The Pulled Pork Thread

[Moliere]

OK, I need some hugs and reassurance.

I purchased my pork shoulder at the Co.....2 cuts for a total of 14 lbs. Going to smoke 'em both.

Reading through this thread again has made me nervous. Some are saying that it usually takes them 12-14 hours, others are saying around 9 hours. That is a big difference, especially if you have to add oven time on top of that. I plan on doing 225 from start to finish. I want to eat around 4:30PM.

I was thinking of starting at 4AM, removing it around 1PM at 195, and then oven for 3 or so hours. If it really takes 12-14 hours to get up to 195, I need to start at around midnight, but im nervous....what if i start at midnight and the thing hits 195 by 10AM? do i want it sitting in the oven for 6.5 hours?

Also, how much does rain affect the smoke process? Do you guys smoke in the rain? I think it is supposed to stop raining later today.

Costco shoulders are boneless, so they tend to cook faster. My 12-14 hour cooks were for large, bone-in butts. You should be fine starting at 4am.

Why would you put it in the oven after it reaches temp (which for me is more around 200 degrees)? Is the oven turned on when you do this?

[TripletDaddy]

Costco shoulders are boneless, so they tend to cook faster. My 12-14 hour cooks were for large, bone-in butts. You should be fine starting at 4am.

Why would you put it in the oven after it reaches temp (which for me is more around 200 degrees)? Is the oven turned on when you do this?

Yes. In lieu of FTC, I will oven at 170 until it is time to eat.

Also, thanks for the clarification. Bone-in makes more sense, as you and others had indicated that they take longer. I was getting nervous.

[Moliere]

Yes. In lieu of FTC, I will oven at 170 until it is time to eat.

Also, thanks for the clarification. Bone-in makes more sense, as you and others had indicated that they take longer. I was getting nervous.

Gotcha!

Getting nervous as that's the best way to screw up BBQ so stay settled down.

When I say that I cooked big pork butts, I mean 10 pounders (I once smoked a 13lb brisket ). I assume the Costco ones are smaller than that since the ones at my Costco are around 14 pounds for two butts.

Here's a good briefer on pork butts. I've read this a number of times and I use this method, with some tweaks, in my bullet.

[Coach McGuirk]

Costco shoulders are boneless, so they tend to cook faster. My 12-14 hour cooks were for large, bone-in butts. You should be fine starting at 4am.

Why would you put it in the oven after it reaches temp (which for me is more around 200 degrees)? Is the oven turned on when you do this?

Everything I have read says that Bone in will take longer until reaching 140˚ but after that the bone actually speeds the cook process up. I guess that is not your experience?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Everything I have read says that Bone in will take longer until reaching 140˚ but after that the bone actually speeds the cook process up. I guess that is not your experience?

Interesting. That hasn't been my experience. But I still consider myself a noob at this.

[Coach McGuirk]

Interesting. That hasn't been my experience. But I still consider myself a noob at this.

I certainly am a noob. That is why I was wondering.

[Shaka]

If you scroll back to my experience you will note that my pulled pork cooked much faster than I expected. if you put it in at four I'd check it at eight just to be careful.


Post pics this time. Also why are you ditching the mop?

[TripletDaddy]

You are all noobs. You arent smoking butts. You are smoking shoulders. The "butts" referred to the old barrels that were used to store the pig parts when it was carved up.

I've had my smoker for one week. Recognize.

[Moliere]

Everything I have read says that Bone in will take longer until reaching 140˚ but after that the bone actually speeds the cook process up. I guess that is not your experience?

To be honest, I've only cooked two boneless butts (at the same time). I prefer bone-in since that's what the store sells where I get my meat (which is a high quality meat place). I only cooked bone-in when I bought them from Costco, but they certainly did cook faster. Bones don't transfer heat well, which is the theory as to why it takes longer.

Post pics this time. Also why are you ditching the mop?

Gotta mop the butt and you gotta do it with a real BBQ mop.

You are all noobs. You arent smoking butts. You are smoking shoulders. The "butts" referred to the old barrels that were used to store the pig parts when it was carved up.

I've had my smoker outdoor oven for one week. Recognize.

FIFY

[TripletDaddy]

For the first time in a long time, I'm really happy to be wide awake at 4am.

My shoulders are on the smoker. I am smoking two of them at 225, one with Butt Rub and one with homemade Rub.

I decided to pull out all the stops today, as we are having all of MMMs family...should be around 10-12 adults and 10 kids. I'm also going to try my hand at some ABTs and some MOINK balls. Both look really good and both look relatively simple, plus it never hurts to have apps at a gathering of so many people.

Also, why is this so exciting? I love food and I really enjoy cooking, but this is like Xmas for me. I guess it is fun having a new toy. Does it get old after awhile? I hope not.

[TripletDaddy]

Update #1: shoulders have been smoking since 4:30 @225. 3.5 hours in and #1 is 136 and #2 is 167. Wild temp swing. They are only a few inches apart on the smoker so I doubt that temp differences are that disparate inside the smoker. I wonder if something is up with my Maverick probes.

Is it anathema to remove them and reinsert? I want to recalibrate.

Also, I just threw on some jalapeno sausage to smoke for a couple of hours before I start Drunk Tank baked beans.

The shoulders look and smell delicious.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

For me it is exciting because I feel like it is something I enjoy and am good at. (Good being relative of course) many things that I enjoy doing, golf, bball, posting, betting on sports, life, etc. I'm pretty awful at.

Good luck, I'm sure it'll be fantastic. If you want me and the boys to come over and compare just shoot me directions.

[CJF]

Update #1: shoulders have been smoking since 4:30 @225. 3.5 hours in and #1 is 136 and #2 is 167. Wild temp swing. They are only a few inches apart on the smoker so I doubt that temp differences are that disparate inside the smoker. I wonder if something is up with my Maverick probes.

Is it anathema to remove them and reinsert? I want to recalibrate.

Also, I just threw on some jalapeno sausage to smoke for a couple of hours before I start Drunk Tank baked beans.

The shoulders look and smell delicious.

I would rereposition the probe. You should be fine moving the probe a time or two. The less the better, but you need to make sure you have a good reading so I almost alway do two probe checks regardless.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I would rereposition the probe. You should be fine moving the probe a time or two. The less the better, but you need to make sure you have a good reading so I almost alway do two probe checks regardless.

I agree. You may have one of them in a fat seam or something. They shouldn't be that much different. This is also where the Thermapen comes in handy.

[TripletDaddy]

So just to clarify, after 4 hrs in, which temp seems inaccurate? the high or the low?