Reheating ribs or pulled pork?

bozer · August 10, 2012, 11:16:05 AM

I trimmed some fat and poured molasses and butt rub all over it, then saran wrapped and into the fridge. I plan to begin smoking tonight.

I have never heard about cutting off the rind before. I had to google that. Is it bad that I didn't do that?

Ka Honu · August 10, 2012, 12:41:31 PM

The rind will block some of the smoke from that portion of the shoulder and might slow the cook down a bit. I prefer to remove it and make chicharrónes.

Habanero Smoker · August 10, 2012, 01:14:10 PM

The names are often confusing because different areas and different stores use different labels for the same cut of meat. In my area, a Boston butt is sometimes labeled as a bone-in pork shoulder. So I believe you have a butt. To quickly tell the difference, check the bone. If it is circular then it comes from the lower part of the shoulder, and it is often called a picnic shoulder. If the bone is more of a flat type of bone and looks like a shoulder blade it comes from the upper portion of the shoulder, and you have the butt section.

If you see both types of bones, then you have the whole shoulder. :)

bozer · August 10, 2012, 01:49:36 PM

Hopefully my last question. If I FTC this thing all day long until when its time to eat, maybe 8 hours later, will that ruin it at all? Im planning on FTC then heating it up only if need be.

Consooger · August 10, 2012, 02:00:32 PM

I wouldn't FTC for that long, I would set it in a crock pot or something wrap saran wrap over the lid and set it in the fridge, add juice and turn on low about 1.5 hours before time to eat.

John

Ka Honu · August 10, 2012, 02:05:43 PM

Quote from: Habanero Smoker on August 10, 2012, 01:14:10 PM... To quickly tell the difference, check the bone... circular ... flat type...

For "circular," think of the bone in a ham or your upper arm. The picnic (or whatever it's called where you live) will generally have some of the rind (skin) covering the narrow end.

For "flat bone," think of the "7-bone" in a beef chuck roast or your shoulder blade. This cut is normally what most of us refer to as a bone-in butt.

I don't FTC for more than 3-4 hours because I don't want the meat to get cool enough to be back in "the danger zone." I'm a known coward.

bozer · August 10, 2012, 05:40:09 PM

I won't have a fridge as I'm going to a picnic. I will FTC for 3-4 hours. After that what should I do? I'll probably have another 2-3 hours to go before I can eat it. No fridge, am I screwed?

Any suggestions? I could put it in a cooler with ice? Would it be best to not pull it until I reheat it? Pull it, then reheat it?

bozer · August 13, 2012, 06:54:54 AM

Well,, Everytime I do this I learn something. Then I post my findings here so I can look at this the next time I make pulled pork.

This time, with a 6.5 lb pork butt I cooked it from 7PM until about 7AM all night in the Bradley. I used 4 hours of maple smoke. Coated it first with molasses and rub for 24 hours. I swapped the bowl out after 4 hours of smoke with a big pan.

The shoulder came out very juicy, almost wet. The cook itself came out fantastic. The problem I had is it didn't taste like much smoke or rub. I think what I need to do next time is cut more of the fat off of it. I probably lost a lot of flavor by removing the fat and skin.

Thanks everyone for your help with my dumbass questions!