2 pork shoulders at 130 4hrs in

[jsmith78]

I am smoking up 2 pork shoulders.  Started at 7am at 11am internal temp is 130.  One is 5lbs the other is 5.5lbs.  For 4 hours of smoking at roughly 225 is a 130 temp normal?  I am aiming to reach 195 to 200 by 430pm then cooler for an hour to rest, then pull for dinner after 6. If not should I wrap in foil and cook in oven at 230?   

 

[richoso1]

Your plan is reasonable, and you have figured an alternate if time in creeping up on you. Good luck my friend.

 

[dick foster]

For a shoulder, it will get there when it gets there and in it's own good time. In fact each shoulder may be done at different times so don't be surprised if that happens either.   From my experence at that cooking temp you got a late start if you have a 6 PM dinner in mind. Best to start earlier next time around. The worst that can happen is that it sits in the cooler a little longer and that never hurt anything.  

 

[herkysprings]

You could crank the heat to 250 even to speed things up, it wont hurt the pork.

 

[jsmith78]

Update: 

My temp is now up to 150 at 1pm.  With roughly 5hrs to go till dinner after 6pm maybe 7pm. I am thinking about double wrapping them in foil around 230 to 3pm and trying to finish them on the ecb.  My wife will need the oven to make twice baked potatoes around 4 or so. 

 

[mballi3011]

You should be alright with your plans as you have them. Now you can out the potatoes in the smoker too if you want we do it all the time at Jerry's (pineywoods) camp during the Gatherings in april. You might want to crank the heat up a little bit it wouldn't hurt anything.

 

[jsmith78]

At 3pm the meat temp is 160.  I believe I have hit a stall, hope it doesn't last long.  Smoker temp varies between 215 to 250.  I am gonna wait it out a little longer and see if it comes out of the stall.  Double foiling it will probably be next.   

 

[caveman]

Ride that stall, double that foil, damn the torpedo's & full speed ahead.  Smoke is on the horizon!!!

 

[meateater]

I don't see a therm in the pic, how did you come up with your temps? Not bashing, just trying to help.

 

[dick foster]

He's probably using and instant read which isn't helping the situation.

As they say, when you're a lookin, you ain't cookin.

If you're gonna smoke you really do need a remote read thermomether of some kind. That way you can keep the lid on and keep the temps up and keep that cooking going on.

 

[jsmith78]

Sorry for not keeping update yesterday things got hectic.  I know I need a leave in therm.  I am gonna get the maverick et73.  When I checked the temps using an instant read then I spritz them with apple cider vinegar at the same time to minimize on heat loss. It got to 170 at 430pm.  At that point I double foiled and put it in the oven with the potatoes.  About an hour later one of them was done, the other one was done 30 minutes later.  I know it wasn't a perfect smoke by no means,  But I tell you that meat was the hit of the party.  My wife was handing out leftovers pork to everyone to take home. 

Here is a pic of leftovers today on a bun with a bit of sweet baby rays on it.

I just want to say thank you to you guys for helping me make my first pulled pork a hit.

Thank You

 

[dick foster]

Pulled pork is hard to beat. Getting some kind of thermometer that will let you keep the lid down is a good idea. For what it's worth I don't spritz, mop, foil or mess with it at all. Just stick it in there and smoke it till the internal temp says it's time to take it out. Then it gets foiled and stuffed into a cooler to sit for a spell before I pull it.

I love pulled pork but like you I always have more than the two of us can eat. If you put some of it in a freezer bag and seal it up real well it does keep pretty well in the freezer. Pork is good left over more so than beef for some reason.