Well my first bone-in picnic shoulder from a couple of weeks ago did not meet my expectations. I just didn't wait long enough to get by the stall around 185* and became impatient and pulled it from the smoker too soon. I had some good tasting sliced pork but it was no where near ready to be pulled pork.
So yesterday I tried again. Most thing being the same but I started earlier. I used an easy rub recipe that I got off the internet and I din't use any mustard. Rub stuck to the shoulder just fine. It was an 8lb 9oz shoulder.
I was up at 2:00 AM to warm up the smoker and the shoulder went in at 2:30 with smoker temp set at 225*. Hickory was the wood of choice. This is what it looked liked after a 24 hour rub rest in the fridge before going in the smoker.
At 160* I pulled it out of the smoker, wrapped it in foil with some pineapple juice poured on the shoulder and a little in the bottom of the foil then back in the smoker for the internal temp to get to 205*.
It was a long wait but 13.5 hours later at 4:00 the temp probe was reading 205*. Took that baby out and and let it nap for half and hour.
Open the foil and boy howdy did it look good! You can see in the top left corner that a piece of the bone just fell off by itself attesting to the doneness.
I had redemption from the first shoulder. The bone basically fell out by itself and the pork pretty much pulled itself apart as I picked it up with a fork. Par excellence for this try. Tender, juicy and just the right amount of heat and sweetness.
Patience is a virtue if you want good pulled pork! I learned my lesson. Trust the temp probe!
Now I have to try and redeem myself from my first two brisket attempts that everyone liked but I was not satisfied with. Practice makes perfect.
So yesterday I tried again. Most thing being the same but I started earlier. I used an easy rub recipe that I got off the internet and I din't use any mustard. Rub stuck to the shoulder just fine. It was an 8lb 9oz shoulder.
I was up at 2:00 AM to warm up the smoker and the shoulder went in at 2:30 with smoker temp set at 225*. Hickory was the wood of choice. This is what it looked liked after a 24 hour rub rest in the fridge before going in the smoker.
At 160* I pulled it out of the smoker, wrapped it in foil with some pineapple juice poured on the shoulder and a little in the bottom of the foil then back in the smoker for the internal temp to get to 205*.
It was a long wait but 13.5 hours later at 4:00 the temp probe was reading 205*. Took that baby out and and let it nap for half and hour.
Open the foil and boy howdy did it look good! You can see in the top left corner that a piece of the bone just fell off by itself attesting to the doneness.
I had redemption from the first shoulder. The bone basically fell out by itself and the pork pretty much pulled itself apart as I picked it up with a fork. Par excellence for this try. Tender, juicy and just the right amount of heat and sweetness.
Patience is a virtue if you want good pulled pork! I learned my lesson. Trust the temp probe!
Now I have to try and redeem myself from my first two brisket attempts that everyone liked but I was not satisfied with. Practice makes perfect.
