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Size matters!!

Chasman
Chasman Posts: 5
edited September 2012 in Pork
Last weekend, I decided to do a boneless pork shoulder that I had in the freezer. I missed my window to do an overnight cook (got tired, and didn't want to start & stabilize the fire after 11:00...), so I got to thinking. It occurred to me that the only real difference between cooking a brisket, and a pork shoulder (of the same weight) is the shape. It takes that much longer for a 250 degree egg to heat the middle of the pork shoulder to 195 because of the extra "insulation." A brisket is about 3+ inches thick if you cook with the fat cap on, which I do. A shoulder can be 6 - 7 inches. Remember high school science?  Melting the ice cube vs. melting the same quantity of crushed ice? Surface area!! Sooo.... 
What if I butterfly this baby? Seems logical; also would allow more rub for the same quantity of pork; more bark... Out comes the electric knife, and in 8 seconds, she was laying beautifully across the cutting board, about 3 inches high at the thickest part. On the fire at 10:30 am (275 dome), two lid lifts later to add more chips, then ready to eat by dinner time. It was indistinguishable from any of the 19 hour cooks I've done. This was new to me, but I'm sure that some of the more experienced hands here will verify that it works. I doubt I'll go back to cooking shoulders the "old" way.
Austin, TX
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Comments

  • milkman5083
    milkman5083 Posts: 100
    That is awesome!
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  • jrog74
    jrog74 Posts: 42
    I watched on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives last night that a place in HI was cutting their butts into softball size before smoking them. I thought to myself, thats so silly, no one does that! Then here you come and ruin my train of thought. Now I have to try it! What time do you guys eat dinner at your house? Just wondering how long it cooked. Thanks. 
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  • MikeP624
    MikeP624 Posts: 292
    edited September 2012

    Did you cut it in half, or just butterly.  Cutting it in half would have cut your cutting time in half. 

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  • Aviator
    Aviator Posts: 1,757

    Will wonders never cease?

    How ingenious! I want to try as well. Off to Sams today. How long was the cook, so?

    ______________________________________________ 

    Large and Small BGE, Blackstone 36 and a baby black Kub.

    Chattanooga, TN.

     

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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817

    You are right. It's the same as cooking a 4 bone prime rib takes the same time as cooking a 7 bone. The diameter (loosely) or thickness in the thickest part that determines cook time

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • Chasman
    Chasman Posts: 5
    edited September 2012
    JROG & Aviator: total cook time was about 8 hours, maybe 8.5. Im sorry i don't remember how much it weighed -- It was the second shoulder of a Costco 2 pack. Mike: I butterflied it, which effectively halved it. I was trying to approximate the shape of a brisket, which I'm more familiar with. Everyone else: Thanks for the kind words. I've learned so much from this forum, so I'm more than happy to share my successes.
    Austin, TX
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