Pork Shoulder Help

[AJ328]

I know a full size shoulder takes about ten + hours to cook, but I was wondering how long a half butt, or two each about 6#s would take for pulled pork. 

What internal temp should I be looking for? I've heard 200.

Also, does anyone have any good recipes for a vinegar based bbq sauce for the pork?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[toddmog]

I'm a fan of cooking a little hotter at around 275*

I recently did two butts that were around 8.5-9lbs each.  They took right at 7 hours, however I did foil them when the internal temp hit 160.  I start checking them at an IT of 195*...if the bone wiggles freely and it probes like butter, they are done.  Sometimes that's around 195*, sometimes it's closer to 205*

Pork is really forgiving and pretty hard to mess up.

[1buckie]

  Todd's got you pretty much figured out here......thing I've learned by chance reading is that cutting in half doesn't necessarily cut the cooking time in half......the actual thickness of the piece also determines that, to some extent..........

Around 200f is good, bone wiggles loose, if they're bone-in is also a good indicator.....probe's like you're going to fall thru it is another way to check doneness......see how it's peeling clean off the bone?


Should pop clean..........



260~275 is an OK temp to go.....the pig can take it & you'll get done a bit sooner......it's hard to plan exactly, because even with an exact timing  & measurements, the meat itself may just be a tougher than normal piece to cook.....no way to tell absolutely.....I just estimate, start early & hold them wrapped in foil, an old clean towel, in a dry cooler for 2 hours+/-........

That rest time is the most important thing of all to me.......lets the pig juice level out all thru the piece & the moisture level is much more equal & stays better during serving......


You can foil like Todd says, when the color is where you like or 160, the 'stall' point, where the temp doesn't rise for a time......that will help the cooking move forward better & you're already wrapped for resting......

Check back in if there's more questions & we'll do our best to help.............

[toddmog]

I should also add that when I foil on the pit I use foil pans and cover them.  It does a great job of capturing all the juices.  I separate the fat and add those juices back in when I pull.  After they come off the pit, they come out of the pan and get double wrapped tightly in foil and then wrapped in towels and into the cooler like 1buckie said.

I know there are 100's of opinions of foil vs no foil.  In my experience it helps get through the stall faster.  Part of the fun is experimenting and finding what works best for you.  I'll be throwing 28lbs of butts on the UDS on Thursday...it has a Weber lid, if that counts.    I got voluntold that I was cooking for our 4th festivities.

[1buckie]

 As far as NC vinegar sauce.....it usually needs to steep for a number of days.....the simplest one I've ever heard was regular vinegar, a load of red pepper flakes & white sugar, in a proportion that will cut the vinegar taste back, so it needs to be taste tested as it stews.....
When done, you can put it in a screw cap container,with cheesecloth over the opening, but under the lid so it filters out the flakes if you'd like......


Eastern NC, see here:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/eastern-north-carolina-bbq-sauce/

Western No. Carolina sauce is different yet again......

See Here:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/western-north-carolina-vinegar-barbeque-sauce/



Here's another that's a bit different & maybe not quite as tangy:

http://noblepig.com/2010/01/east-carolina-barbeque-sauce-for-pulled-pork/

[mirkwood]

Hi AJ, here is a response I gave on another post,
"The last Boston Meat Hunk (10 pounder) I did I took to an internal temp of 225 if I remember correctly and it was
the most tender and moist chunk of pig I have cooked. Wrapped it in foil and a towel and let the temp drop on
it's own to 140ish and pulled it apart. Then slapped some on Hawaiian Kings bread sandwich roll with some
slaw dressed lightly with mayo and dijon mustard with a splash of apple cider vinegar on top of that warm
pulled porkiness..  SOOO GOOD. "

And here is a sauce I found elsewhere and is good as is but is a killer base to start with and tweak to your tastes.
No. 5 Sauce

1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoon rub

Opional but v. good: 1/4 cup meat drippings
(whats left in the foil after the rest)

Simmer to marry the flavors and thicken as desired.
The thing about this sauce is, it will taste good right after you make it, but wait till
the next day and it takes on a whole different character.

[ItsJess]

Hi AJ, here is a response I gave on another post,
"The last Boston Meat Hunk (10 pounder) I did I took to an internal temp of 225 if I remember correctly and it was
the most tender and moist chunk of pig I have cooked. Wrapped it in foil and a towel and let the temp drop on
it's own to 140ish and pulled it apart. Then slapped some on Hawaiian Kings bread sandwich roll with some
slaw dressed lightly with mayo and dijon mustard with a splash of apple cider vinegar on top of that warm
pulled porkiness..  SOOO GOOD. "

And here is a sauce I found elsewhere and is good as is but is a killer base to start with and tweak to your tastes.
No. 5 Sauce

1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoon rub

Opional but v. good: 1/4 cup meat drippings
(whats left in the foil after the rest)

Simmer to marry the flavors and thicken as desired.
The thing about this sauce is, it will taste good right after you make it, but wait till
the next day and it takes on a whole different character.

To piggy back off that recipe above, I didn't know what to do and there were at least 7 recipes I read. I sort of married what sounded good from each. Halved the ketchup and replaced with yellow mustard. Added 2 cloves of minced garlic (I use the jar junk but it works), cayenne pepper, a little salt, black pepper and simmer for a bit. It was pretty awesome and better the next day. In fact, I made too much even for my 8 # butt and now I just keep it on hand. It should be fine for a while considering there is vinegar. I could be wrong.

I am a big fan of the foil method. My first two butts I did weren't foiled. I had no idea about the stall and it took way too long to cook the butts. I was always confused about what happened and kept adding coals. Now I understand smoking a little more (not much) and I foil at around 160. I take off at 195, if it is not allowing the probe to fly through like butter I wait until 200. I usually remove at that point without issue.

[AJ328]

Thanks so much for all the pointers, pics and recipes. I tried out all the sauces, I have them lined up in squeeze bottles, can't say which I like best, but I can say that all of them really change and mellow after sitting a few days.

Unfortunately I sprained my ankle really badly and postponed the cook until next weekend. Anyone know how frozen butts fair? Typically any frozen meat will lose moisture, I'm just wondering if in a low and slow cook this could be detrimental.

Thanks again.

[toddmog]

Your butts will be fine frozen.  I usually buy twin packs in cryovac and freeze them until needed.  One of the butts I did this weekend was from Nov. 2013 and wasn't even in cryovac, just shrink wrapped on the foam plate from the butcher.  You couldn't tell it from the other two that were fresh from the case at Sam's.

[AJ328]

thanks, that's good to know.

[teerhardy]

What is this stall you speak of?


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[MartyG]

The mystery of the ages. I'm sure there's science behind the effect, but somewhere around 160 (YMMV) a shoulder will enter a state of suspended animation - refusing to budge temp-wise for 3 or 4 hours. Patience is required here as the temps will eventually rise again, but not until you feel like you should crank up the heat or wrap it in foil (Texas crutch) and throw it in the oven. The one I did on Thursday eventually came up to my target of 200, but only after it sat at 165-170 for most of the afternoon and early evening. Once it had enough of it's little vacation it came up to temp pretty quickly.

Like I said, your mileage may vary...

[teerhardy]

Good to know. I thought it referred to a stall in the charcoal.


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[OoPEZoO]

Here is a good example of a butt hitting the stall.  Sorry its kind of hard to read the numbers on the graph.  Its tough to do a JPEG of a PDF and keep it legible.
The red line is the grate temp in the WSM......it was between 220-250 for the duration of the cook
The white line in a probe in the pork butt....... it got up to 165ish rather quickly (within 3 hours), then it held in "the stall" for almost 7 hours, then climbed and finished in another 2.5-3 hours.



Its interesting stuff.  Its a little different with every cook, but it always happens to some extent.  The only time I really didn't see a stall was when I had 20+lbs of pork butt on the smoker.  That time, the temperature rise was a much slower/gradual rise in internal temps.  The slope of that line never really changed until the meat was almost done.  I don't know if it was an oddball thing or if it was related to the amount of meat I had in the smoker.  Only way to know for sure is to cook more pork 

[mike.stavlund]

'The stall' used to stress me out, but now I start my butts the night before and just sleep through it.  I am much happier this way.