25 lb full pork leg - suggestions?

vern1

I got a great deal on this for $20. Have done butts before but never a full leg on my XL egg.

I have heard that the lower leg part (shank?) is less amenable to pulling and should be taken off around 160 for slicing. True?

And that the upper part (butt) can go to 195 for pulling as I have done in the past

So guess I would need to saw the 2 piece apart. I will do at around 225 and remove the thick skin before putting on some rub. Presuming that to get to 195 on the butt it will prob take me 12 hrs or so (guessing that the butt part is 15lbs or so of the total). Sound good?

Thanks!

lkapigian

It will all pull...both picnic and butt...if it were me, I'd smoke the butt and turn the picnic into sausage or visa versa..if you smoke the whole thing , remove the skin from,the picnic leaving the little bit left on the shank

vern1

Thanks. I dont have a meat grinder so the sausage is out for the moment but an interesting idea i will have to look into.

So do I need to separate the butt from the picnic or just leave it all together? I would remove the tough skin from most of it but whats the purpose of leaving a little bit on the shank? Just to keep it from drying out as its the skinny end?

lkapigian

I'd leave it whole...I leave a bit of skin to have some skin , expose the rest to get some bark....FWIW you can use a knife or food processor to make sausage..,

vern1

Thanks. I have 25 people coming so will leave it whole and smoke the whole things (thanks for the sausage suggestion and will try that next time)

I am assuming this thing will take roughly a day at 225 to get to 200 for the pull

Now to find a bunch of great sauces to serve!

Cheers

westernbbq

sausage

vern1

westernbbq said:

sausage

and ??

lkapigian

Malcom Reed has a great video on a whole shoulder 

tarheelmatt

I mostly cook shoulders. The skin is usually left on them, which protects the meat. 

No need to separate,  just cook it. You can pull around 180 for chopped or take it 195ish for pull. 

tarheelmatt

I didn't get any pictures from last weekend at Butt Blast, but had witnesses.  @bgebrent can vouch for the above technique.   

bgebrent

tarheelmatt said:

I didn't get any pictures from last weekend at Butt Blast, but had witnesses.  @bgebrent can vouch for the above technique.   

I can vouche!

lkapigian

bgebrent said:

tarheelmatt said:

I didn't get any pictures from last weekend at Butt Blast, but had witnesses.  @bgebrent can vouch for the above technique.   

I can vouche!

https://youtu.be/zjaXWL0fepw

westernbbq

vern1 said:

westernbbq said:

sausage

and ??

Grind it up into sausage...make brats, ital, polish, etc.  Then you can freeze it and use as needed for pizza, beer and brats, etc.    Thats a ton of meatbthat if you smoked the whole thing, could result in a weariness with bbq pork?  now if you have a party to cook for, by all means, smoke that bad boy.  But if you want to use it for something that you can get .any future benefits from, the sausage routw is awesome for that.  See if you can find a butcher who willngrind it up for you

If you have a grinder have at it.   And on stuffing the sausages, if you have a stuffer awesome, if not patties are good too....


P

vern1

I have about 20-25 people coming some am going to smoke the whole thing. Watched the Malcom Reed video so will take that basic approach. Given the size of the leg looks like I will need to get it going the evening before. I have done a long cook for a brisket before so expect my egg can hold its temp for that long

Sausages will have to wait for another time.....

Thanks