Smoked Pork Shoulders - Whole or halfed?


 
Kurt Neurauter

Kurt Neurauter

TVWBB Member
Folks, I am hosting our son's first birthday BBQ on Saturday for between 40-50 people. Woo hoo, he survived! ;) Here's what I'm planning and my questions:

My responsibility is around the meat, so I'm doing a pulled pork shoulder with the following recipe for the marinade only:
http://www.homebbq.com/archives/90
I already realize this recipe is for tenderloin and I'm using shoulder, so disregard the cut of pork I am going with.

I've followed this recipe before with shoulder and it came out really well, however I'm wondering if I sliced the shoulders lengthwise/ in half if I'd get a lot more marinade penetration with the increased surface area.

1 - Is it worth doing or am I asking for trouble? Since the original recipe calls for tenderloin, I'm wondering if I'll get a better flavor result by slicing them to a more similar size.

2 - IF it's worth doing, should I also anticipate on a significantly shorter cook time? Generally I aim for a magic temperature between 190-206 depending on how precise and the last magic temp blog I've read about and my last cook was probably 10-12 hours without doing a crutch. For this, I was going to start the cook it late-late on Friday night for plenty of rest time by Saturday for a 3/4PM serve time.

3 - Anything else I need to consider with smaller/lower weight pieces and increased surface area? I'm guessing reduced time and possibly less smoke/wood used.

4 - We picked up two packages from Costco, so four shoulders; probably 15 & 18 lbs each package. Should I do them all up, or freeze one of them? +40 Adults + kids + gotta have some leftovers.

Also, for what it's worth - this will be done on a WSM 22.50 :wsm22:", Kingford, and a combo of Pecan and Almond wood.

:wsm: Thanks in advance! :wsm:
 
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I've done several BIG batches of pulled pork for some fund raising events 36-40 pounds.

1. Yup go for it- PP is usually a crowd-pleaser. I like to cook mine sort of traditional style, with a good rub - I usually use Chris Lilly's recipe that can be found on TVWBB, with a few of my own tweaks.

2. The packages that you got are probably already halved. Most large, shrink wrapped packs have two chunks in 'em. My big batches have taken around 12 hours, but I would allow for more time. If they're done early, you can always foil them for a few hours before shredding. (I think they're better after resting in foil for a while anyway.)

3. I find that the halves give me about the desired ratio of bark to lean meat that I like.

4. I usually figure about 1/3 lb per adult
In your case 40 X 1/3 = a bit over 13 pounds of finished meat
But with bone and fat-rendering loss, you need at least twice that = start with at least 26 pounds
So, what you have should be about right, with some leftovers
 
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On the size, maybe I meant to say quartered then. In one package, 15 lbs, are two chunks. From there I was thinking of halving those lengthwise for the marinade and cook. Any changes?
 
Kurt Neurauter said:
On the size, maybe I meant to say quartered then. In one package, 15 lbs, are two chunks. From there I was thinking of halving those lengthwise for the marinade and cook. Any changes?
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Hi Kurt. The pork shoulders at Costco in the Phoenix area are usually two whole butts to a package, with the bones removed. They should cook just fine in the same sizes that they are already cut to, but if you cut them further I would do it lengthwise. The cavity where the bone was has smaller parts that could get dried out by the time the thicker parts cook, and the cavity from the bone goes surprisingly deep.

Last time I did some Costco butts was for a church BBQ in December. Across four people we smoked 17 butts (13 of them bone-in, 4 of them boneless from Costco). I did some of the bone-in and all of the boneless. I foiled the boneless butts late in the cook, and they were the best meat of the ~130 lbs. we cooked.
 
Ethan G said:
Hi Kurt. The pork shoulders at Costco in the Phoenix area are usually two whole butts to a package, with the bones removed. They should cook just fine in the same sizes that they are already cut to, but if you cut them further I would do it lengthwise. The cavity where the bone was has smaller parts that could get dried out by the time the thicker parts cook, and the cavity from the bone goes surprisingly deep.
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Other than slicing them lengthwise, is there anything else I should consider? WILL IT BE A SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED COOK TIME?
 
My thoughts are to experiment with your BBQ when you are NOT cooking for 50 people. I'm sure your default Que is plenty delicious. I save experimenting for when failure will not be as catastrophic.
 
But Tony, if you're going to blow it, get it done and blow it for a bunch!
Hehehe! I have failed for the masses before, and will probably do it again. I have also not missed when doing a big show in quite a while, I'm about due for a total failure. One of my best was a wedding for a friend, two 22" eight pork loins, a ton of sides. I was contracted by them as caterer, I chose time and material, got a tip twice what I billed!
It was the best party I have done, I had timed things out very well. The police came only once!
All that aside,
You are making a HUGE change in the direction of the cook, I don't think I would change things that much for an "untried weapon" the hit/miss ratio is going to be pretty high. Think about the difference in the cuts. I mean a shoulder is far from a tenderloin as a tooth is to a toenail. Give this some serious thought, being brave can certainly have rewards but, so does planning.
 
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Kurt Neurauter said:
Other than slicing them lengthwise, is there anything else I should consider? WILL IT BE A SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED COOK TIME?
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Just be careful with your cook times... don't want to dry those puppies out! I personally wouldn't cut them if you have the time to smoke them whole.
 
Awesome, all - those are the answers I was looking for. Looks like I better pick up a 6 pack to nurse her through the night :wsm:

Thanks everyone! I'll post some photos later on how it went. Happy Friday!
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
But Tony, if you're going to blow it, get it done and blow it for a bunch!
Hehehe! I have failed for the masses before, and will probably do it again. I have also not missed when doing a big show in quite a while, I'm about due for a total failure. One of my best was a wedding for a friend, two 22" eight pork loins, a ton of sides. I was contracted by them as caterer, I chose time and material, got a tip twice what I billed!
It was the best party I have done, I had timed things out very well. The police came only once!
All that aside,
You are making a HUGE change in the direction of the cook, I don't think I would change things that much for an "untried weapon" the hit/miss ratio is going to be pretty high. Think about the difference in the cuts. I mean a shoulder is far from a tenderloin as a tooth is to a toenail. Give this some serious thought, being brave can certainly have rewards but, so does planning.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Timothy - per your note I am going to stay with tried and true here. I appreciate the help!
 
In my experience, cutting in half give more area for bark but doesn't affect cooking time as much as you think. I've done it for space issues doing buts on kettle and the results were good but cook time wasn't significantly shorter. The only down side is you don't get "the clean bone pull" you get with a full bone in shoulder which is always a nice bonus. Good luck with the big cook!
 
I'd have to agree with Charlie L - I usually get my butts from Costco & they're boneless. I try to tie or prop them so they're solid pieces, but there's flaps. I tear off chunks from the small pieces, but it pretty much all finishes at the same time.
 
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