Prepping a whole pork shoulder


 
J

Jim Morrell

New member
Making my first attempt at a whole (16lb) pork shoulder this weekend. I have the Chris Lilly recipe which we plan to follow.

Does anyone have any suggestions on prepping the meat? Specifically, I'm wondering if it's best to leave the skin on or take it off? Thanks in advance.
 
I've tried it both ways and didn't find much of a difference between the taste of the meat. If you trim off all the skin and fat you'll get that much more bark. If I'm short on time I just leave the skin on, just don't bother putting rub on the skin part.

Also be prepared that a 16 pounder will take a long time to cook, at least 20 hours.

-Dave
 
You can easily slip the skin off after if has cooked for a few hours 6-8. Course you'll have to add some rub to the bare spot where it came off. I usually cook them around 250 for 16 hours. Wrap them and stick them in a cooler to rest for at lest an hour.
 
Thanks for the tips. I definitely want more bark so I'll probably try to take the skin off. I'm going to be doing two at the same time (if they'll fit) so I was also wondering how much time to allow. Sounds like 16-20 hours.
 
The skin is very hard to take off before cooking, I have only do it once and will never do it again. I think the best idea i've heard, is to cook it for a couple hours then pull the skin off.
 
Thanks. Sounds like I'll wait 'til after its been on for a while to take the skin off. Any advice to doing that? Does the skin come off pretty easily at that point? Will I need to take the shoulder off the grill or can it be done while it's on?
 
No, I'm actually doing TWO whole shoulders. It will be a mighty test of the WSM's capacity. Picked up the shoulders this afternoon and it will be a tight fit, but I think we can get 'em in there. Worst case scenario, we'll shave some meat off the butt end to make them fit.
 
Skin is great for making ciccharones. Just take it and place in a frying pan to heat slowly. When bubbles permeate the skin fully, you got it. Tastey.
 
We are hosting a cowboy cookout in a coupe of weeks. We're thinking about four bone-in butts and 10 racks of b-backs for 40 people. Do y'all think this is 'nuff meat?
 
Thanks everybody for the help. Looks like it's gonna work. Both shoulders (20 lbs each) fit, though it did require a little pressure put on the lid at the start. They've been on for a little over 11 hours now. Just took the skin off and applied more rub to the newly exposed area. Temperature has been humming along pretty consistently at 220-225.
 
Jim, take a pic if possible of the whole shoulders in the WSM. Thats a must see!
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Bruce, that sounds like enough meat to me. Plenty with a few side dishes. We usually cut the cooked ribs into 2 bone portions or something to make it easier.
 
I'm definitely interested in seeing a whole shoulder on a WSM as well. The local restaurant supply store sells these and, although it looks very intimidating, I am strangely tempted in picking one up.
 
with a sharp knife, taking the skin off of a pork shoulder is very, very easy. Just cut under the skin, and will take you about 1 - 2 minutes to get it all off. Then, as tjkoko said, reserve that pork for making chicharron and lard...

- Adam
 
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