Doing it again!! Shoulder over night!

Acill

Acill

New member
After all the fun I had with my last one, I am doing another! this time a proper shoulder and not a picnic roast. I got everything together right now and will be getting it in the Englander once the temps get to 225. I plan to have this baby for lunch tomorrow and freeze up the left overs!

Pics to follow!
 
Acill

Acill

New member
Good morning! Checking on the pellet level and temps. Things going well so far. Im sitting at 160 internal right now. Looks like lunch will be on later with no trouble. My cooker is set to 255 and my Maverick ET-733 is telling me its at 220-225. Should I bump up the cooker 5 degrees or am I good?
 
TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
Acill said:
My cooker is set to 255 and my Maverick ET-733 is telling me its at 220-225. Should I bump up the cooker 5 degrees or am I good?
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That is totally up to YOU, but I don't think a 5° bump is going to make any real difference one way or another.


I can tell you're enjoying this journey you've started (and who could blame you). As you go along and ask questions you may get 10 different answers from 10 different people. This is a GOOD thing!

Example: for pulled pork I like to foil with a little liquid and bump the temp to around 300 to braise. Others may foil, but not raise the temp. Someone else won't foil at all...

I prefer whole pork shoulders. You used a Picnic cut last time and found that you didn't care for the bigger bone, so you are trying a Butt portion this time.

Keep asking questions and keep experimenting with different techniques to find what you like. THAT is what makes this journey so much fun!

Cliff
 
Darwin00537

Darwin00537

New member
Acill said:
Good morning! Checking on the pellet level and temps. Things going well so far. Im sitting at 160 internal right now. Looks like lunch will be on later with no trouble. My cooker is set to 255 and my Maverick ET-733 is telling me its at 220-225. Should I bump up the cooker 5 degrees or am I good?
Click to expand...

If you maintain 220-225 and don't foil that butt may not be done by lunch. I'm not suggesting you foil, just letting you know you may need to make other lunch plans=)
 
Acill

Acill

New member
Yup, not done by lunch is right. This is nuts. 4 pounds of meat less then the picnic one last time and still taking over 12 hours. Im going to foil and bump up the heat a bit here in a sec. I'll just try out the FTC method and have a nice supper tonight with it. I plan to use the vacuum sealer and save the rest anyhow.

We are at 172 currently with the cooker holding at 255.

Cliff: Your right though. I am having a great time learning to use this cooker. So far I havent messed up anything on it. Ive done a lot of great cooks too. Still havent done any big beef cooks yey, mostly because Im the only one that eats it in the house. Pork and chicken however is done up nice!
 
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Acill

Acill

New member
Darwin00537 said:
Here's an article on your temp issue. If the temp is 172 you probably aren't going to save much time by foiling. It's likely already past the stall. The article explains: Understanding And Beating The Barbecue Stall, Bane Of All Barbecuers, And How It Helps Create "Bark"
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Great read! Thanks a lot. I ended up putting it into a heavy foil pan and covered it up with a sheet of heavy foil tightly. The bark looked great moving it into the pan. I think it will come out perfect here in another hour or two. Its nearing 180 now with the cooker at 270.
 
Darwin00537

Darwin00537

New member
Acill said:
Great read! Thanks a lot. I ended up putting it into a heavy foil pan and covered it up with a sheet of heavy foil tightly. The bark looked great moving it into the pan. I think it will come out perfect here in another hour or two. Its nearing 180 now with the cooker at 270.
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You want to wrap the butt tightly in foil, not put the butt in a pan then cover tightly. Check out this video at the 5 minute point for a demonstration on what I mean.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6S8xDe6Dxw#t=313

If you leave the butt in the pan with foil covering it there's too much air around the meat, which will allow too much steam and moisture in the cooking environment. You'll end up with mushy steamed pork butt with no bark.
 
Acill

Acill

New member
k, I got it tight. Looking good so far. I am right at 195 right now. When is a good time to pull it and do the FTC?
 
Darwin00537

Darwin00537

New member
Acill said:
k, I got it tight. Looking good so far. I am right at 195 right now. When is a good time to pull it and do the FTC?
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That's a loaded question. It's ready now at 195 but my opinion is 203 is the sweet spot temp. It will be tender and juicy at 195, but my experience is that at 203 the meat is super tender and juicy. If you let it go above 205 it starts drying out.
 
Acill

Acill

New member
Darwin00537 said:
That's a loaded question. It's ready now at 195 but my opinion is 203 is the sweet spot temp. It will be tender and juicy at 195, but my experience is that at 203 the meat is super tender and juicy. If you let it go above 205 it starts drying out.
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Got it all FTC and resting in the cooler. How long will it be good like this? Its 2:00 now. Will it still be hot and ready to pull at say 6? Its double foiled and double toweled.
 
Darwin00537

Darwin00537

New member
Acill said:
Got it all FTC and resting in the cooler. How long will it be good like this? Its 2:00 now. Will it still be hot and ready to pull at say 6? Its double foiled and double toweled.
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Oh yeah, it'll still be good=) Start pulling about 15 minutes before you're ready to serve taking big pieces of fat and discarding. For extra juicy pork, pour some of the juice in the foil back on the pork. It's got fat in it so don't put too much or it'll be greasy. Once all that is done throw it on a plate or bun, sauce to your liking, and enjoy!
 
TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
This is where I'm a little different... I say forget the temp. Every pork shoulder is different and will be done at a different temp. I like to go by feel because that always works. Once it reaches above 190° I like to start checking every half hour or so. Stick a probe in the meat, if you feel resistance then it's not done. When the probe slides in easily (like warm butter) then the tissue is broken down and the roast is ready to be pulled.

If there's time, resting it is fine but not necessary. The tissue is broken down so there's nothing to relax, and any juices that come out can just be dumped right into the serving dish with the pork. If I have foil juices I will also mix some of those in (they are loaded with flavor).
 
Darwin00537

Darwin00537

New member
TentHunter said:
This is where I'm a little different... I say forget the temp. Every pork shoulder is different and will be done at a different temp. I like to go by feel because that always works. Once it reaches above 190° I like to start checking every half hour or so. Stick a probe in the meat, if you feel resistance then it's not done. When the probe slides in easily (like warm butter) then the tissue is broken down and the roast is ready to be pulled.
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I'll agree, but, I've not run into a butt that did not keep getting more and more tender up to 203. If it's tender at 198 and my guests are about to arrive I'll pull it, but if I have plenty of time I always take it to 203.
 
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