Question re Pulled Pork From Pork Picnic Shoulder

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disco

Epic Pitmaster
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Oct 31, 2012
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I got a great deal on Pork Picnic Shoulder and will be having a group over so I decided to do some pulled pork from the shoulders. They have a significant layer of fat. I am thinking of cutting the fat off so I will get more bark. The fat will not go to waist as I will use it in sausage.

Is it wise to leave the fat on to keep the pulled pork moist or am I OK to remove it to increase the amount of bark?

Thanks for any help.

Disco
 
Hi Disco.....I'm thinking you'll be fine trimming some of the heavy fat off. There is usually a significant amount of internal fat to keep it moist while smoking it. Many, myself included, put a drip pan under these cuts to catch the excess as it drips off anyway. From what I've read, seen on TV etc. rubs won't really penetrate a heavy layer of fat so most is trimmed away. Glad you got a 'deal'...prices are going up in my parts....Willie
 
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Hi Disco.....I'm thinking you'll be fine trimming some of the heavy fat off. There is usually a significant amount of internal fat to keep it moist while smoking it. Many, myself included, put a drip pan under these cuts to catch the excess as it drips off anyway. From what I've read, seen on TV etc. rubs won't really penetrate a heavy layer of fat so most is trimmed away. Glad you got a 'deal'...prices are going up in my parts....Willie
Thanks for the advice, Willie. I will trim them up. As for meat prices, they have really shot up around here. The local cattle producers have all reduced their herds and us poor meat eaters are suffering.

Disco.
 
Trim away dear and then plop it in the freezer until you are ready for Sausage time.

Kat
Thanks, Kat. I have been looking at an English Banger recipe so I don't know that the fat will make it to the freezer.

Disco
 
I just got a shoulder from Price-Rite, they had them for $0.79/lb! 8.93lbs for just $7.05!!!!

I had a really good-cutting knife I lost for almost 10 years and found it recently, it was the only knife in it's set that had micro-serrations (the rest were Laser/Ginzu style edges--I think the set was like $19.99 with the wooden block!) and was shaped like a Rapala filet knife, think it was called a fruit knife...I used it for slicing tomatoes very thin. I started cross-hatching the thick skin until it reached meat. Even with that knife, it was tough going. I figured maybe try a different knife from the current Oster set and the Oster bread knife cut through the tough skin as if it were butter!

So I ended up with a diamond shaped pattern and was able to really rub my spices deeply into all the crevices down to the meat. I put the rubbed shoulder in an "oven" bag, (didn't have a big enough ziploc), squeezed out the air and twisted it shut and it's in the fridge now for over 24 hours.
 
Personally, I would leave the fat and skin on.  As Chef Willie stated, a drip pan would be in order to avoid the mess that would result from all that fat melting away.  That being said, I would also brine that bad boy overnight.  The brine soaks into the the fat very readily and all that flavor just sits there, soaking into the meat as it cooks.  

Rock the pit!
 
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