Picnics and Spares


 
T

Toby Keil

TVWBB All-Star
I was running low on pulled pork and Ralph’s had picnics on sale for .99 cents a pound so I picked up a few. Rubbed them down with mustard and a homemade rub concoction then cooked them on the WSM at 300 degrees. I also had a rack of spares in the freezer so I cooked them as well. I used the Rendezvous rub recipe on the ribs then once they were close to being done, I finished on the gasser with some jacked up Sweet Baby Ray’s. I’ll vac seal the pulled pork today.

Picnics on the WSM
Butts_01.jpg


Picnics done and ready to head to the cooler for a few hours.
Butts_02.jpg



Spares ready to eat.
Spares-1.jpg
 
Excellent Toby, I wanted to do some PP this weekend but it just wasn't in the cards, so I'll have to live through you. Fine looking rack of ribs too!
 
Toby, I see you are using picnics instead of butts. Is there a reason for that or was the price just too good?
 
I did a picnic today, was onsale for 88 cents a pound. Got a 11 lb picnic. I'm having a problem getting over 180. I kept the smoker between 225-250 for 20 hours and gave up with an average meat temperature of 180. It's in the cooler wrapped in foil now. Is it necessary to foil the picnic in the smoker? Should I try to keep the lid temp higher? I thought I was doing good to keep it in the 225-250 range that long. I've done 4-5 butts and had similar experiences, can't get meat to go over 185. Is 195 necessary? What am I missing? I'm using apple wood and keep the water pan at least half full.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by KevinJ:
Toby, I see you are using picnics instead of butts. Is there a reason for that or was the price just too good? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The price was just to good to pass up.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Todd J:
I did a picnic today, was onsale for 88 cents a pound. Got a 11 lb picnic. I'm having a problem getting over 180. I kept the smoker between 225-250 for 20 hours and gave up with an average meat temperature of 180. It's in the cooler wrapped in foil now. Is it necessary to foil the picnic in the smoker? Should I try to keep the lid temp higher? I thought I was doing good to keep it in the 225-250 range that long. I've done 4-5 butts and had similar experiences, can't get meat to go over 185. Is 195 necessary? What am I missing? I'm using apple wood and keep the water pan at least half full. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi Todd. Not sure why your having issues getting the temp over 180, maybe 180 was the plateau and it just need to stay on a little longer? I usually take my butts to 195 then foil and into a cooler. Try foiling the water pan then use some sand, maybe that will help. Sorry if I'm not very helpful.
 
looking great Toby ... I do mostly picnics for PP, I can often get them for $0.99 lb

curiously, when I get them they lop the hock off with a band saw then place the picnic big side down and split it in half vertically lengthwise, the hocks are then packaged separately ... I call em split picnics and I like all the extra bark I get from them, maybe your meat shop would do the same for you if you were interested in trying it
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Todd J:
I did a picnic today, was onsale for 88 cents a pound. Got a 11 lb picnic. I'm having a problem getting over 180. I kept the smoker between 225-250 for 20 hours and gave up with an average meat temperature of 180. It's in the cooler wrapped in foil now. Is it necessary to foil the picnic in the smoker? Should I try to keep the lid temp higher? I thought I was doing good to keep it in the 225-250 range that long. I've done 4-5 butts and had similar experiences, can't get meat to go over 185. Is 195 necessary? What am I missing? ... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I can relate to that cook, lots of my early cooks were like that.

Get your temps up next time ... shoot for 275ºF don't worry if you go even 50ºF over that but do try keeping it above 250ºF at least next time and you should be pleased with the results.

You shouldn't have to foil but it certainly helps tenderness and moisture ... up to you if you like the results or not, I prefer no foil until rest time.
 
I let it sit in the cooler for an hour and a half. The pork was very tender and I had no problem pulling the pork. Everyone was VERY happy with it. I used the infjection method from the cooking topic page. I will keep the lid temp higher next time and see how it turns out.
 
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