Whole pork shoulder, skin on.

[squirtthecat]

Is there any benefit at all to leaving the skin on while smoking?

I have ~80 pounds to do next weekend, and I was thinking about trying them both ways..

Thanks!

 

[scooter]

My Chris Lilly Pork Shoulder DVD shows Chris demo'ing the prep of a competition shoulder and trimming the skin and fat cap off the butt down to the meat but leaving the skin on the picnic. He said he trims the skin down to the meat on the butt to increase the amount of bark he gets but didn't comment on why he left the skin on the picnic.

 

[TentHunter]

I think you're idea of doing some both ways is the way to go. I've done whole shoulders, butts & picnics both ways, skin on & off. I like leaving the skin on once in a while for a change.

In my opinion one way is NOT better than the other; its purely a matter of preference.

If you leave the skin on, you WILL still get some smoke penetration through the skin, just not as much and obviously no bark on the skin side, BUT it helps retain a little more moisture.

Rub a little mild tasting oil on the skin and season it. It'll crisp up for some mighty fine snacking. Try chopping a little of the crispy skin up with the pulled pork for an added dimension to pulled pork (I'm getting hungry talking about it ).

Alternately you could also cut the skin off and cook it up separately. Do the same thing; rub it with oil & season. It won't take as long to cook as the shoulders. Let me tell you they're way better than the bagged pork rinds you buy!

Whatever you do, don't just throw the skin away. You paid for it. If nothing else cut it into strips and smoke it for dog treats.


Don't forget to take lots of pics and report back how it turned out!

 

[ACW3]

The Starlight Inn in Ayden, NC chops the skin along with the meat when after they cook their whole hogs. In fact, the skin is so popular that people ask for it separately. They don't give any extra skin because then they wouldn't have enough for their chopped pork.

If you do one with and one without the skin, cook the skin of the one without like Cliff mentioned. It may be a bigger hit that you realize.

Art

 

[squirtthecat]

Thanks for the tips!

 

[ACW3]

A bunch of us went on a NC BBQ Crawl this past Saturday. At Clyde Cooper's in Raleigh they cook their shoulders with the skin on and then strip the skin off. Next they take the smoked skin and cut it up and deep fry it into some really great pork skins. Just another way of dealing with the skin.

Art

 

[squirtthecat]

I ended up smoking them with thee skin on. (heavily scored, placed down towards the heat) Personally, I think it helped keep some of the moisture and a bit of the fat in place. The meat pealed (practically fell) right away from the skin.

I tried roasting the skin - but it didn't turn out very good. Ended up tossing it all in the trash.

 

[RGrunz]

This post made want to go right and buy a shoulder and cook it with skin on.... mmmmm
Thanks guys for another great tip...
Is this a great forum or what? LOL

 

[TentHunter]

A bunch of us went on a NC BBQ Crawl this past Saturday. At Clyde Cooper's in Raleigh they cook their shoulders with the skin on and then strip the skin off. Next they take the smoked skin and cut it up and deep fry it into some really great pork skins. Just another way of dealing with the skin.

Art

I like that idea; thanks Art!