2 Pork Shoulders for the weekend

[DonOtt]

2 shoulders going in tomorrow, going to use Hickory, maybe Apple I think.

After smoke is finished, also thinking of switching water for Apple Juice.

Going for an internal temp of 170 - 180.

Thoughts?

[tailfeathers]

What temperature are you going to cook at? IT of 170-180 MAY be high enough if you cook at a fairly low temp, 205 or so. If you cook at a higher temp chances are you will also need a higher IT before the butts are done. Most will use the fork test rather than a specific IT to ensure doneness. Stick a meat fork into the butt and twist, if it twists readily it is ready to remove. Some (myself included) will then FTC for a couple hours before shredding the meat into pulled pork. If you aren't familiar, FTC is foil, towel, cooler.
Seal the meat in foil, then wrap in an old towel, then into the smallest cooler that will hold the meat. I also put newspaper over the towels before closing the cooler. Let us know how it turns out, pictures are always appreciated!

[Habanero Smoker]

An internal temperature of 170°F, may be a little low if you want to pull the meat, but it depends on the butt. As I outlined in a previous post taking your butt to 175°F - 180°F to pull, can be done, you just have to know the technique. First trim the fat cap to about 1/8" thick. If you leave too much on, you will be discarding a lot of bark. Keep your cabinet temperature at 200°F. When the internal temperature hits 175°F, slowly move your probe in and out. If the temperature drops, leave the probe there and continue cooking. When the internal temperature is 175°F, use a fork; insert it into the thickness part of the butt and twist. If it twist easily, it is ready to pull, if you receive resistance continue to cook, and check 3 - 5 degrees later. When pulling you may need to discard pockets of fat. At this temperature I find the texture of the meat to be much better. Also if you shave of the bark, chop it up and mix it in with the pulled pork, the flavors are better distributed.

[DonOtt]

Great info, thanks guys.

So, the fat cap gets trimmed before it goes in the smoker?

[DonOtt]

what to do, what to do.

5 hours in and stalled at 149 internal, 198 external

[River Rat]

Have a beer and wait. It will get there.

[tailfeathers]

At five hours in you probably have a long way to go. The last two butts I did took most of 24 hrs.

[DonOtt]

10 1/2 hours and we're at 169.....10 minutes later, 171

[Brassarj]

It gets done when it gets done :)

I always give that to the fam no matter how many times they ask for a dinner time


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