Virgin overnight - your thoughts requested!

Haggis

Did my first overnight last night. Loaded the Egg with ten pounds of Royal Oak placed moderately carefully and used three small-fist-sized chunks of hickory. Wife came up with two upper-portion picnics (no shank) about 3.5 pounds each on which I used Dizzy Dust and put in the fridge for about 24 hours. Kept the temperature at the grill under 240 all night and usually about 230-235 (it sank to 213 for a short while -- my alarm was set to go off at 210 but I caught it first) and the dome was 250-275. The meat went on the Egg at 10 PM and was at a 159 plateau when I woke at 2:30 AM where it sat until sometime around 4:00 AM. It rose slowly after that - about 1 degree every 7-10 minutes - and I removed it at 9:30 AM after it had stayed at 193 internal for an hour. I wrapped it and put it in a cooler for a couple hours before pulling.[p]What I notice particularly and would like your thoughts on: the meat is on the dark side and the taste is strong and "hammy." Most of the meat seems fairly dry. The bark is pretty rugged. Its all perfectly edible but I had hoped for a little more moist and subtle flavor, even from a picnic. There is no way I could serve this with a North Carolina vinegar sauce - its gotta be a stronger Memphis style to match (hide?) the meat flavor.[p]So were these results to be expected? Was it all the "fault" of it being a picnic rather than a Boston butt? Should I not have DP'd it the previous night but much closer to the cook? Should I have used only a single chunk of hickory? Should I have removed it earlier than 193 degrees or cooked it lower than the 235 range?

TulsaMurph

I am a newbie, but have read most of these low and slow threads and have a suggestion and/or question to go along with yours. After the meat comes out of the plateau and reaches the desired temp, or close to it, would it be a good practice to do a fork test to see if the meat is ready or if it should stay on a little longer? If some experienced eggers could jump in here, I would be interested in your help on this. I have a Boston butt in the freezer I am going to put on soon and hope for good first time results.

Thanks!

GaDawg

Haggis,[p] I think you'll be happier with butts. Why not get
a couple of small butts and replicate the cook exactly.
That way you can guage the difference. Oh, and check all
your thermometers. [p]Chuck

Haggis

GaDawg,[p]Thanks for that thought. Yeah, we've agreed already to that point - we won't just pull out whatever's in the freezer. On the thermometers - they've been checked and I am confident they are right.[p]As it happens, when I warmed up the pork in the microwave, with a bit of water, it became much more moist. Using some sauce from Corky's (in Memphis) made it better than it had seemed earlier and my wife thought it was at least as good as the pork we occasionally get from the Red Hot and Blue chain. So even though I prefer a bit more subtle flavor, maybe it wasn't a bust after all!

Sundown

Haggis,
Over the years my family has been telling me that they liked shoulders better than butts. I said there was no difference and a couple of years ago I was proved incorrect. Did a shoulder and a butt together one weekend and there is a marked difference in the flavor. My description would be the shoulder is a little less fatty and had a more subtle flavor . . . a nice "hammy" flavor but not as strong. When I first posted this revelation more than a few people thought I was "off base" but, later several of the "old guard" came on and after trying a butt and a shoulder agreed with me. Not that that is anything special. Anything cooked on the Egg is great. And, you can rest assured, if you offer me pulled pork I WILL NOT REFUSE IT! Whether it's from the butt or the shoulder. I'll eat it and ask for more and say thank you when I'm through.

Haggis

Sundown,[p]Good observations -- I've seen several other posts that agree with you. I've been eating both cuts for years in Chinese dishes but never paid much attention to the distinction until I decided to try one on the Egg. But getting to your subject line question regarding hiding the flavor: as I mentioned in another post, the flavor of this picnic seemed very strong and I was trying to figure out whether it was inherent in the cut or if it was the result of something I did in the process. I was reluctant to serve it with the eastern Carolina-style vinegar/pepper sauce because of the strong flavor but it turned out quite nice with the Memphis style sauce. I suspect that if I had done the whole roast, Boston and picnic together, the blend of the milder Boston with the stronger and drier picnic would have been good. Nevertheless, this was a first attempt and I've learned a few things from it so it was successful.

Sundown

Haggis,
I've taken to putting both the vinegar and Bone Suckin' Sauce on the table. Let them make the choice for themselves. I think a sauce should accent the flavor not mask it. I also wonder out loud if the vinegar mix wasn't created to cut the 'fat taste'? Who knows, it all tastes good to me.