Boneless Pork Shoulder woes


 
Bradley Mack

Bradley Mack

TVWBB Super Fan
I see you pork shoulder… sitting there on my 18.5 WSM, all smug and avoiding internal temps. Why won’t you pull apart and shred like I see on all these YouTube and social media sites? Why? WHY??

Set up:

18.5 WSM (water in pan)
Weber Briquettes
A chunk of apple and cherry wood
Arborfab charcoal basket

Mustard rub and various seasonings

Process:

Let ride untiI 165 F
Pull then wrap (using foil in this instance)

Put back on the WSM until 205 F, but not before a few temp swings here and there.

Probe with my instant read… 207 F

Pull off the smoker

Let rest for an hour

Go to shred… nothing but chunks of connective tissue still. I end up using a knife. I’ve read bone in shoulders are better but they seem to be a rare commodity around these parts. So, Costco it is.

This is probably the 4th or 5th time this has happened. I must be doing something wrong ladies and gentleman… but what??

Feedback appreciated.

And….. GO!
 
Bradley Mack said:
I see you pork shoulder… sitting there on my 18.5 WSM, all smug and avoiding internal temps. Why won’t you pull apart and shred like I see on all these YouTube and social media sites? Why? WHY??

Set up:

18.5 WSM (water in pan)
Weber Briquettes
A chunk of apple and cherry wood
Arborfab charcoal basket

Mustard rub and various seasonings

Process:

Let ride untiI 165 F
Pull then wrap (using foil in this instance)

Put back on the WSM until 205 F, but not before a few temp swings here and there.

Probe with my instant read… 207 F

Pull off the smoker

Let rest for an hour

Go to shred… nothing but chunks of connective tissue still. I end up using a knife. I’ve read bone in shoulders are better but they seem to be a rare commodity around these parts. So, Costco it is.

This is probably the 4th or 5th time this has happened. I must be doing something wrong ladies and gentleman… but what??

Feedback appreciated.

And….. GO!
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Seems like your on the right track. I like to put it in a foil pan at 160 and cover that with foil. Leaves a lot of juice to work with. Maybe let it rest 2 hours?

Bone in nice because if that sucker pulls clean you should be golden.
 
Bruno said:
Seems like your on the right track. I like to put it in a foil pan at 160 and cover that with foil. Leaves a lot of juice to work with. Maybe let it rest 2 hours?

Bone in nice because if that sucker pulls clean you should be golden.
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I should have mentioned it was wrapped in foil in a pan. I don’t usually do that. Still not how I would have liked it to turn out.
 
not trying to be a wanker, did you measure temp at multiple areas? everything you list is normal and your temps are in line. assuming the cook lasted 9-11 hours?
 
Correct. My first probe (s) were 203 in the thickest part of the shoulder, 198 in the middle and 180 something at the other end of the shoulder. So, she wasn’t ready at that stage. The only other thing I can think of was the probe from my Signals not being seated properly (maybe part of the probe was closer to the grill?) I really have no idea.
 
Bradley Mack said:
Correct. My first probe (s) were 203 in the thickest part of the shoulder, 198 in the middle and 180 something at the other end of the shoulder. So, she wasn’t ready at that stage. The only other thing I can think of was the probe from my Signals not being seated properly (maybe part of the probe was closer to the grill?) I really have no idea.
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From my limited probes experience, I did 3 probes in my last brisket cook; the flat, middle and point.

I found the data pretty interesting. As to how the different parts cooked.

I’d offer up doing 2 to 3 probes next time so you can “see” what’s happening inside the butt. It can’t hurt. More data is always helpful IMO.

You could braise the chunks to get that desired shred even though it’s cooked. Those’ll make good PP sammies.
 
Was it probe tender before you rested it?
Reason I ask is if you wrap in foil the internal temps will rise quite quickly.
205 might be tender or not so you need to go for more time till tender not some internal number.
I never temp esp after wrapping.
I go by time at a certain temperature and when it feels soft and jiggly I'll pull it and rest .
 
FYI: Shoulder vs Butt

Shoulder vs. Pork Butt​

Traditionally, cuts labeled pork shoulder (including picnic shoulder) are from the thinner, triangle-shaped end of the shoulder whereas the pork butt or Boston butt is from the thicker, more intensely marbled end above it. Note that both are from the front limbs, not the hindquarters.

Pork shoulder is a bit better for cooking whole and slicing, whereas pork butt is perfect for making pulled pork and other recipes in which the meat is cooked until it falls apart. The marbled streaks of fat that run through it help the meat fall apart more easily once it is tender.

Both, however, are great cut up and used as stew meat and in chili. You can use them interchangeably in most recipes, although some recipes will be quite specific.

www.thespruceeats.com

What Is Pork Shoulder?

Pork shoulder is an inexpensive cut from the front leg of the hog. Braising tenderizes it, or you can use it as stew meat or ground pork.
www.thespruceeats.com www.thespruceeats.com

@Bradley Mack , recco you buy butts as that's what most people are using for PP. it renders down on LAS cooks. ima thinking your cut of shoulder is doing you in. i didn't realize this until @Bob Bass called it out.
 
I’m also a probe for tenderness only guy after the stall.
The 203 or so temp is just a guideline and might be off a bit.

One thing I do is put the juices back on after I run that through a fat separator.
Some guys inject but that makes mine to juicy.
Imbedded garlic cloves is as close as I get to that.
 
Although, I have never cooked a shoulder. Only a Butt....

I cook the two packs from Costco all the time. I usually buy two two packs -- three get smoked for pulled pork and one gets crock-potted for carnitas.

IIRC, Costco carries Swift brand and those are typically labelled as "boneless pork shoulder butt." So shoulder and butt are the exact same thing at Costco. Meaning the piece of meat from the front shoulder and located above the picnic shoulder. So I don't think that is what is going on with your cook.

I always butterfly and cook the butt flat. Cooks faster and you get a lot more surface area for bark (I like a lot of bark). Since I always do the butterfly, I actually prefer using the boneless (which also happens to be what my Costco stocks).

Whether cooking bone-in or boneless, I always do a pretty aggressive trim of the connective tissue in the internal seams. It doesn't seem to really render down no matter how much I cook it.

So you might want to try some trimming of the yucky internal connective tissue. See video below for guidance.





 
Brett-EDH said:
use the pics to figure out which one was cooked here.

obvs the butchers are using whatevs names they want on meat cuts.

www.seriouseats.com

Pork Shoulder Demystified: Boston Butt Versus Picnic Shoulder

Shopping for pork shoulder can get confusing fast. Learn the difference between Boston butt and picnic shoulder so you never panic at the butcher's counter again.
www.seriouseats.com www.seriouseats.com
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This is how I've always understood it, not how The Spruce Eats words their explanation. The shoulder is the Butt and the Picnic. I much prefer the
Butt for pulled Pork and I think it's a more forgiving cook.
 
Never had that happen, and I only go to 195 -198. I don't want it to turn to mush. It shreds apart with a couple of forks. I've done pork butts as well as picnics. Quite frankly the picnics don't taste as good. The times I did that they were purchased by accident.
 
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