Smoking Pork Shoulder- 1st Time

[Zach Kubesh]

Hi everybody, I am smoking a pork shoulder for the first time and will hopefully be made into pulled pork. I have a 14.5 pound Shoulder, I am doing it on a treager pellet grill. I am aiming for a cook temp of 225-250, will 12 hours be enough time if I figure in a 30% Shrink? Should I trim off any Fat? what I have read i should be looking for a 195-200 internal temp to break down any tissue. The butcher said 170 would be fine and the bone should easily pull thru. I don't plan on sauceing the shoulder during the cook.

Thanks

 

[ChuckO]

Hi everybody, I am smoking a pork shoulder for the first time and will hopefully be made into pulled pork. I have a 14.5 pound Shoulder, I am doing it on a treager pellet grill. I am aiming for a cook temp of 225-250, will 12 hours be enough time if I figure in a 30% Shrink? Should I trim off any Fat? what I have read i should be looking for a 195-200 internal temp to break down any tissue. The butcher said 170 would be fine and the bone should easily pull thru. I don't plan on sauceing the shoulder during the cook.

Thanks

Hi Zach

You can't think "in time" when smoking meat, you cook to temp. A 14.5 shoulder could be done as soon as 12 hour, or it could take 17 or 18 hours. In most cases, a shoulder is done around 195 to 205, you should be able to wiggle a very loose bone when it's done, another thing is to use a meat thermometer to determine internal temp, and also to determine tenderness. As far as trimming the fat, or saucing, that's an individual preference. So is wrapping vs not wrapping. There's a lot of ways to smoke a shoulder, you have to chose what works best for you. I would allow for more than 12 hours, but how many is anyone guess. A rule is an hour per pound, but that's a very loose rule

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

Chuck is right on. I'm thinking more like 16 or 17 hours. 170 internal is not nearly enough. Like Chuck said, around 195 to 205 internal is about right.

 

[Zach Kubesh]

Ok now I have a baseline on where to start.

Thank You

 

[Dave/G]

One piece of meat or two 7 lb butts?

 

[Zach Kubesh]

One piece of meat or two 7 lb butts?

One piece of meat

 

[Frank H]

Ok now I have a baseline on where to start.
Thank You

this is all good advice.. 170 is good if you want to slice the shoulder like ham and it tastes ok , but if you want that nice shredded pork you gotta go for probe tender.
when the meat thermometer slides into the roast with very little resistance , you are in hog heaven.and i have learned to trim off most of the outside fat. you get a nicer bark that way....leave about a quarter inch of fat. and you can cook a shoulder at 275-300 if you want to speed things up a bit...internal temp and tenderness are the key.