Pork shoulder

Jrod72

Anyone know about what temp. and how long to smoke a 10pound pork shoulder on a Xl? First timer here. Can't wait to see the results, good or bad just happy to be grilling on the bge. Thanks all...

Cowdogs

I would cook at 250-275 dome until meat is 200.  I would start about 20 hour before you want to eat.  I would hope to see it hit 200 around the 14-18 mark so it gets 2-6 hours wrapped in foil, and resting in a cooler.

stike

not tryna be a stickler.... but no need to rest it like you would a roast, fwiw.  even if so, you'd wanna rest out of the cooler anyway. roasts rest so that they can cool a bit.

a cooler is for when it a butt is done early, otherwise, it's an extra step with no benefit really.

SteveWPBFL

Got a boneless pork shoulder thingy from Costco in the fridge that's going in the Egg Saturday night.

BYS1981

Steve,

Just a heads up, if this is your first shoulder from Costco usually it is 2 per bag, so either plan accordingly to have a lot of meat or freeze one.

SteveWPBFL

Thanks, BYS, it's a 'halfpack'!

SteveWPBFL

Actually, at about the point of the stickle is when thing's start gettin' interesting!

SammyRNYC

Jrod72, thanks for asking this question.  I too am a First timer and must have been thinking the same thing all day long - how do I cook my in-bone pork shoulder - I have a XL.  I started at 9pm last night and it's 10 hours later at about 275, my shoulder is at an internal temp of 197.  I am letting cook just a bit more.

Just an FYI, I'm use to going by the exterior of the shoulder to tell how done or over done it is.  I shaved off part of the exterior layer and thought I ruined it because it was a bit dry.  After a pause, I went back and lifted the skin and cut a little bit at the middle and it fell apart like a hot knife going through butter.  It is so perfect and delicious, I'll shall never cook a pork shoulder in the oven again!

I know what I am having for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner today.

Good luck with your first time.

Jrod72

Ok thanks for the advise.

Cowdogs

not tryna be a stickler.... but no need to rest it like you would a roast, fwiw.  even if so, you'd wanna rest out of the cooler anyway. roasts rest so that they can cool a bit.

a cooler is for when it a butt is done early, otherwise, it's an extra step with no benefit really.

I agree that the cooler rest is not needed for taste or texture. I need it so I can serve the food on time. It is not possible (for me) to do a shoulder cook where i can be sure it will comes off 20-30 minutes before it's time to eat. So I plan for 4 hours in the cooler, and I am fine if it takes up to 2-3 hours longer. Plus I like to free the egg up for apps and sides.

jaydub58

Cowdogs, I think you nailed it.

Who can predict exactly (within 20-30 minutes) when a butt will be don?

Not me!

Wrap and stick in the cooler gives me the flexibility I gotta have.  Makes verything work. 

 

SammyRNYC

Jrod72, thanks for asking this question.  I too am a First timer and must have been thinking the same thing all day long - how do I cook my in-bone pork shoulder - I have a XL.  I started at 9pm last night and it's 10 hours later at about 275, my shoulder is at an internal temp of 197.  I am letting cook just a bit more.

Just an FYI, I'm use to going by the exterior of the shoulder to tell how done or over done it is.  I shaved off part of the exterior layer and thought I ruined it because it was a bit dry.  After a pause, I went back and lifted the skin and cut a little bit at the middle and it fell apart like a hot knife going through butter.  It is so perfect and delicious, I'll shall never cook a pork shoulder in the oven again!

I know what I am having for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner today.

Good luck with your first time.

Correction, my Temp was off, way off.  it was over 375 cooking maybe over 400 - which explains the dryness and only 10 hrs of cooking time - instead of the 14-18 hours.  Now I know how to cook it under 10 hrs.

Anyone know how to get the pork shoulder skin  to be crunchie (or turn it into Crackle)?  Is it just turning up the temp in the last hour

The Cen-Tex Smoker

The bark comes from the rub. No need to turn up any heat. Try Dizzy Dust I you can find it. Bad Byron's is good too. You can use mustard as a binder but I just put it on the meat with no binder. Let it settle in for 30-45 min and it kind of turns to a paste. You can add more if you like right before you throw it on the pit. This will give you all the crunchy bark you want. Also, don't foil if you like lots of bark. Foils softens bark.

akafishmn

I had two shoulders on my XL tonight. Put then on around 7:30 and temp was clipping along nicely (250 degrees) at midnight when i checked it before going to bed. I woke up and checked it at 3:40 am and found the temp reading 400 degrees. The shoulders were reading 200 degrees internal, so I pulled them off and wrapped them - they should be ok. My question is this - Why would the temp jump up like that when it was hovering at 250 for 4 hours before that? Was it the way I loaded the lump?

lousubcap

My experience is with a LBGE but about the only thing that causes changes in temperature (assuming you have sufficient lump) is air flow.  Since you were stable for four hours I have not seen that kind of movement-but you are talking about a 0.7*/minute average increase.  Wish I had more to tell you-perhaps the real eggsperts will chime in.  Good news-pork is very forgiving so it will pull and taste great.

DOCED

How long after you hit 250F did you put on the meat? Just thinking that if you idin't "heat soak" the ceramics as they heated up it could increase the internal temp of the Egg. Still seems a bit long though. 

akafishmn

I had the egg "preheating" for about 30 minutes before I put meat on. Would the location of where I lit the lump have something to do with it? What is the preferred location? I guess I've never run across that info..Thanks