First attempt at pulled pork tomorrow.

[Nathanman]

Im doing my first pulled pork(it’s actually my first smoked anything) tomorrow, I picked up a rolled pork shoulder from my butcher (local, free range and organic so I’m hoping it will be good) and need to confirm how long it’s likely to take to smoke. It weighs about 3.4kgs is very even in size all the way through and is approx 7 inches in diameter and still has skin on. I’ll be cooking it around 250of so I’m expecting it to be around 6-7 hours, is this a realistic timescale?

I also picked up some kinders sweet and smokey bbq sauce to add once pulled, anyone know if it’s any good?

 

[motolife313]

Maybe 9 hours at 250 or 10 hours. What kind of smoker are u using? Get some olive or peanut oil on it with a good rub on top of that, then put it in the smoker and don't touch it till it reaches 202 degrees.


Yes add the BBQ suace to it once you got it pulled mix some in

 

[TomKnollRFV]

At 250f, I'd plan for 12 hours minimal. Just because it's always better to plan for things to go much longer then expected. I've never done skin on, but I know some people trim it off before cooking, or post cooking to make into pork rinds and the like. Personally don't think I'll ever do skin on for a pulled pork because I have no idea what to make of it.

You want to shoot for 205f for the internal temperature; thats when pork just falls apart with ease as the collagen etc is broken down and it isn't overcooked..

And as Moto said, make sure you got an oil to apply as the base to put the dry rub on. I like using yellow mustard as my base, as it helps with making bark..but <And I finally get to use this term and not get odd looks> Black Treacle is good too! <Molasses for those of you who gave me odd looks>.

I only lightly sauce pork when I pull it, if at all. Prefer people to add their own sauce to taste on the sandwich, I really just use bbq sauce or a finishing sauce to keep it moist. South Carolina Style Mustard BBQ Sauce is also good for this.

Hope every thing goes well and can't wait to see pictures of your first smoke!

 

[Nathanman]

I ended up removing the ties that held it together and took the skin off too, took 7 hrs at 275 and came out really well. I was very pleased.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Looks good! I just got mine out of the stall zone I believe, or oughta be. Pushed from 225f to 250f so for a change I might eat around dinner time! Did the skin come off easy for ya?

 

[Nathanman]

Once I untied it I got the skin off very easily with a sharp knife, glad I did as there was a little too much fat underneath so trimmed that back too. It was extremely tasty and ended up very moist. With the higher temp I didn't really notice any stall which was good. I may give it a go at 225 also but the 275 worked very well.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Once I untied it I got the skin off very easily with a sharp knife, glad I did as there was a little too much fat underneath so trimmed that back too. It was extremely tasty and ended up very moist. With the higher temp I didn't really notice any stall which was good. I may give it a go at 225 also but the 275 worked very well.

I normally let mine just run happily at 225f but I wanna be vaccum sealing stuff for the freezer before 3 AM for a change.. LOL. Did you toss the skin or end up making it into pork rinds?

 

[Nathanman]

I tossed the skin, I'm the only one of my family that would eat pork rinds and I need to lose some weight, the rinds would be too much of a temptation sitting in my cupboard. I did a short rib at the same time and that came out lovely too, very smokey(it was on the lower shelf of my ProQ if that makes a difference) but tasty and not dry at all. A successful smoke all in all and leaves me counting the days for next weekends efforts.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I hear ya on temptations! I'm glad ya enjoyed whatcha made! I'm -always- plotting my next smoke. If I get to desperate I fire up the smoker just for eggs now Lol.

 

[Nathanman]

Lol, never thought to try eggs, do they work well? I'm going to do a few more hot smokes then get hold of a cold smoke generator and do some cheese and bacon, two of my favourite things! I can see this whole smoker thing becoming a bit addictive.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

They do. I've done Eggs a few ways now.

Method one: Just put them on with another hot smoke for 2 hours. Pull, ice water, shell them, you got hard boiled eggs, but the shell is -super- easy to take off.

Method Two: 2 hours in, pull, ice water, peel, back on the smoker <And make sure to oil what ever grate you put them on.> For 30 to 60 mins in smoke. Now you got hard boiled eggs that taste smokey. If you use Hickory, they actually get a bacon like flavour profile.

Method three: Hour to two hours on, bring in, ice water. Lightly crack the shell at random, back in the smoker for an hour or so in smoke. Then bring them in, ice water and fully peel. You get dark lines through out the white where the cracked shell lines were, looks kinda cool.

Also smoking the eggs makes them -alot- easier to peel, if you run them in a smoker at 240-250f for 2-3 hours, the shell comes off darn easy after they get the ice water soak. I like to use smoked eggs in both egg salad and devilled eggs. That faint bacon like smoke flavour they can develop just takes every thing up a notch. They also take up little space in the smoker so normally I just do a dozen with any smoke. Didn't this time because I just did less then a week ago.


This was my first 'cold' smoke here- https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/unstuffed-smoked-beef-pepperoni-sticks-with-qview.95395/

I used Bear's recipe and now I've also done summer sausage and turkey pepperoni. I am actually always on the look for pork loin now, I want to find a reasonable price for one with a nice fat layer on it to make Rashers like ya'all got in the UK. American streaky bacon is good for wrapping stuff that goes on a grill or smoker, but I absolutely love rashers. Only one place has them here, and they ain't cheap by a long shot, so I figured making my own is a better option!

 

[Nathanman]

Those sticks look good, I'll give them a go once I have the cold smoker, the eggs too. I like streaky but rashers are the way to go, can't beat a good bacon sandwich at breakfast with 3 or 4 smokey rashers. Can't believe you guys don't have them as a regular thing, far superior to streaky for breakfast. We don't eat our bacon crispy like you guys though, when you have good smoked honey cured rashers, making them too crispy is a sin. They need some nice colour when coming in a pan but should still be moist. We tend to eat them with brown sauce in the UK(slightly spicy, fruity, vinegar sauce) HP brown sauce is the most popular brand, you can probably find it online, it's a must for rashers.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Those sticks look good, I'll give them a go once I have the cold smoker, the eggs too. I like streaky but rashers are the way to go, can't beat a good bacon sandwich at breakfast with 3 or 4 smokey rashers. Can't believe you guys don't have them as a regular thing, far superior to streaky for breakfast. We don't eat our bacon crispy like you guys though, when you have good smoked honey cured rashers, making them too crispy is a sin. They need some nice colour when coming in a pan but should still be moist. We tend to eat them with brown sauce in the UK(slightly spicy, fruity, vinegar sauce) HP brown sauce is the most popular brand, you can probably find it online, it's a must for rashers.

It's funny to me as well. We have 'Canadian Bacon' but that's not quite the same. It's center cut back bacon, no fat cap, and it's cured like ham more then bacon. I like my rashers when I find them/order them to be just crispy enough the fat cap crisps up a bit. I forgot what smoker you got but the AMNPS is the best thing ever for cold smoking-
http://www.amazenproducts.com/product_p/amnps5x8.htm

Thats what I use. I pretty much stopped using wood chips now because of it. <Yet I just bought two more bags of wood chips because they were on sale>.

I've had brown sauce from the UK <There's a pub here that was opened by a couple from Ireland. It only recently changed hands to a non Irish owner and if he changes it he'll likely get his skull caved in by angry ExPats LOL>. It's pretty close to what we call Steak Sauce. What is hard for me to find is Malt Vin. Saw it once or twice in my area and when I found it, I went through a bottle in a week basically. Love putting it on any form of potatoes.

PS: I'm actually a first Gen American. My father was from the Scottish Highlands, my mother was Cherokee. I'm adopted, but I looked into my origins a bit. At that Irish pub one night, a Scottish man came in, we started talking. Turns out our Clans intermarried back in the home country, how cool is that for a random meeting? I still talk to him, some times we still meet up for cook outs etc.

 

[Nathanman]

Cool, cherokee and Scottish must make for a mighty temper . I'm glad you've tried proper brown sauce, most Americans I've spoken to have no idea what it is unless they've been to the UK. Malt vinegar is the essential condiment for chips. Pretty much all Brits eat chips with salt and vinegar(always malt). I always use malt vinegar for my mint sauce with lamb too, I don't like sweet mint sauce on lamb. A properly distilled malt vinegar is a store cupboard staple over here.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I put weird condiments on alot of things. I stock bottles of Seaseme oil because I'll add it to any rice, noodle, or tater dish I have. I like the unusual flavour!