Hitman Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Picked up a 15 pound pork shoulder from Costco, along with some of their "Sweet Mesquite" rub, and some "Sweet Baby Ray's" BBQ sauce. As I gain experience, I can start making my own rubs and sauces, but for now I'll stick to the commercial stuff. The shoulder was $1.39/lb, nicely trimmed, but it did somewhat fall apart when I took it out of its shrink wrap. I used some cotton twin to truss it up, but I should have doubled or tripled the twine together, as it is too thin as is. I checked at H Mart, which also had smaller bone-in pork shoulders, but they were much smaller, and still had the skin on the leg portion. They were also $1.39/lb. I might try one or two of those later on. The Sweet Mesquite rub is quite coarse, also has some brown sugar in it. I mixed it with the remainder of my Grill Mates, Stubb's, and Charcoal Companion rubs, put it in the fridge around 3 PM yesterday afternoon, inside a tall kitchen trash bag. It sure did stink up the fridge! Next time I will put it in a picnic cooler with a bag of ice. Here's a pic of the shoulder, before & after it went into the fridge. Here it is as it came out of the fridge about 30 minutes ago. I applied a little more rub, but it didn't need much more. I was surprised that it didn't lose much moisture at all --- the bottom of the bag was dry. I will let it come up to room temp for a few hours, plan to put it on the grill around 10 PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conodo12 Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Keep us posted!! Lookin' good so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted September 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Here's my plan of attack: I have the charcoal basket full of lump, with 3 large chunks of hickory mixed in. I also have a metal smoker box full of soaked maple chips, which I will place right on top of of the charcoal basket, just before I put the heat deflector in place. I am not using the lower grill, just the main grill with the drip pan on it, with the shoulder on the upper grill directly above. I wrapped the drip pan in foil for easier cleanup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzmisl Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Looks good. I'd forget the smoker box and just toss the chips on top. Are you manually monitoring your temps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted September 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Yup. Temps stabilized at around 260, before I put the meat on just a few minutes ago. Lower opening is tiny, less than a dime width. Upper vent is about 1/3 of a turn. It's still coming back up to temps, so I will keep watching it until it stabilizes. I bought a wireless thermometer at Williams Sonoma, just because I knew I could take it back. However, after reading through the user manual, I think I will take it back unused. It only has one probe, can't provide a low temp warning. I will wait until the morning, then hook up my Accurite digital thermometer, check the meat internal temp, take it off around 190 - 195. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted September 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Very slow coming back up to temp, currently right at 200. Good amount of smoke, seems like there is a good draw. I opened up the top vent a bit, but don't want to overdo it, keep chasing the temp gauge all night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzmisl Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 It will take a while to come up to temp after you open the lid. Be careful because once it's hot it never seems to go down. For some reason this year has been extraordinarily windy in my parts. Its a HUGE pita to control temps manually which is why I like my guru. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted September 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 No wind here. Temps jumped up to 260, so I shut it back down to my previous settings, lower vent just open less than a dime width, upper vent 1/3 turn. Hopefully, this will stabilize things. I am not so concerned about a specific temp, just want it to settle down so I can go to bed. On the other hand, I have a nice ginger beer & Limon Rum drink in my hand, and the night is young! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzmisl Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 For sure. Usually when I do a cook I slug Vernons Ginger beer and Woodford bourbon with a lime. Delicious. I'm sure things will stabilize and you'll be able to get some Z's. You'll be bombed but at least you'll fall asleep quickly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Auto Controller Did a 14 hour pork shoulder last night and slept like a baby. Set the Guru to 225 and forgot about it. Pulled it off this AM at a finish of 185. Perfect. If you enjoy manual control, and I can think of several reasons why one might, that's great. Or get a Guru or a Stoker and go to bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted September 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Temps got a little higher than I wanted during the night, but not too bad. At first light I checked, temps were around 275. I tightened the top vent so it was just slightly open, went back to sleep. At 7:30 it was still at 270, but has since started to drift downwards. Smells GREAT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzmisl Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Re: Auto Controller Or get a Guru or a Stoker and go to bed. Best money I've spent! All three relatives with Komodos have them and even my father in law with a POSK has one. Its just easier for nightime cooks. I don't like to get up, check on my cooker then hop in my bed smelling like smoke. Wife gets p!ssed off too. All I hear is "I just washed the sheets!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 forgiving cook One good thing about pork butts, they will come out perfect through a wide range of cooking temps. Anything between 210 to 285 and you will get nothing but kudos from the assembled chompers! No need to sweat an exact temp, just get it in that range and relax. Same goes for the finish temp, anywhere between 180 to 200 and you get a super result. I cook at least one a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 pulling tip I do have a pulling tip. Don't just start shredding the meat and then try to pull out the fat. Pull the whole thing apart gently and it will separate into its' component muscles. Use a fork or knife to scrape off the fat and connective tissue that surrounds each muscle, then you can shred or cut these component pieces, fat free. The parts in direct contact with bone will have a layer of periosteum and it will scrape right off the meat. These pieces may also have a little piece of tendon at the end that connects to bone and that can also be just sort of pushed of the end of the muscle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 shoulder gives her something to live for I cook at least one a week. Yeah, we make up freezer packs that are either for us or to enliven the dog's kibble. The pooch (my avatar) is nearly 16 and a discriminating eater; shoulder gives her something to live for. periosteum That was a new word from me, but this advice is absolutely spot-on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzmisl Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Re: forgiving cook I cook at least one a week. Which is why you're an Ophthalmologist and not a Cardiologist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted September 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 The shoulder was a big hit last night at our tennis party. Being so early in the indoor tennis season, we had a smaller group than normal with 48 players, plus a few guests. The pork got completely devoured. For future parties of 64-80, we will add other menu choices, such as meatballs, etc. Three other party leaders asked me to cook for their upcoming events. This will help me gain experience, sharpen my skills, and improve the product. Yesterday, after I took the pork off the grill in the early afternoon, I kept thinking --- hey, the grill's already hot, why not throw something else on? I was tempted to run down to the store, grab a couple of chickens, and put them on, or maybe get some ribs. But I didn't want to cook anything with a lot of bones, or that had a lot of prep time. Need to think of something that's relatively cheap, can be cooked in 3 hours or so at a low temp. Maybe a butterflied leg of lamb..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted September 20, 2009 Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 No Prep Throw on a fatty. Disgusting, and wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted September 20, 2009 Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 Being so early in the indoor tennis season' date=' we had a smaller group than normal with 48 players, plus a few guests. The pork got completely devoured. For future parties of 64-80, we will add other menu choices, such as meatballs, etc.[/quote'] Laurie had my exact reaction, there must have been a lot of other food! In our experience, a butt will feed at most a dozen people, and that's with plenty of other food. Pot beans and cornbread, greens, corn tortillas are nice if you can find fresh masa in your area. Adjust for age and alcohol, which work together: A younger crowd that seriously sets into the wine will start eating the picnic table when everything else is gone. So I wouldn't count on more than 24 from a shoulder. Cook two? The idea of getting experience cooking for events is great. I've brought several butts at a time to conference picnics at a nearby institute where there was supposed to be already enough food. It's fun watching it disappear by stopwatch, 12 minutes is typical. We also bring BBQ to other people's dinner parties, foiled and toweled in a cooler. Butt or shoulder holds for hours, and we just leave when the party's over, no cleanup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted September 20, 2009 Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 Re: No Prep Throw on a fatty. You mean a spliff? Does that increase people's appetites? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
