pork shoulder cooking at different rates?


 
N

Nicolas

TVWBB Member
i picked up what i was told was a 10lb shoulder the other day. i need it for a party today at 1:30 so i figured the time out to have it done around noon so it could sit for a while, including traveling time. i put it on around 8pm last night. it's now 8am and i got something weird happening. it looks like half of it is done and the other half isn't. is this possible. it's basicaly split by the bone. the meat on one side of the bone is real tender and breaking off and on the other side it clearly needs more time. does this even make sense? i've only ever done butts so i have no idea how a whole shoulder cooks. would it make sense to break off the done side and wrap it up and let the rest keep going?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">would it make sense to break off the done side and wrap it up and let the rest keep going? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes.

This can occur from an uneven burn, meat mass unevenness, etc. If one portion is in fact done pull it lest it overcooks. Leave the other to finish. If time becomes short, foil the piece in the cooker as doing do will speed up the cooking.
 
Next time tie it with some kitchen twine. I find this keeps them cooking evenly and also seems to make them more moist IMO.
 
Whether bone in or not, I always tie my butts in order to keep a nice shape and consistent cook. At the end, snip and remove the twine and pull with a couple of forks. Works every time!!
 
I wonder if the cooking temp had something to do with the uneven cooking. Never smoked a shoulder but I noticed that Chris Lilly suggests smoking shoulders at 225 while he recommends 250* for butts. Probably not a factor though and simply one of those things that can happen for some reason or another.
 
thanks for all the replys. i ended up just leaving it on until it was all done and it turned out just fine. no one noticed anything and i got nothing but compliments. the bay area is not exactly full of barbecue connoisseurs and i usually mix in a vinegar and pepper sauce after i pull it anyway. BUT, i learned a valuable lesson and in the future i will definitely tie all my pork clods if the butcher hasn't already.
 
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