putting a light coat of mustard on before applying a hickory flavored rub. Does this work well with butts?

2. How long a cook time?? I am thinking a MINIMUM of 8 hours??

3. Should I baste it with some kind of sauce, I know this is a preferance thing but let me hear your guy's opinions. And say it does take 8 hours, should I baste it for the last...3 hours or so?? thanks guys...


Big Al
 
Mustard will help your rub stick, and its flavor will not be detectable in the final product. Hickory flavored rub? I would prefer real smokewood to artificial.

Brining fozen meat will not work, and really isn't done much on butt, anyway. Injecting, yes; brining, no.

Cooking time will be more like 12-13 hours minimum, and more likely nearer to 16. You could accelerate it with foil after it reaches about 160*.

Basting is an individual preference-- I just spray it with cider vinegar a few times later in the cook.

How ever you choose to proceed-- have fun!
 
ROFL Anthony!!!....Ok Doug sounds good I will inject a marinade of some sort instead of brining. Thanks!!


Big Al
 
Wow! Nothing like waking up to a beautiful butt....Make sure you give it a good rub!

As for your questions:

1) I can't imagine you can go wrong with mustard. I personally don't use it, but I know a lot of people who swear by it. Give it a whirl, you've got nothing to lose.

2) Assuming you're cooking between 225 and 250, I'd say at least 1 1/2 hours per pound for nice tender slices or 2 hours per pund for ultra-tender shreds of smoky pulled perfection.

3) IMO pulled definitely needs to be mixed up with a little warm sauce for binding. If you do sliced, I'd serve it on the side and try both.

Most importantly, don't overthink it. Pork shoulder is incredibly forgiving, so it's going to be good no matter what. Light the fire, put the heat to the meat, cook it 'till it's done, and HAVE FUN!!!!!! The worst thing that can happen is you run out of beer before it's done. I believe you know the preventative maintenance plan to avoid that particular disaster.
 
Yah, I always apply a sparing coat of regular mustard before the rub goes on, not enough to see yellow globs though, very thin coat.

My experience is closer to 2 hours per pound for butts, you might want to count on at least 14 hours. It's ready for pulling once it hits 195. Like Doug said, if you wanna speed it up a bit, put it in foil when it hits 140-160, I usually spray with apple juice too occasionally, especially if I put it in foil. If it was me, I wouldn't worry about injecting or anything other than mustard n rub.

Enjoy! Butts are easy! The hardest part is fighting off people trying to snack whilst you are pulling.
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Ok thanks John and Art. I appreciate it guys!!. But I do have indeed another question....sorry about all this hassle guys....if I decide to wrap it in foil....I am assumimg that I keep the top of the foil open because I DO have an apple juice/lemon juice or maybe some jack daniels' mixture to spray on....thanks


Big Al
 
Al, you would throw some of the spray juice in the foil and then wrap it. Leaving it open defeats the purpose of foiling it!

Good luck with that and hows about some pics of it while it happens?!?!
 
Ok gotcha Greg...thanks duder. Pics......well I took pics last time of my ribs, but they were on a disposable....we do have a digi, let me ask my girl if her digi is up to par with batteries and what not......if it is then I'll take some with it and try to post them here...thanks guys.


Big Al
 
Al's first words to the thoughtfull lady first thing in the am Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm............
Hmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!...............
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Hi Buddy.
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If you foil it close it up tight.
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Bryan
 
Al, is this your first butt? Like Darren said they are very forgiving. The hardest part is wait for the butt to get through the plateu.
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Why the H!'# ain't the temperature going up on this thing. It's been at 160 for an hour now.
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LOL right I have read abit about the plateau on here........just a little patience....yeahhhhhhhhhhh yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh......

Edit..yeah sorry I have done a small picnic shoulder for my first smoke....



Big Al
 
Geeeez how many of those stupid things have gotta occur??
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LOL...no worries....all I have is time....


Big Al
 
Ok guys my girl and I went out on a limb and picked up another butt just about the same size last night...I figure might as well get my money's worth out of my fuel, and plus the pork is on sale right now so why not....But how much exta cooking time am I gonna have to add for the second shoulder?? Appox. of course. And I was thinking of pulling the shoulders off when they do indeed hit 195 for resting in the cooler. This isn't too high a temp to let rest is it?? Should I go for a lower internal temp due to the residual heat they are gonna have?? I dont' wanna overcook and dry them out any...

Big Al
 
Al, The second one is not going to add that much time to the cook. It will take the WSM longer to come up to temp but after it gets going the cook should be about the same. Things you could do to speed up the coming up to temp thing. Use hot tap water in the water pan if you use water and add more lit briquettes at the start if using the MM. Let the butts sit at room temp for a couple of hrs before you put them on.I let the 18.5 lb chuck sit out for 4 hrs before i put it on and it still was cool to the touch. Hope this helps. Bryan
 
It does thanks bro, but when should I pull the butts off for the resting in the cooler trick?? Should I take them off a bit before they hit 195 or at 195???


Big Al
 
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