Newbie, setting up for first Pork slow cook... need advice

briweed · January 14

All,

I just purchased my BGE XL and have done a few cooks on it (all direct, Steaks and chicken).

Looking for some advice on the first slow cook on it starting on Friday night this week.

I have the plate setter ready to go (1 leg at the 12 o'clock position), and also have a Stoker to control the temp.

I am going to cook a 15.7 lb boneless pork shoulder.

Should I have the plate setter low or high?

Should I place the meat directly on the grill? (I have a v rack also, but shoulder is big and may not do well on the rack). My plan is to use a drip pan, just looking for some sage advice on placement setup.

Any suggestions on the time? (grate temp? / final meat temp?)

Looking forward to learning from the community here!

thanks,

Brian

briweed · January 14

Also forgot to add a few questions on wood setup for smoke.

I have some cherry chunks, but looking for feedback on other types of wood that people have enjoyed with pork.

Also looking for advice on placement/qty of wood.

Should I soak the wood? (how long)

thanks,

Brian

Smokin_Trout · January 14

Fill lump all the way up, just enough room for plate setter to clear the top of the lump. Start fire in center on the top of lump. Plate setter legs up. Some kind of drip tray. Get temp to about 250*. Add wood for smoke and place grill and meat on. It will take about 12-15 hours.

Since you are cooking a boneless try to make sure the meat is tucked together tight. This will give you a better shot at an even cook.

Pull at about 190*-205*. Temp probe should slide right in. IMO pulled pork is best right off the Egg. You can wrap in Foil, Towel and place in a Cooler if needed (FTC). If I have to do this I place a brick paver on the egg and use it as a heat source to help keep the meat nice and hot.

Budgeezer · January 14

Hey Brian congrats on your new egg. Is your boneless shoulder cryovaced, if so it may be two smaller shoulders which would cut your cooking time in half. Plate setter legs up with drip pan to protect plate setter. I just use HD foil to make my pans. Pork shoulder on rack fat side down. Cherry is my favorite with shoulder use sparingly a little smoke goes a long way. I go with 250-275 dome temp, cook to internal temp of 195-205 roughly 1.5 to 2 hours per pound. If you have two 7.5 pound butts roughly 15 hours, cook to IT not time. No need to soak your wood, if you do it just releases the water until it starts to smoke.

Good luck on your cook, pork shoulder is very forgiving!

Eggcelsior · January 14

+1 on the above posts. I would also recommend foiling your plate setter to make clean up easy with drippings. You can also just burn-off that as well, but foiling will save you some lump.

Put some type of riser under the drip pan to create an air gap to prevent the drippings from burning in the drip pan. This can give the delicious food not-delicious flavor notes.

Wood-wise- hickory is probably the mainstay. Apple and cherry work well too. I usually mix some apple and hickory.The beauty of this cooker is that you can experiment with woods, rubs and sauces to find your "perfect" BBQ.

Most of all, Welcome and Good Luck!

henapple · January 14

I've started cutting the top cap of fat....more bark. Mix the wood throughout the lump. There's no reason to soak it. I like hickory but used all apple on ribs this past weekend and they were great. I do put a foil pan underneath...usually filled with coke.

joe@bge · January 14

No soak on wood...and Cherry will work wonderfully. I stick almost exclusively to fruit woods. I stack most of my chunks in the center and disperse a few toward the outer ring. It will burn down thru the center and then out. Set the stoker for 250 and ignore your dome temp and you should be set.

briweed · January 15

henapple said:

I've started cutting the top cap of fat....more bark. Mix the wood throughout the lump. There's no reason to soak it. I like hickory but used all apple on ribs this past weekend and they were great. I do put a foil pan underneath...usually filled with coke.

When you fill the pan with coke do you set right on the plate setter? (or use something to create the air gap as suggested above?

thanks,

Brian

briweed · January 15

Budgeezer said:

Hey Brian congrats on your new egg. Is your boneless shoulder cryovaced, if so it may be two smaller shoulders which would cut your cooking time in half. Plate setter legs up with drip pan to protect plate setter. I just use HD foil to make my pans. Pork shoulder on rack fat side down. Cherry is my favorite with shoulder use sparingly a little smoke goes a long way. I go with 250-275 dome temp, cook to internal temp of 195-205 roughly 1.5 to 2 hours per pound. If you have two 7.5 pound butts roughly 15 hours, cook to IT not time. No need to soak your wood, if you do it just releases the water until it starts to smoke.

Good luck on your cook, pork shoulder is very forgiving!

It is cryovaced, but appears to be 1 large piece of meat (labed as such, as well).

If that is the case, am I looking at 20+ hours to cook?

Brian

Dave in Florida · January 15

I would create a air gap between my placesetter and drip pan. I have used Cherry, Apple, Hickory, Red Oak, Peach on pork. I like them all. I slather with mustard and cover with rub until I see no yeller mustard at all. Then I let it sit in the fridge until my fire is stable. Then it's straight onto the grate.

briweed · January 15

Dave in Florida said:

I would create a air gap between my placesetter and drip pan. I have used Cherry, Apple, Hickory, Red Oak, Peach on pork. I like them all. I slather with mustard and cover with rub until I see no yeller mustard at all. Then I let it sit in the fridge until my fire is stable. Then it's straight onto the grate.

what have you used to create a gap?

Brian

R2Egg2Q · January 15

Most folks use ceramic BGE feet (these never came with the XL). Some use metal pipe elbows or T's (I think in probably 3/4-1" diameter). Some use large SS nuts. I've used foil (balled up or rolled like a rod of foil).

briweed · January 21

Thanks all for the tips. 7.5lb ish...Pork Shoulder turned out fantastic. Took about 18 hours (250 grate temp.) - stalled for a good 4-5 hours (never lifted the lid :) ) Pulled at 195* and it was tender as can be. Used apple wood and some apple pellets. Great bark.

This forum is awesome. Thanks again.

Brian

NautiRogue · January 26

I'm doing my first pork shoulder today. Indirect with placesetter legs up, tin foil for drip pan, 260 degrees grid temp with DigiQ. I put the 8 pound roast in a V rack after coating with olive oil and an herb-mustard rub. A few hunks of hickory are on top of the lump.

The problem is that I didn't get it on the grill until 10:30 AM... I think I'm going to be up late! It's been on 2 hours now, and the IT is 97 degrees... I'm hoping that it won't stall long!

lousubcap · January 26

@NautiRogue-google "texas crutch" if you want to power thru the stall. Bark will be soft but that's the trade-off. After several hours with 260*F on the grid you can crank it up to about 290-310*F on the grid to help power it home. Check out "Turbo Butts" for more details. And late nights with the BGE humming along and an adult beverage is pretty good on its own :) FWIW-

NautiRogue · January 26

BTW, it was 21 degrees outside when I put the meat on the grill. It sure is easier to maintain 260 degrees on the Egg in this weather with the DigiQ than it is without!

NautiRogue · January 26

Thanks for the Texas Crutch tip, Lousubcap! I'll keep it in mind if this cook goes too long!

NautiRogue · January 27

I have 7 hungry boys and it's almost 8:00. The meat is at an IT of 180. I've resorted to the Texas Crutch and bumped the grid temp to 175.

lousubcap · January 27

Hopefully the above is a mis-key and you are at 275 or more on the grid-FWIW-at 180*F on the pork you will have great flavor and you can just resort to slicing instead of pulling the pork-given the starving crowd that may be the way to go...obviously your call but either way it will taste great!

NautiRogue · January 31

Doh! Yeah, it was a typo. 275 grid.

We ended up eating at 10:30 after pulling. If I'd had more time, I would have liked to have done something more with spices and sauce, but as it was, I just dumped in BBQ sauce, mixed, and served. It was good, but not as good as it could have been if I'd organized the time better!

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Newbie, setting up for first Pork slow cook... need advice

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