Pork Shoulder - sanity check

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slingerland

Fire Starter
Original poster
Jul 29, 2012
70
11
Little Rock, Arkansas
Good afternoon!  I'm thinking about smoking a pork shoulder on July 4th, but there are a couple of speedbumps I have to deal with: I have to take the finished (and resting) product to my in-laws' house that afternoon, which is an hour away.  And my wife will want to leave as early in the afternoon as possible.  So I'm thinking about a battle plan like this:
  1. Find a smaller shoulder, maybe 5~6 pounds.
  2. Night before, inject it with 2/3 apple juice, 1/3 apple cider vinegar with some of my run mixed into the injection.
  3. Use my Smoke Hollow No. 6 propane smoker with apple wood chunks.
  4. At 6 AM-ish, put the shoulder on the smoker at 250.  Let it smoke for 3 hours or so, the in-laws don't like a strong smoke flavor or crunchy bark.
  5. Put the shoulder in an aluminum tray, pour over some of the injection for steam, and wrap with foil. 
  6. At this point, pull a Myron Mixon and go into power-cook mode.  Run the temp up to 300~325 degrees.
  7. Hope it hits the magic 190 degrees by about 3 PM. 
  8. Pull it from smoker, double-wrap in beach towels, put in a Coleman cooler and hit the road.
So to the more experienced, does this plan seem feasible?  Or am I dooming myself to producing something my in-laws will not like?

Also... if I hit the point of leaving and I'm not at 190 degrees, what about pulling it, driving to their house (an hour away) and putting in their over to finish?

Thanks, everybody!
 
Good afternoon!  I'm thinking about smoking a pork shoulder on July 4th, but there are a couple of speedbumps I have to deal with: I have to take the finished (and resting) product to my in-laws' house that afternoon, which is an hour away.  And my wife will want to leave as early in the afternoon as possible.  So I'm thinking about a battle plan like this:
  1. Find a smaller shoulder, maybe 5~6 pounds.Not a fan of rushing PP or any other big cuts of meat especially when you have deadlines to meet.  I'd rather start it the night prior, you can always re heat it or keep it warm.
  2. Night before, inject it with 2/3 apple juice, 1/3 apple cider vinegar with some of my run mixed into the injection.Not a fan of injecting butts, don't see the need and don't like the idea of poking holes into something that needs to reach 135 plus in 4 hours from a food safety perspective.
  3. Use my Smoke Hollow No. 6 propane smoker with apple wood chunks.
  4. At 6 AM-ish, put the shoulder on the smoker at 250.  Let it smoke for 3 hours or so, the in-laws don't like a strong smoke flavor or crunchy bark.Stick to your 250 through out the cook....a little higher is fine.   Foiling is fine if you don't want the thicker bark and will help power through the stall.
  5. Put the shoulder in an aluminum tray, pour over some of the injection for steam, and wrap with foil. 
  6. At this point, pull a Myron Mixon and go into power-cook mode.  Run the temp up to 300~325 degrees. Again JMO but i'd stick to one temp through the whole cook.
  7. Hope it hits the magic 190 degrees by about 3 PM. 200-205 for pulling if you're going that route.
  8. Pull it from smoker, double-wrap in beach towels, put in a Coleman cooler and hit the road.
So to the more experienced, does this plan seem feasible?  Or am I dooming myself to producing something my in-laws will not like?

Also... if I hit the point of leaving and I'm not at 190 degrees, what about pulling it, driving to their house (an hour away) and putting in their over to finish?

Thanks, everybody!
I'd definitely consider starting the night before just to take the stress off of meeting the deadline, you and your wife will appreciate it...trust me.  It'll probably go 1.5 hours per pound but could take 2 hours per....you never know as all cuts are different.
 
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Hello Slingerland.  I think you missed your solution in your alternate plan.  "The in-laws don't like heavy smoke or crunchy bark".  This smoke isn't for you, it's for the in-laws so why break your neck here.  Follow your original plan.  Smoke for 3 hours or so.  Put in a pan, foil and head to the in-laws.  Finish it in their oven.  Less hassle for you and they will be happy.  Win! Win!  If you are cookin for the crowd you don't always do as you would at home.  I LOVE SPICY and HOT but when the family has a BIG get together Mrs. KC has to remind me about the spicy.  When all said and done it's about the family getting together.  Good luck.  Have fun.  Keep Smokin!

Danny
 
Thanks for the replies... but now I'm wondering the opposite question: what if the smoke finishes early?  How long can I let the meat rest wrapped up in the cooler?  (Please note I don't mean due to self-control issues 
drool.gif
).
 
Last edited:
If you wrap it good and put it in a cooler it'll stay warm for hours.  You could put it in the oven on warm if it'll be a minute or put it in the fridge to reheat when you get there.    Driving an hour anyone would expect a dish to be reheated. 
 
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