VOTE: Will citrus mojo marinade change my PP texture?

NDG

party of 30 (9 kids) coming over SAT and I have pork shoulder debate.  I’m making taco bar where this pork offered with crumble mex Cheese, pickled red onions & pico.  Loosely following APL recipe where marinade of 2 cups OJ, 1cup lime juice etc is used as marinade before smoke, then reserved 1 cup of marinade used as a finishing sauce once pork is done and pulled.  I wanted to get the pork done today (fri) and pull for PP, throw in Dutch oven incorporate with citrus mojo sauce tonight, so I could just slowly warm hour before guests come for tacos . . BUT should I be concerned the heavy citrus & acidic mojo sauce will change the PP texture and make it mushy?  

A ) doing above is easiest but stupid to pull Day early, and will the citrus mojo make my pork too mushy?
B ) should I smoke today, pull to PP, put in fridge - but just keep separate from mojo until I warm it all up together ~hour before guests?
C ) should I suffer & smoke shoulder overnight instead (not as easy) and finish up early sat, only to FTC and pull fresh (no fridge) & add mojo marinade just before guests arrive?

Or other?  

Thanks y’all.

Simcan

I would not do A and I don't think C is necessary...personally, I would do a version of B where I vacuum sealed the PP (separate from mojo), reheat in simmering water or a sous vide, and mix just before serving, but a ziplock bag would work just as well.  I would also not fully pull it, just big chunks and pull it the rest of the way when you add the mojo. Good luck!

hoosier_egger

There's a joke here somewhere.... 

JohnInCarolina

I’d go with C) personally, but then I’m a glutton for punishment.

NDG

Simcan said:

I would not do A and I don't think C is necessary...personally, I would do a version of B where I vacuum sealed the PP (separate from mojo), reheat in simmering water or a sous vide, and mix just before serving, but a ziplock bag would work just as well.  I would also not fully pull it, just big chunks and pull it the rest of the way when you add the mojo. Good luck!

Love this - didn’t consider keeping it semi full (big chunks) with SV warm up !  I did the Costco double 8 lb boneless - I always SV in large stock pot, but these 2 rascals won’t fit, so I could try a cooler I guess. Thanks @Simcan

NDG

ColtsFan said:

There's a joke here somewhere.... 

serious as a heart attack 

fishlessman

have done this recipe several times and the texture was fine so maybe compare. wdans recipe needs 2 to 3 times more garlic, my only complaint with it

Pork, Butt, Lechon Asado, Mojo, WDAN, Cuban

As I mentioned during the December holidays, I did a low 'n slow pork butt called Lechon Asado for New Years' Eve. Oh yeah, baby! If you are looking for yet another excuse to do L&S pork butt, but want it different than traditional Carolina pull, try this! My guests loved it and I actually liked it too (I'm my own worst critic).While this is a Cuban Christmas Eve roast-a-whole-pig thing, I approximated it by doing a 9.5 lb pork butt on the egg.


INGREDIENTS:
Marinade (do it for 24 hrs)
12-15 Cloves as many as you're willing to mince) cloves garlic
1 Tbs kosher salt
2 tsp cumin (ground)
2 tsp oregano (dried)
1 1/2 cups fresh lime juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1 Tbs olive oil
It would be best if you can do this in a food processor and get it to turn out like a thick salad dressing...I was lazy and just hand-blended it all in a bowl...but it seemed to work just fine.
After 12- 24 hrs of marinating, egg the pig indirectly at a dome temp of 250-ish until meat internal temp is 200 -- just like you're doing a pull. My 9.5 lb butt needed a little over 20 hrs. I used some peach wood in the lump intead of doing my normal hic
The meat had a decidedly different flavor than the normal fair and was further differentiated by the Mojo sauce:
MOJO SAUCE
1 cup olive oil
12 cloves garlic (sliced thin)
1 cup fresh lime juice
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
ground black pepper to taste (~1 tsp)

lkapigian

NDG

@fishlessman tnx - very similar 

xfire_ATX

I made it last summer (its great btw) and I did option A with no noticeable difference.  I left in my DO overnight and then heated on stovetop next day to serve.  Froze what was left in Vac Seal and reheated in warm water- never noticed any difference.

SmokeyPitt

Have you checked this out from @KiterTodd ?
https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1181812/mojo-smoked-pork-carnitas-tacos

NDG

@xfire_ATX great to hear - tnx.  @SmokeyPitt I did read that post, for some reason the peppers & onions braise seems to familiar to me (other cooks in crock pot etc) , I just want blast of clean mojo.  I was able to borrow the APL book from my library so went with his method of inject / brine then smoke, pull & mojo sauce.  Thanks for the posts.

fishlessman

NDG said:

@fishlessman tnx - very similar 

these recipes are calling for orange juice, what you really want are blood oranges, they used to be really hard to find but im seeing them more and more.  if you make a serving sauce from the mojo it will need more limes so taste it first and add as necessary

NDG

Got out my bbq guru and did it overnight - looking & smelling fine - now in FTC as I contemplate the next step . .

JohnInCarolina

NDG said:

Got out my bbq guru and did it overnight - looking & smelling fine - now in FTC as I contemplate the next step . .

Strong move buddy - that looks incredible.  

Simcan

Looking perfect!

jtcBoynton

fishlessman said:

NDG said:

@fishlessman tnx - very similar 

these recipes are calling for orange juice, what you really want are blood oranges, they used to be really hard to find but im seeing them more and more.  if you make a serving sauce from the mojo it will need more limes so taste it first and add as necessary

Sour oranges are what you really want.  The lime/orange or lemon/lime/orange are substitutes (use two parts orange to one part lemon and one part lime).

Needs sour orange flavored with garlic cloves, salt, black peppercorns, and oregano.  Like many other classics, many variations have been made by adding all sorts of other things.

NDG

Thanks - sampled it and very happy . . But got done so early so had to Vac Seal . . @Simcan from fridge, what temp & time you suggest for SV before mix & serve ?

DoubleEgger

You have to reheat the pork to 165F. 

Simcan

I am not usually very scientific about it but 165 for an hour or two should do it.  You can put the pork in the bath as it is heating up, you don't have to wait until it is 165.

lkapigian

Looks Great !!

dannys

jtcBoynton said:

fishlessman said:

NDG said:

@fishlessman tnx - very similar 

these recipes are calling for orange juice, what you really want are blood oranges, they used to be really hard to find but im seeing them more and more.  if you make a serving sauce from the mojo it will need more limes so taste it first and add as necessary

Sour oranges are what you really want.  The lime/orange or lemon/lime/orange are substitutes (use two parts orange to one part lemon and one part lime).

Needs sour orange flavored with garlic cloves, salt, black peppercorns, and oregano.  Like many other classics, many variations have been made by adding all sorts of other things.

I agree with you. Sour oranges are what should be used. The substitute I've seen is the juice from oranges and grapefruit.  

NDG

dannys said:

jtcBoynton said:

fishlessman said:

NDG said:

@fishlessman tnx - very similar 

these recipes are calling for orange juice, what you really want are blood oranges, they used to be really hard to find but im seeing them more and more.  if you make a serving sauce from the mojo it will need more limes so taste it first and add as necessary

Sour oranges are what you really want.  The lime/orange or lemon/lime/orange are substitutes (use two parts orange to one part lemon and one part lime).

Needs sour orange flavored with garlic cloves, salt, black peppercorns, and oregano.  Like many other classics, many variations have been made by adding all sorts of other things.

I agree with you. Sour oranges are what should be used. The substitute I've seen is the juice from oranges and grapefruit.  

I actually made a dry rub (Couldnt get myself to just pull and dry after marinade) where I added the zest of a Full Grapefruit to equal parts Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Mex Oregeno, S&P . . Grapefruit smelled good so juiced it in my mojo finishing sauce 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

SmokeyPitt

Those look freaking amazing. 

NDG

Doing this EXACT cook again for 20+ guests . . .

Just a PSA about how Nice it is to document your cooks here on the forum.

I forgot many details but here it is!!  Post here for others sure - but selfishly it is amazing to reference later as a Road Map!!

thetrim

Freaking awesome.  Keep us posted.  Good way to stay alert on a Friday night!

NDG

5:00am my Bluetooth thermometer (thermoworks smoke) beeping in my ear - ran out of lump in the egg !! Not used to the kickash basket on long cooks - KA bucket seems to do great job keeping temp but burns fuel faster maybe??

Brought pork into warm oven as I let the new lump burn for 20 mins - all back running now and meat around the “stall” at 163F.  Sorry no pics yet.

alaskanassasin

 I always fill the egg as full as possible on a overnight cook. Nice save BTW!

Legume

If it burned lump faster, the temp would’ve been hotter.  Probably it just holds less lump but maybe that’s not visually obvious.

thetrim

Hope it's still going strong

NDG

Yea all was great - it’s a nice recipe for sure.  Also grilled apps - nueske Bacon wrapped goat cheese stuffed dates . . Always a hit.