Pork shoulder Odor


 
T

Terry Hazelgrove

New member
Just opened a picnic pork shoulder,to put rub on. It had a somewhat strong odor, I rinsed it under cold water and dryed with paper towls.this is the first picnic pork shoulder I have purchased,is this normal.
Also it has the skin on.
 
Yes, if it was in cryo. Rinsing is not usually required (the odor usually dissipates over a little time) but no harm if you do.
 
Yeah, cryovac can make it smell a little funky.

I've always just turned the other nostril. Glad to hear Kevin say it's OK... I feel better already!

Ron
 
Ter - for the skin issue, you'll have to trim it off for pulled pork. Smoke and rub won't penetrate the skin. You can certainly cook it skin on, and cut it off after the smoke, but it won't have any bark or much of a smoke taste to it. Usually Boston butt (bone-in, or deboned and tied) is preferable for pulled pork. Good luck and enjoy it!
For more on pork parts, see here.
 
I made a mistake and bought picnics once instead of boston butts...Wont make that mistake again. tasted too much like ham and wouldnt pull right. Skin on and produced very little bark.
 
Terry, I found picnic shoulders on sale a while back for 99cents and bought one for the freezer. A little while later, I smoked it to make pulled pork for my parents. Thanks to K Kruger, I knew to trip the skin off before smoking (which was a PITA), and it turned out really good. You're right in that it doesn't pull exactly like butt so I had to use my knife a little more than usual but the results were very good.

There is an old-time family owned BBQ restaurant in the area that cooks only shoulders.

Like you, I prefer butts because I can better predict how they are going to cook, but if I can get the shoulders cheaper than butts, I don't mind tossing them on the WSM!

I often have the same problem with any meat that has been in cyrovac and I usually give it a quick rinse and pat dry before I start prepping it. Smell goes right away.

But always remember the words of Chris Rock: "Red meat will not kill you; GREEN meat will kill you!"

Pat

Pat
 
Dumb me, didn't know it was the cryo that gives off that smell, thought I just had a sensitive nose to pork!

As to picnics, don't knock them til you've tried them. Usually dirt cheap, and some like the mix of flavors/textures in them. Throw one on for the heck of it next time you do a butt..
 
Oh, Ivw thrown one on for the heck of it. Ive tried it and im knocking it. Ill never ever smoke that cut of pig again. Too much like ham for me.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Allen S.:
Oh, Ivw thrown one on for the heck of it. Ive tried it and im knocking it. Ill never ever smoke that cut of pig again. Too much like ham for me. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

My hunch is that you purchased a "seasoned" picnic shoulder. That "Hammy" flavour is all the salt brine they inject. If you buy a seasoned butt you will likely get the exact same thing.

Lets not forget that the picnic and butt are the 2 sections that make up the Whole Shoulder. I have cooked both and they both make great Q. They only difference I have found is that butts are easier to cram into the WSM due to their nice shape.

As for smell.... pig skin in general can have a strong aroma. I get my picnics skinned from the butcher so I generally haven't run into that problem.
 
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