New found love for pork shoulder

[degenerazn]

A friend told me he was throwing a potluck and asked what I'd like to bring.  I figured something cheap and easy to cook.  Pulled pork sandwiches.  This was my first time doing pork so I anxious to see how it will turn out.  Man, this is by far the best thing I've ever made.  About 22 hours of cooking and it came out near perfect.  Didn't even need to put any effort into pulling the meat apart.

30lbs of pork


4 hours of apple smoke


Results


About 3% of the total pork


Needless to say I made way too much and ended up giving away about 3/4 of it.  My friends were very grateful.  
One thing that didn't turn out was that there was only a hint of smokey flavor.  Is it because I used apple or because I had so much meat in there at once?

[Tenpoint5]

If I had to guess I would say it was the apple. Which is a mild flavor Pecan, Hickory or Mesquite go better with pork.IMHO

[Hopefull Romantic]

I second what 10.5 said.

HR

[FLBentRider]

I would also add that it looks like you had a very full smoker.

Were the tops of the roasts touching the racks above them ?

That does not leave a lot of surface area for smoke.

[mikecorn.1]

Ditto here, I find that apple is not (to me) the way to go with a butt. Smoke floavor is not really there. Try using like 10.5 said, pecan, mesquite or hickory. I have started using pecan the last few times on some chicken and have had a great more deal of smoke flavor.

[Hopefull Romantic]

I am beginning to lean towards WTS's religion: Mesquite and nothing else.

HR

[Caneyscud]

As others have said, the apple certainly contributed and mesquite, hickory, pecan can certainly help as they produce stronger flavored smokes.  Also just letting the pulled meat sit there can help distribute the smoke flavor throughout the pan.  However, the biggest "culprit" is the thickness of the butts.  No matter what you may have heard from smokeheads, smoke really does not penetrate the meat very far if at all - especially hot smoked meats.  And no, a smoke ring is NOT, let me repeat that, not an indication that smoke has penetrated the meat - it is the result of more of a curing process that happens with combustion byproducts.  Most smoke flavor comes from about 20 phenols (including creosote), Guaiacol is the phenolic compound most responsible for the "smokey" taste.  Most smoke flavor is deposited on the surface of the meat, fat, or salt and spices.  Don't get me wrong, there is "some" smoke penetration, but not the 2 to 3 inches or more required to reach the inner sanctum of a large pork butt.  There is some evidence that moving meat juices, melted fats, and dissolved collagen does pull some smoke flavor into the meat. 

Think about it - people love ribs!  Why?  I'd say a large part of the reason is that there is a much higher ratio of surface to mass of meat.  Each bite of a rib you take contains a large portion of the outside - with all the spices, rubs, sauce, smoke flavor, etc...  Who wouldn't like a rib?  You take a bite of butt that comes from 2" below the surface and guess what - no bark, no rub, no sauce, no smoke flavor - it tastes good but it tastes like cooked pork not smoked ribs.  That's probably the reason pulled or chopped bbq was "invented" - so you can mix the bark with all its flavor with the rest of the meat to distribute the smoked flavor.  The bigger the piece of meat the more important you get a good strong smoke flavor so it will distribute throughout after you pull and/or chop it.  You can also mix the juices you might collect in with the meat - they usually contain a lot of flavor. 

Brisket is my favorite "big" meat I like to bbq.  It's relative thinness means there is a higher surface to mass ratio thereby, hopefully ensuring a greater smoked flavor per bite. 

[FLBentRider]

I am beginning to lean towards WTS's religion: Mesquite and nothing else.

HR

Whoa.... he's headed to the "Dark Side"

IMHO, mesquite has it's place - on brisket - but there is definitely room for Hickory on a pork butt!

[KyNola]

YOU GAVE AWAY 20 POUNDS OF PULLED PORK?! :o :o  Dude, is you crazy?! :D  I'll bet your friends were very happy.  Just teasing you.  I normally give away the majority of what I smoke too.  When pulled pork is involved I always vac seal some in 1/2 to 1 pound packages and put in the freezer for future eating.  I actually find that meat to be smokier sometimes than the "just out of the smoker" meat.  Did you have time to wrap those butts in foil and let them rest for a while?  I find that sometimes aids in the smoke penetrating the meat better.  

Sounds like you were the hit of the party and rightfully so.  As for the smokiness, I have used apple on butts before and found it enjoyable.  My first choice will always be hickory as I am from Kentucky after all.  My guess is that the mass of meat in the smoker may very well have had something to do with it and the total quantity you had.  But no matter.  Everyone loved it.  That's all that counts!

Congrats my friend!
KyNola

[squirtthecat]

I've done a couple butts now 1/2 Apple and 1/2 Hickory.  Just the right amount of both flavors, I think. (I find 100% Hickory a bit strong, but that is a matter of taste)

[Wildcat]

Most of my smokes are butts. I love smoke flavor and so far I have not found any smoke to be too strong - too harsh perhaps for the flesh involved but never too strong. I normally like apple on butts. It has a nice mild flavor, and can be as strong as you want it. I apply 4 hours of smoke. After the butt is done, I wrap and let it rest and cool. I then take out whatever excess fat is left, pull, and mix all the bark and meat together. I now finely chop the bark for mixing thanks to a suggestion by another member (Habs I think). Then I vac seal in whatever portions I want. I will freeze some and simply put some in the frig for dinner the next day. I then simply reheat. This method will allow the smoke flavor to permeate throughout the meat. 

[degenerazn]

There are a couple reasons why I cooked the pork the way I did.

I followed a recipe I found online that told me to use Apple or some kinda mild flavor wood.
And, now that I'm back in school, I rarely have anytime to smoke anymore and so when I do, I usually go all out.
Nevertheless, the pork was delicious.  Next time I'll know to cut down the amount of meat smoked at once and use a heavier smoke wood.

Great advice guys, I'm still learning, this was my 3rd time smoking meat.

[FLBentRider]

Next time I'll know to cut down the amount of meat smoked at once and use a heavier smoke wood.

I cook that much almost every time I do butts. It's just that you have to be creative when you put the meat in the smoker.

I do them like this:


That is after 4 hours of Hickory.

[OU812]

Nice batch of pork you did there.

It dont look like you had to much in the smoker to me

Maybe it was the apple being a light flavored smoke

Pecan is the wood of choice when i do pork