BIG Picnic Prep??? Pulled Pork


 
Jason M. Park

Jason M. Park

TVWBB Super Fan
Hello all!

Long time member... and its been a LONG time since I've posted...
Basically, I'm looking for a how-to on a picnic roast prep, and advise on cooking. Read on...

Picnic roasts were on sale at my local supermarket for 99¢/lb. and decided to go for it. They only had hacked-up portions in the case, so I asked if they had any whole picnics in the back. Sure enough, they did. The kid brought one out, and this thing must have been off a real prize-winning hog, because JUST this picnic portion weighs out at 12.25 lbs! I have done a picnic before, but a really long time ago, I honestly cannot remember how I prepped it. I usually do butts, and I know a picnic is a somewhat different cut, and it needs some special prep too, but I don't see a specific topic here. (I suppose I could Google it, but I really like this forum ;) )

I'll be doing the Mr. Brown recipe, and I like the bark... so I'm thinking skin off. If there is already a topic, point me in the right direction.
How much will I be trimming off?
Is there anything different I need to account for in a larger roast like this?

I know I sound like a n00b here, but I swear, I originally joined this board way back in '03! If you want, I'll post pictures of the prep and cook. I'll be firing it up late on Tuesday night for dinner Wednesday. Thanks in advance for all the tips.
 
I've only done a few picnics before. I've just cooked them like a butt. The ones I had didn't have the skin on. I think they were a little drier then a butt though. Good luck and hope to see some pix!
 
It's been ages since I've done a picnic. I did some when I first started because it was almost impossible to find Boston butts where I was living at the time. I've done both skin on and skin off. I recommend removing the skin. Aside from that I don't recall it being much different than a butt.
 
OK, looks like I'll go with trimming the fat and skin due to the size of it. I liked that video by Reed, but I've never found the need to inject a butt or picnic. Or at least I've never bothered. I do like that injector, though.

Time to start prepping...



 
Here we go... (click for larger pics)

Unwrapped... here's the skin side...


And the other side.


Here is the skin side after trimming. Also trimmed some fat, veins and nastyness from the other side. Probably a pound and a half of muck trimmed off total.


All rubbed up, and ready to go into the fridge. Firing up the WSM tonight around midnight. Back with more later!


11.5 hours on... and she looks purdy good! I had some trouble keeping the temperature in the low and slow range, it kept wanting to creep up to 300. Then the water pan ran dry... ugh, I'm out of practice. Fortunately, these things are pretty forgiving. Feels pretty jiggly-wiggly now, Going to foil it for another 2hours, and then holding pattern until dinner time!
 
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That looks great!

I did 2 picnics last weekend. They were on sale for 99 cents a pound so I had to get 'em. One was 8 lbs, the other was 7. I was in a hurry to start the smoker that night so I didn't look up any directions, I just cooked them like butts. I started about 9 pm and finished about 12-13 hours later. I did NOT remove the skin (which is on the bottom in this picture), I injected them and rubbed them and then smoked them with oak and apple until I think 160, then foiled them until they were about 200 and tender. When they had rested in the foil for about an hour or so I removed the skin (it looked like roofing rubber lol) and pulled it.

We gave some to the neighbors and I passed out a lot at work. We had pork tacos, pork sandwiches, and pork just as snacks. Everyone loved it! I would have taken more pictures but I plain forgot. Next time I will definitely remove the skin first.

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