16.5 lb Boneless Pork Shoulder Has Me Frightened!


 
C

CDelSole

New member
I'm doing Pulled Pork for a picnic on Saturday - plan was to smoke two 6-8 lb. Boston Butts on my 22.5" WSM. Lo and behold, Costco has no Boston Butts, only huge boneless pork shoulders. I ended up with a 16.5 lb boneless pork shoulder, which frankly has me a little frightened. What's my projected smoke/cook time on this thing? I haven't trimmed it yet, but I don't anticipate removing a huge amount of fat - maybe 2-3 lbs., tops, leaving me with 13.5 - 14.5 lbs. of meat.

Original plan was to start the cook around 10 p.m. Friday night, finishing up around Noon on Saturday, resting in a cooler and pulling the meat to eat around 4:30, 5 p.m. Am I leaving myself with enough time? Would I be better off cutting this thing in half and doing it as two pieces?

Thanks in advance...
 
Cook time isn't determined by weight, but rather, by thickness. If the entire 16lb shoulder is about the same thickness as a single 6-8lb butt, it will take roughly the same amount of time to cook.
 
From what else I've read online, it seems that this cryovac is likely two shoulders and not a single piece, which would also make me feel more confident. I'll find out tonight when I open it up!
 
Unless it has a significant taper, I am wagering you have two normal shoulder cuts in there. It would be unusual to find a full leg in a big box store, even more rare to see a boneless whole leg.

Are you sure it's boneless? My Costco has double packs of bone-in, but I've never seen boneless.
 
If it actually is an entire leg (Boston Butt + Picnic Ham uncut), please don't cut it unless you absolutely must to get it in your cooker. Think of the presentation value to your guests of an entire pork leg. If there is a difference in cooking times, it will be slight. If you start at 10pm, you'll be ready by dinner time the next day.
 
Jeff F said:
Are you sure it's boneless? My Costco has double packs of bone-in, but I've never seen boneless.
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Jeff, many folks on here say their Costco's sell only boneless butts.
I think they sell bone-in here in MO due to also selling them sliced for pork steaks, at least in the StL area.
My money is on it being two butts too, and not a whole shoulder.
 
Never seen bone in at Costco but as Bob said they do sometimes have bone in pork steaks. I'm pretty sure also that its a twoer pack
 
CDelSole said:
From what else I've read online, it seems that this cryovac is likely two shoulders and not a single piece, which would also make me feel more confident. I'll find out tonight when I open it up!
Click to expand...

That's the way they do it here
 
Bob Correll said:
Jeff, many folks on here say their Costco's sell only boneless butts.
I think they sell bone-in here in MO due to also selling them sliced for pork steaks, at least in the StL area.
My money is on it being two butts too, and not a whole shoulder.
Click to expand...

Guess that's why I buy most of mine at Sam's! They definitely have bone-in. I'll have to check out Costco next time I'm in KC and see what they have now. Sam's has the two pack, bone-in for about $1.60 a pound right now.
 
It's definitely boneless. I'll report back when I open it up tonight.

Most recipes say to let the rub sit on the meat for 12 hours...is there any harm in letting it sit rubbed inside a Ziploc bag for 24 hours?
 
Bob Correll said:
Jeff, many folks on here say their Costco's sell only boneless butts.
I think they sell bone-in here in MO due to also selling them sliced for pork steaks, at least in the StL area.
My money is on it being two butts too, and not a whole shoulder.
Click to expand...

yes no bone in here in so cal. as you say, Costco adapts to local demand. no full packers here either.
 
I opened the cryovac last night - worries averted. It was two pieces of meat, just packaged REALLY effectively! After trimming the fat cap and other assorted ungainly bits, the original 16.5 lbs. was reduced down to just over 13 lbs. I rubbed them at 6 a.m. this morning with the Southern Succor rub from this site's Renowned Mr. Brown preparation, and will be firing up my WSM just before midnight tonight!

Thanks again for the reassurance, everyone!
 
I would recommend not trimming excess fat from pork butts purchased from Sam's/Costco's. It isn't that much and really helps keep the meat moist after pulling. During the pull, that's when I remove some of the non-rendered fat. Just my opinion.
 
Thanks for the help, everyone. I ran my WSM for 15 hours without issue, and the pork came out so beautiful. Tons of compliments from my guests, and the leftovers have been paying dividends since yesterday morning! I will definitely be doing more pulled pork cooks in the future.

I also agree with not trimming the shoulders next time. I was trying to do everything by the book for my first attempt, but realized it wasn't necessary after the fact. Either way, the pork was amazing!


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A huge success!

Thanks for the help, everyone. I ran my WSM for 15 hours without issue, and the pork came out so beautiful. Tons of compliments from my guests, and the leftovers have been paying dividends since yesterday morning! I will definitely be doing more pulled pork cooks in the future.

I also agree with not trimming the shoulders next time. I was trying to do everything by the book for my first attempt, but realized it wasn't necessary after the fact. Either way, the pork was amazing!



 
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