# Newbie wants to try an 11 lb boneless pork shoulder



## vayank5150 (Jan 30, 2013)

I picked up an 11 lb boneless pork shoulder at Costco and would like to try to smoke it this weekend.  I am a newbie with only two prior smokes under my belt and I have been reading SO much on the Internet about smoking, that I think I have confused myself at this point.  I read somewhere that you should brine the shoulder for a few days before smoking?  Then, I read somewhere else that you don't.  I read somewhere that you apply rub, and elsewhere that you don't. Should I inject it first?  I also read that pork shoulder tends to be one of the more forgiving meats to smoke and based on the lackluster performances of my first two smokes, this seems like a good option.  Can anyone provide an _*idiot proof*_ method for smoking this boneless shoulder for me and have it taste really good and tender?  I am only feeding my wife and daughter, but I still want it to come out right.  I have a Master Forge el cheapo charcoal smoker, which I have added the "Brinkmann" modifications to.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## danbono (Jan 30, 2013)

Hi I smoked a few shoulders, they are NO problem. I just rub and cook/smoke. I usually only smoke for 2-3 hrs with apple or cherry, temps at 250/275, then wait for the bone to pulled out. Seeing yours is a boneless cook till 200* for pulling, 180* for slicing.Good luck the shoulder will come out good, regardless.

Dan


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## maple sticks (Jan 30, 2013)

You want simple? Cut most the fat from shoulder. Salt Pepper and some garlic. Put on grill after you put a limited supple of lit coals in smoker. The easiest way to control temp is a small fire. Much easier to add a few coals than wait for fire to die down. Try to keep temp at 225-250 area and have lots of time. Meat center temp will go into a stall around 150-175 area and may even cool back down. Don't worry it will eventually start to clime after several hours. When internal temp reaches 200 area remove and cover with foil and wait 30 min. If you cut to soon you will lose most juices. When checking temp stay away from bone.

If you want to power through stall wrap shoulder in foil about 160 and it will finish faster.


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## themidniteryder (Jan 30, 2013)

Go take a look at my latest pork butt q-view: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/135391/pulled-pork-home-run-now-with-video-q-view#post_926620 There are videos of each step that might be helpful to you and once you see the pull, you will see why I do what I do with it. And it was cooked on an el cheapo Brinkman Smokin pit SFB for 11 hours. A 11 lb'er would take closer to 14-15 hours, depending on cook temp. An accurate temp probe is a must. Run it through a potato and set it on the grate to monitor cook temps.


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## pgsmoker64 (Jan 30, 2013)

Hello VA Yank!

Here is the thing about BBQ - there are different methods and opinions about how to cook, whether to rub or brine, what wood to smoke with, etc.  It all boils down to personal preference and experience.  Lots of us are willing to give you advice on this based on our experience.

My advice, just decide what you like best and go with it.  I personally use a rub prior to smoking and do not inject and my pork comes out tender and juicy every time.  I smoke at 225 with a 50/50 mixture of hickory and cherry woods (my preference) but you could use whatever you like.  Make sure you monitor the internal temperature of the butt.  If you want to slice or mince cook to about 185-190 if you want pulled pork cook to 195-200 internal temperature and you can't go wrong.  You should figure on about 2 hours per pound at 225 - at 11 pounds that's about 22 hours and would yield about 8 pounds of BBQ.  You might consider cutting in half, cooking one half and freezing the other if you are cooking for only three people.

Do what feels right to YOU, but be sure to post plenty of Q-view.

BTW - I'm across the river from you in Prince George County!  Send me a PM and I'll give you my phone number in case you have an emergency you can give me a call.

Good luck and get smokin'

Bill


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## themidniteryder (Jan 30, 2013)

I should of clarified I was cooking above 225 to get it done in the time specified.


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## big griz (Jan 30, 2013)

> BTW - I'm across the river from you in Prince George County!  Send me a PM and I'll give you my phone number in case you have an emergency you can give me a call.


VaYank...that's a pretty nice offer.  You gotta love the help you get from this forum.


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## smokinclt (Jan 30, 2013)

VaYank.. What they said. I do these all the time from costco. Great price and great cut with loads of meat. Did these on Sunday and still eating pulled pork. Use the wood you enjoy, cook low and slow 225 - 240 for me, and I apply yellow mustard (just gets the rub to stick and you will never even know it was there) then a rub the night before. Take it out of the fridge an hour before the cook starts (get your cooker set first - food safety with pork is critical) and have plenty of beer and time. 

I was using a chargriller duo... Now a Lang 60 (yep off the deep end) and although the results are better on the lang and I don't have to spend every waking minute with dampers and fire, the end results are pretty much the same (well kinda
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






). 

Lastly I would wait for 203 - 205 before pulling for the rest. You will find that it pulls much easier at that temp and is like butter. Oh and get yourself some gloves (I use black knight) to hold on to the meat with and some claws or rakes to pull with forks are a pain...


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## lnmnmarty (Jan 30, 2013)

Pork butt is pretty easy to que. The biggest thing is fire control. Keep your pit temp steady. 225-275 will work. I'd keep it simple for the first time. If you have the ingredients buy jeff's rub recipe. It is as good as any store bought rub, and you will save a lot of money in the long run by making your own. You can lay it on pretty thick on a butt. Salt, pepper and garlic is fine also. I wouldn't bother with mustard, but thats just me. I cant tell the difference. Just season one side and let it sit for a couple minutes before turning it over and doing the other side. Juice from the meat will soak up the rub and it will stick. 

I tried for years to not be a foiler, but I have been doing it lately and think it is the way to go. Less bark but more moisture. It seems to cook a little faster. As far as when it is done, if you dont have a good meat temp probe stick a fork in it and twist. If it turns easy its ready. You'll learn just how you like it after you do one. I tend to like mine a little less done than some. Pork butt will take a lot of smoke. 

I didn't plan to be so long winded. My advice is keep it simple the first time. Brines, injections and fancy rubs can get too confusing for a beginner. I still dont do them.You need to concentrate on pit temp and good quality smoke. Get that right and the meat will speak for itself. Get ready for some good eats. Relax and have fun with it. Oh, did I mention you need a lot of adult beverages


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## vayank5150 (Jan 31, 2013)

Thank you ALL for your replies.  And yes, this place is awesome for support and help.  I am really getting into this "hobby" and I feel very fortunate to have found this site.  My biggest concern now is my modified smoker.  I smoked a whole chicken last weekend and had to constantly watch the temps on my Maverick (awesome tool by the way).  I may have been overreacting, but it felt like I was constantly adjusting the dampers I installed on the bottom of the smoker to try to stay within the 280 deg f range.  Having said this, I am concerned that my particular smoker may not be able to do a low temp like you guys are suggesting.  This is only my third try, and it is frustrating to screw up perfectly good meat.


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## maple sticks (Jan 31, 2013)

VaYank5150 said:


> Thank you ALL for your replies.  And yes, this place is awesome for support and help.  I am really getting into this "hobby" and I feel very fortunate to have found this site.  My biggest concern now is my modified smoker.  I smoked a whole chicken last weekend and had to constantly watch the temps on my Maverick (awesome tool by the way).  I may have been overreacting, but it felt like I was constantly adjusting the dampers I installed on the bottom of the smoker to try to stay within the 280 deg f range.  Having said this, I am concerned that my particular smoker may not be able to do a low temp like you guys are suggesting.  This is only my third try, and it is frustrating to screw up perfectly good meat.


If your constantly dialing it in chances are your fire is a little to hot. Just guessing but try less fuel. Easier to let a small fire burn hot than hold a big fire down.


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## vayank5150 (Jan 31, 2013)

That actually makes a ton of sense.  It was only my second smoke, and my first attempt with lump charcoal and trying the minion method.  It is entirely possible that I overloaded on charcoal?  How much lump would you start out with for this shoulder?  I guess it is going to take somewhere between 11 and 14 hours to smoke.  One full chimney?  Half a chimney?


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## helljack6 (Jan 31, 2013)

VaYank5150 said:


> Thank you ALL for your replies.  And yes, this place is awesome for support and help.  I am really getting into this "hobby" and I feel very fortunate to have found this site.  My biggest concern now is my modified smoker.  I smoked a whole chicken last weekend and had to constantly watch the temps on my Maverick (awesome tool by the way).  I may have been overreacting, but it felt like I was constantly adjusting the dampers I installed on the bottom of the smoker to try to stay within the 280 deg f range.  Having said this, I am concerned that my particular smoker may not be able to do a low temp like you guys are suggesting.  This is only my third try, and it is frustrating to screw up perfectly good meat.


Sounds like you suffering from digital temperatures paranoia. Something you'll get used to using a digi-therm. Digi-therms are HIGHLY sensitive and register even the slightest deviation in temperature. The thing is, as long as you're "in the zone" so to speak, you're smoking. Don't worry if your smoker jumps up to 280 for 10 minutes or so because it's going to come back down and only happened probably because a new coal was catching fire. The fire can only burn as hot as allowed based on current fuel supply and the constantly regulated amount of air in the firebox.

Also, when you're running your dampers, make the change and walk away, give it 10-20 minutes for that change to take affect either positively or negatively. Most importantly, learn your smoker. Some smokers just seem to "enjoy" running smoother at different temperatures than 225 or 250. Me personally, I have a couple UDS drum smokers with a single 1inch intake that once I get to my target temp, I put the lid/exhaust on it and they chug along at my target temp until there's no fuel left (usually about 18-20 hours at 210-220), others are more finicky and run better around 270. I even have one that doesn't like to stay constant unless it's around the 325 range so I use it for hot and fast 4.5hr briskets when I need them. Each smoker is different. It's something that comes with time and practice.

A suggestion to help you learn your smoker is load it up with fuel, fire it and let it roll empty. Work on getting and maintaining your target temp for long periods (not including wind factor or other weather situations). Once you have it down, you're good. Remember, when you put cold meat for smoking into an already fired smoker, your internal temp WILL drop and stay down for a bit as the meat starts to come up to temp. It's nothing to worry about, it's a normal part of smoking. Hope this helps.


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## mdboatbum (Jan 31, 2013)

VaYank5150 said:


> That actually makes a ton of sense.  It was only my second smoke, and my first attempt with lump charcoal and trying the minion method.  It is entirely possible that I overloaded on charcoal?  How much lump would you start out with for this shoulder?  I guess it is going to take somewhere between 11 and 14 hours to smoke.  One full chimney?  Half a chimney?


Lump can be a little tricky for low and slow. It tends to burn a little hotter and more "willingly" than briquettes. If you're married to low and slow and want to use lump, just fill your water pan with water, and start with maybe a quarter chimney of lit lump on top of a full coal pan. If you switch to briquettes, use 10 lit ones on top of a full pan. The full water pan will let you keep your temps down easier. You can also use sand.

HOWEVER....Given that you already have the lump, and dealing with a water pan is a pain in the butt (sorry, couldn't resist), if it were me, I'd just go with an empty pan and use the lump, as well as 3 or 4 chunks of smoke wood. Use the minion method and once your temp hits 200˚ shut your vents down so you just have one maybe a quarter inch open. The temp will continue to rise, but it's ok. See if you can get it to stabilize in the upper 200's. Let it ride until you get to an IT of 150˚. This should happen in well under 4 hours. And by the way, your meat will have taken on PLENTY of smoke flavor, trust me. Once you hit 150˚, take it out of the smoker and put it in a pan with about a cup of braising liquid. I usually use half cider vinegar and half apple juice with some rub added in for flavor in my finishing sauce. Insert your Maverick probe, then cover the pan TIGHTLY with foil, and put it in the oven at 275˚. Set your temp alarm for 190˚, make a drink, and RELAX. Once it hits 190˚, check for tenderness by poking at it with a toothpick or skewer. When it's ready, it should probe with little to no resistance. It might be ready at 190˚, or it might take 200˚, or even 205˚. I'd check every half hour once it hits 190˚. Once it's tender, pull it out, wrap tightly in foil and put in a cooler with old towels on top, or in a 200˚ oven. SAVE THE JUICE!!! You'll wanna put the juice in a bowl and let it sit on the counter until the fat separates, about 15 minutes is usually enough. If you have a fat separator, use it to pour off the juice. If you don't, once the fat has separated, put the bowl in the freezer for an hour or so until the fat hardens on top. Remove the fat and discard or save for something else. Put the defatted juice in a skillet and reduce over medium high heat until it's a thick syrup. Then kill the heat and add cider vinegar, brown sugar and pepper flakes to make your finishing sauce. Look up a recipe on here for the proper ratios. Your pork should have had an hour or 2 of rest by this point, so unwrap it, pull it, add your sauce and ENJOY!!

This is your first pulled pork and you want results. No sense in sitting up all night with a balky smoker if you can get the same product in half the time, with none of the stress. Once you're comfortable with your smoker and the process, by all means go "old school" and do the Long, low, slow method. I think you'll find there is little if any difference in the eventual sandwich.


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## vayank5150 (Feb 3, 2013)

Mdboatbum, I am taking your advice and will put my shoulder in the oven after IT temp hits 165.  You mentioned adding appe vinegar and apple juice when I put in the oven.  For an 11 lb shoulder, how much do you recommend, and what ratios for the vinegar and juice?  Thank you in advance!


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## vayank5150 (Feb 3, 2013)

Well, the smoke portion is done.  It took right at 5 hours to get the interna temperature up to 150 deg f.  I had to reload the charcoal at about the 3 1/2 hour mark.  Not sure why.  Burning at 225-280 throughout the course of the first load of charcoal, I would think I could have gotten more that 3 1/2 hours worth?


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## vtmecheng (Feb 3, 2013)

How did you end up prepping the shoulder? I'm a fan of brining followed by a rub.  Also, taking it out after a while (I usually go 6 hours) is my go to for a faster or more care free cooking experience.  You won't have the bark but it should come out moist.  Hope it turns out well.


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## vtmecheng (Feb 3, 2013)

Forgot to add, here is an easy to follow recipe from Alton Brown you can try on the next run.  There are also videos where he shows the whole thing.  Only part I don't like is him checking doneness by how it comes off the bone.  Go with internal temp, I like to hit 195 F personally.  Being new here I don't know how others in the forum feel about this recipe but it hasn't let me down with a crowd yet.
[h2]Ingredients[/h2][h3]Brine:[/h3]
8 ounces or 3/4 cup molasses
12 ounces pickling salt
2 quarts bottled water
6 to 8 pound Boston butt
[h3]Rub:[/h3]
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
1 teaspoon whole fennel seed
1 teaspoon whole coriander
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon paprika
[h2]Directions[/h2]
Combine molasses, pickling salt, and water in 6 quart Lexan. Add Boston butt making sure it is completely submerged in brine, cover, and let sit in refrigerator for a minimum of 8 hours. 12 hours is ideal.

Place cumin seed, fennel seed, and coriander in food grinder and grind fine. Transfer to a small mixing bowl and stir in chili powder, onion powder, and paprika.

Remove Boston butt from brine and pat dry. Sift the rub evenly over the shoulder and then pat onto the meat making sure as much of the rub as possible adheres. More rub will adhere to the meat if you are wearing latex gloves during the application.

Preheat smoker to 210 degrees F. Place butt in smoker and cook for 10 to12 hours, maintaining a temperature of 210 degrees F. Begin checking meat for doneness after 10 hours of cooking time. Use fork to check for doneness. Meat is done when it falls apart easily when pulling with a fork. Once done, remove from pot and set aside to rest for at least 1 hour. Pull meat apart with 2 forks and serve as sandwich with coleslaw and dressing as desired.


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## vayank5150 (Feb 3, 2013)

I did not brine this time.  I put on a little yellow mustard. and then rubbed in Jeff's recipe rub.  I wrapped it in cellophane and left it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.


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## vayank5150 (Feb 4, 2013)

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## vayank5150 (Feb 4, 2013)

OK, now some questions.  I put the shoulder on the smoker and it took about 5 hours to get the IT up to 150 deg f.  I pulled it off, braised it and placed it in the oven (per Mdboatbum's directions) at 275 deg f.  It took another two and a half hours to get the IT up to 200 deg f.  I pulled it from the oven, wrapped it in foil and placed it in a cooler with towels on top for another 45 minutes.  When it came time to pull the meat, I noticed a beautiful smoke ring in the meat, but the pulling required much more effort than I anticipated.  This shoulder was NOT fall off the bone or even falling apart.  To use a Myron term, it had a definite tug to it.  Now granted, the meat was moist and the finishing sauce I stole from this website was awesome, but I was a little deflated after 7 1/2 hours of work, I had hoped to have melt in your mouth, fall off the bone type pulled pork.  Any ideas what might have caused it to tighten up?  Did I cook it too long?  Not long enough?  Any ideas would be helpful!


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## vtmecheng (Feb 4, 2013)

So how did it taste? Was it moist?  Looks like you got some good smoke in there.

Good call on the mustard before rub, that's an automatic that I forgot to mention.


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## vtmecheng (Feb 4, 2013)

VaYank5150 said:


> OK, now some questions.  I put the shoulder on the smoker and it took about 5 hours to get the IT up to 150 deg f.  I pulled it off, braised it and placed it in the oven (per Mdboatbum's directions).  It took another two and a half hours to get the IT up to 200 deg f.  I pulled it from the oven, wrapped it in foil and placed it in a cooler with towels on top for another 45 minutes.  When it came time to pull the meat, I noticed a beautiful smoke ring in the meat, but the pulling required much more effort than I anticipated.  This shoulder was NOT fall off the bone or even falling apart.  To use a Myron term, it had a definite tug to it.  Now granted, the meat was moist and the finishing sauce I stole from this website was awesome, but I was a little deflated after 7 1/2 hours of work, I had hoped to have meat inn your mouth, fall off the bone type pulled pork.  Any ideas what might have caused it to tighten up?  Did I cook it too long?  Not long enough?  Any ideas would be helpful!


So you did an 11 lb shoulder in 7.5 hours.  What did you set your oven to? That sounds a little fast and I am thinking your connective tissue didn't break down enough but that's just a guess.  When using the oven to finish I run it at 225 with convection on.  I'm a low and slow guy for pulled pork (well for most things on the smoker) and try to keep that philosophy even when finishing in the oven. I could be way off base here and will be interested to here what other say.


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## maple sticks (Feb 4, 2013)

VaYank5150 said:


> OK, now some questions.  I put the shoulder on the smoker and it took about 5 hours to get the IT up to 150 deg f.  I pulled it off, braised it and placed it in the oven (per Mdboatbum's directions) at 275 deg f.  It took another two and a half hours to get the IT up to 200 deg f.  I pulled it from the oven, wrapped it in foil and placed it in a cooler with towels on top for another 45 minutes.  When it came time to pull the meat, I noticed a beautiful smoke ring in the meat, but the pulling required much more effort than I anticipated.  This shoulder was NOT fall off the bone or even falling apart.  To use a Myron term, it had a definite tug to it.  Now granted, the meat was moist and the finishing sauce I stole from this website was awesome, but I was a little deflated after 7 1/2 hours of work, I had hoped to have melt in your mouth, fall off the bone type pulled pork.  Any ideas what might have caused it to tighten up?  Did I cook it too long?  Not long enough?  Any ideas would be helpful!


Pulling at 200* should be perfect. So my first guess would be are you sure it was 200*. Checking in several spots gives a better reading. Just a couple of guesses.


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## bruno994 (Feb 4, 2013)

Yep, sounds like it just needed more time.  I tend to cook more to feel, not IT.  The IT is a useful number to know during a cook, but when the meat is done, it's done, no matter the IT.  Use the toothpick or probe method for determining done ness.  if a toothpick or probe slides in with little to no resistance it's done.  Also, on bone in butts or shoulders, if the bone easily slides out, it's done. 

Maple Sticks is right also, your probe could have been in a pocket or area of high fat concentration, giving you an inaccurate reading on the IT.


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## vayank5150 (Feb 4, 2013)

I had the oven set at 275, and it is possible that the probe was in a bad location.  Our new oven has a probe built into it and I used convection. I guess I should have probed around a bit more, but then again, my daughter was getting hungry!


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## mdboatbum (Feb 27, 2013)

Mdboatbum said:


> Once it hits 190˚, check for tenderness by poking at it with a toothpick or skewer. *When it's ready, it should probe with little to no resistance*. It might be ready at 190˚, or it might take 200˚, or even 205˚.


Ahem. Just so I'm not accused of giving bad advice. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






I'm just yankin' yer chain a little. In all seriousness, they're all different and will be done when they're done. You probably would have been there in another half hour or so. Your end result looks pretty good, nonetheless. Keep at it, it'll come. By the way, everyone's taste is different. What I might call perfectly done, melt in your mouth tender, someone else might call mush. For a lot of people, you produced the perfect texture. Figure out what you like and how to get it. In this instance, it sounds like you just needed a little more time.


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## vayank5150 (Feb 27, 2013)

No





Mdboatbum said:


> Ahem. Just so I'm not accused of giving bad advice. :biggrin:
> I'm just yankin' yer chain a little. In all seriousness, they're all different and will be done when they're done. You probably would have been there in another half hour or so. Your end result looks pretty good, nonetheless. Keep at it, it'll come. By the way, everyone's taste is different. What I might call perfectly done, melt in your mouth tender, someone else might call mush. For a lot of people, you produced the perfect texture. Figure out what you like and how to get it. In this instance, it sounds like you just needed a little more time.


No blaming from here.  I truly appreciate all of the advice and support I have found here.  Just so you know, I do believe my meat probe was in a bad spot on this first one, as my second turned out pretty awesome if I do say do myself.  Now my recent chuck roast is a different story altogether!


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## mayor mcpork (Mar 7, 2013)

It sounds to me like it cooked to fast. I do about a 15 hour smoke on my 4-5lb pork shoulders, keeping it around 225 degrees the entire time (and no crutch). Then an hour or so in the cooler. Your meat was not fall-off-the-bone because all of the connective tissue did not have time to melt. Especially for an 11lb butt, I think that you need to slow it down. Low and slow.


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