Have I sinned?

Daddyo

<p />You see that cap on the top of this picnic roast? Was it skin? It was real hard after a 20 hour low and slow and it came right off so I threw it out before pulling the pork. Was that the wrong thing to do?

QBabe

Daddyo,[p]The black outer skin is known as the bark and it is usually left on when you pull the pork. You're missing a real treat if you took it all off, but think about it this way, now you HAVE to do it again so you can mix the bark into the pork when you pull it...[p]Tonia
:~)

BlueSmoke

Daddyo,[p]Was there a layer of fat on the shoulder? From your picture, it looks to me like the "cap" is actually fat that has rendered out. It can be real hard, and doesn't taste good (to me anyway). I remove only the fat and chunk it up for dog treats.[p]Ken

Spin

Daddyo,[p]Yes, the cap you threw out was skin. Picnic cuts come with the skin on. There is no good use for the cooked skin that I know of.[p]Spin

QBabe

BlueSmoke,[p]Where is the cap? I've only done butts so it all looks like bark. Is all the stuff that looks like bark really the cap or is it only in one place on the meat? Sorry to seem so dense, but maybe I just don't know what to look for...or maybe I'm losing it![p]Lost but finding my way back,
Tonia
:~)[p][p]

Unknown

Daddyo,
Back away a bit and send another pic...I'm looking at the grain in the table and comparing the piece of meat and it looks like it might be about the size of one single bite for somebody with an extra large cranium...Where is that weekend Stump Story anywho???

BlueSmoke

QBabe,[p]I have more experience with butts, too. There's usually a fat layer on top of the meat. With picnics, this may be hidden under the skin, or revealed when the cutcher skinned the picnic. I figure: I paid for it - I'm cooking it, so I usually end up with the fat tissue from which the "liquid" fat has been rendered. This tissue is hard and usually lifts away in large pieces.[p]Bark is the meaty surface that didn't have any fat covering it. At least for my preference, it should be chewy rather than hard or tough.[p]HTH,[p]Ken[p]

Daddyo

BlueSmoke,
Yes, there was a layer of fat. Fairly thick. I left it on when I cooked figuring it would keep the meat from getting dry. The hard thing I took off was one large solid piece. It's hard to tell from the picture, but this was a large piece of pig, about 10 pounds before cooking. I think it was the rendered fat based on what you've said. [p]Next time I'm going to cook a butt, just to compare. If it has a fat cap, do I remove before cooking so I can get some bark?

Ed Earl

Daddyo,
It was just the skin, not good for much but a dog treat. I leave it on all the shoulders i do, helps make it that much more moist. By the way it looks good to me.
Ed

BlueSmoke

Daddyo,
Like politics and marryin' your cousin, bark is a personal matter... Some folks love it, others could take it or leave it. If you're after bark, trim as much fat as you can before starting to cook.[p]If you've got a dog you feel kindly towards, toss the fat into the cooker (above a drip pan) apart from the meat and let it render slow and smokey. That way you can use the rendered fat to mop the meat from time to time, too.[p]Ken

JSlot

Yes, you have sinned. What you threw out was skin, as some folks have said below. However, it ain't useless. In fact, properly prepared, it is one of the tastiest treats around. Next time when you remove the skin, season it up some more and put in the oven or back on the Egg at 225-250 and render out the rest of the fat. Tastiest cracklins you'll ever have!! You can also cut it up with kitchen shears and deep fry the pieces. Voila! Homemade pork skins.[p]Jim

usa doug

Daddyo,
I like to trim the skin off back to the shank. Leave the fat on as you would do a butt. By doing so, you get more area to rub and when the fat renders you get more bark. Therefore you get more flavor. Use the skin in beans or deep fry. Feed the dog cereal![p]usa doug

QBabe

JSlot,[p]I tried making cracklins once and it turned out badly, to say the least. I'll have to give it another try sometime.[p]Cheers,
Tonia
:~)

usa doug

usadoug,
I didn't make myself very clear. I ment that I trim the meat before I cook. I trim the skin back to the end of the shank, leaving about six inchees.

Nature Boy

usadoug,
Six inchees?? Like inchee-poo?
Sorry....I been workin too hard.
Heee!
Chris