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Boneless pork shoulder - never again

No pics but it happened. Decided to do a small pulled pork. Got a 5 pound boneless shoulder, wrapped in mesh. Removed the mesh to not lose all the bark, and coated with rub. Put it on a stable (1 hour plus) Egg at 325 for a turbo cook. After another hour, left the Egg to do its thing. Came back 2 hours later to a 425 degree Egg and a 190 degree pork. Shut it down but pork was at 210 shortly after (about 4 hours after starting, and 5 hours before dinner). FTC'd it for 5 hours. Checked temp and still at 150 before pulling. Good flavor, but a bit dry compared to low and slow. Good sandwich, but not near as good as the ones I've done either low temp or turbo at 350 then wrapped in foil. Lesson learned - watch the temp, and use a bone in shoulder so you have a big hunk of meat instead of several small ones stuck together b
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It's not a science, it's an art. And it's flawed.
- Camp Hill, PA

Comments

  • Z_Eggineer
    Z_Eggineer Posts: 576
    I totally agree on bone-in.  One of the reasons I don't want to trade in my Sam's Club membership.  At Sam's, they are $1.69 / lb.  For comparable quality, I have to pay ~$3.00 / lb around here.  Sorry it didn't go great.  Best pork butt I ever had had EXTREMELY variable temperature.  Anywhere between 225 and 325 is good with me. Good idea on FTC.
  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
    I use boneless shoulders from Costco all of the time with great results. I will say that I've never tried the turbo method. I like the late night low and slows.
    Mark Annville, PA
  • Good save TJ.  I always get bone in too, but I get suckered into buying something unfamiliar (like a boneless butt) when I listen to my inner cheapskate.  I gotta stop listening to that guy!  Your egg climbing 100 degrees to 425 for no apparent reason is interesting.
    Flint, Michigan
  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 9,795

    "I use boneless shoulders from Costco all of the time with great results."

     

    Ditto.  They usually have a 2 pack that weighs 14 - 16 pounds total and I usually cook them both at the same time.  I've had some great results with low and slow - and with turbo. 

    The issue here may be the size of the hunk of meat.  A smaller piece of meat has more bark on a relative basis - leaving less of the internal juicy stuff.

    XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle

    San Antonio, TX

  • +1 for boneless shoulders from Costco; although the ones I get come 4 to a package (5-6 lbs. each)
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
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  • JRWhitee
    JRWhitee Posts: 5,678
    +3 for boneless from Costco they come 2 to a pack at 7-8 lbs each at my Costco, I do low and slow 250 - 275 and they always come out perfect. 
                                                                
    _________________________________________________
    Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story!
    Large BGE 2006, Mini Max 2014, 36" Blackstone, Anova Sous Vide
    Green Man Group 
    Johns Creek, Georgia
  • JaredMD
    JaredMD Posts: 59
    I'm confused.. you left the egg for 2 hours and came back to it having shot up 100 degrees.. at 425 I don't know that having a bone or not in a 5 lb shoulder would have made much of a difference in how fast the thing cooked.  The temp issue and the need to FTC for 5 hours seems like a bigger point of comparison for this cook.

    If you said you had a boneless shoulder that you held at 325, brought it steadily to 200-210, FTC'd for ~2-3 hours and didn't like the taste or texture compared to previous, similar cooks with a bone in shoulder it might make a lot more sense to have a bone in vs boneless discussion.
    XL BGE - Baltimore, MD
  • DMurf
    DMurf Posts: 481
    @Tjcoley

    I am not sure that the issue was a boneless shoulder but that it was netted. In my experience this is done to hold several smaller pieces of meat together for sale. As this may not have been a whole cut there may not have been the fat content that you get with your typical butts and lead to the results of a drier than normal finished product. 

    Personally I get my butts from Sam's club and it is tossing the dice as to whether they have bone in or boneless butts that day. The have always come out delicious and juicy.
    David
    BBQ since 2010 - Oh my, what I was missing.
  • robnybbq
    robnybbq Posts: 1,911
    I have always done bone in and they are good.  For our party a few weeks ago we got 4 boneless (All they are is sliced open to have the bone removed).  I used butcher twine to shape them round again. - They came out the same as the bone in ones but I did not have to pay for the bone weight.



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    LBGE, Adjustable Rig, Spider, High-Que grate, maverick ET-732, Thermapen,


    Garnerville, NY
  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
    On a turbo I always foil at 160...
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
  • Tjcoley
    Tjcoley Posts: 3,551
    Thanks all. This was more like 4 prices being held together by the netting. They were all connected,but whoever took out the bone really 'butchered' the roast. Not sure why the egg shot up so much. I've never had that happen after being stable for so long.
    __________________________________________
    It's not a science, it's an art. And it's flawed.
    - Camp Hill, PA