Help with Boneless Pork Shoulder

[nsxbill]

Yesterday at Costco, went looking for a couple of briskets.  Told they didn't carry.  Since second choice was Pork, I asked if they had pork butt.  Told they had shoulder in back, so I picked up a 12.5 boneless Pork shoulder for $1.49 a pound.  I have some questions that my good experienced Bradley friends could help me with.

Should I cut it in half?

Thought I would try John Willingham's Rub (make my own).   Rub then saran in refrigerator for 48 hours?  

Do I remove any fat on the surface of the shoulder, or when smoking, leave fat side up?

Plan on using bacon on top rack to drip down.

Thought I might inject the roast with different sauce if I end up cutting in half....maybe hot in one, and not so hot in the other side.  What do you recommend?

Thanks,

Bill

[BigSmoker]

Bill,
I think I would cut it in half or it may take a looooooong time to smoke.  If it has a good fat layer You may be a little over kill with the bacon.  Might trim some of the fat and use the bacon first for a treat and second for the flavor on the meat.  May also want to rotate 1/2 way through if you cut them in half.  Happy smokin'.

Jeff

Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.
http://devoted.to/bbq

[pedally]

Jeff:
Kind of a silly question but when you say rotate them, do you mean just turn them from back to front or bottom to top or what?  Thanks!

[BigSmoker]

pedally,
What I meant was to rotate shelves.  I have heard of people turning fat side down as well.  Its hard to mess up a pork shoulder/butt.
Sorry I wasn't clear[:)]

Jeff

Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.
http://devoted.to/bbq

[Chez Bubba]

When I rotate, I do it top-to-bottom and 180 right-to-left. I always keep the fat side up & allow gravity to do its' magic.

I'd cut in half <b>IF</b> you could keep an even fat cap on both pieces. The bacon may be overkill, but it does add a certain sumptin'. Just be sure to empty & refill the water bowl once or twice, depending on cook time. (4-5 hours per change)

Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?

[nsxbill]

The two pork shoulder roasts went into the smoker at 6:30 last night, and after pre-warming the smoker to about 250 degrees, Inserted the roasts that occupied my refrigerator for &gt;48hrs getting ready for cooking. Set the temp at 200 degrees, and tried to maintain that throughout the smoke.  Used cherry wood for 4 hours the regulated the temp and off to bed.  With one peek at 4 a.m., I rotated the racks, and off to work.

I left a note for the little woman to pull the roasts when the internal temp hit 190.  They came off at 2:45 in the afternoon, and immediately foiled and wrapped in towels and into the cooler for two hours.

I just finished one of the best bbq shredded pork sandwiches I have ever tasted.  OUCH!  Just the wife and I, so will be shredding up and freezing a portion for later, and of course some in the fridge for snacking and sandwiches.

Thanks for the suggestion on the towel.  My wife said the pork was firm when it came out of the smoker.  It was like butter and falling apart after sitting in the picnic cooler.  Wow!  Very pleased.  Next time will inject with some spice!

Bill