25# whole shoulder

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RolandJT

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Just got 2 whole shoulders from a local farmer--50# total for about 25# each. They are Swabians. I'm saving one for later and cooking 1 this weekend.

Question--I recently cooked 2 10#butss and a 12# picnic on my WSM (some peolple couldn't make it so i froze the other picnic). What is the time difference given the shoulder I'm cooking this weekend is whole.

I cook till blade bone releases--so i am not asking when to take the thing off. I'm just looking for general guesses about cooking a whole shoulder verses split up shoulders.
 
I'll be cooking at about 225. I use a Weber 22.5 WSM.

I can do 3 pieces of about 10# each in 12-15 hours at that temp--depends on exactly how big the biggest one is, wind on the day, orneriness of the pigs involved, etc.

The shoulder is huge, but is essentially a butt next to a picnic. I would expect cooking whole to add a couple of hours, but i wouldn't expect it to double time.
 
Wild Guess Dept. :

If you are able to be comfortable bumping the temp up a little........say, 250..........then still maybe 16~18 hours............


Again.............Wild Guess Dept.

The thing about extra large pieces I've found is if you try to cook real hot, the edges or any thinner areas will dry out after that long on the cooker (my experience is with large clod roasts, but pork is not hugely different)
 
Time per pound only works up to a point. What really determines your cook time is thickness of the meat. The guess of adding a couple hours is a better one--it won't take twice as long to cook. It's not like two butts in your WSM take twice as long as one butt, even though it's twice the weight of meat. The key is how long it takes for the center to heat up, which is where thickness comes into play.
 
So far, other than Dave, all wrong answers. When I cook shoulders they're usually in that 20 - 23# range. Yours are a little larger. Mine cook the same time that a 9.5# butt cooks, because they are no more dense than a 9.5# butt. It's density, not weight.

As long as you have good heat flow circulating around the meat, it'll be the time as your large butts and picnics.

Also, using a RF offset smoker, in that 250-270 range, takes me right at the 9 hour mark.
 
Thanks guys.

I think since it is one piece of meat i'll have less fiddling when I do the adjustments, vinegar mop, etc. That would lead to shorter time than the 3 different pieces.

there may be a tendency for longer time due to the butt and picnic being attached.

My WSM loves to run at 215-240 so i don't want to fight it up to a higher temp while trying something new.

i'm going to go with a 12-16 range as my guess. I'll target starting to cook 16 before the gettogether and have some extra beer and I'll be ready with some quicker cooking grilled apps if needed.
 
Lake Dogs said:
So far, other than Dave, all wrong answers. When I cook shoulders they're usually in that 20 - 23# range. Yours are a little larger. Mine cook the same time that a 9.5# butt cooks, because they are no more dense than a 9.5# butt. It's density, not weight.

As long as you have good heat flow circulating around the meat, it'll be the time as your large butts and picnics.

Also, using a RF offset smoker, in that 250-270 range, takes me right at the 9 hour mark.
Click to expand...

I defer to your experience, sir.

My butcher sells blade-in butts that have been halved, in the 6-7# range, and vacuum-packed, uncut butts that run closer to 10-12#. My WSM likes to run at 250, my butts almost always finish in about an hour per pound. What I will do in the future is make a note of the thickness of the two. I'm sure that's the difference.
 
Hy Roland
This the log to my 25 lbs whole pork shoulder youtube video. Any how I needed 24 hours with some gas oven at the end.

[ame]http://youtu.be/faSg8Ev9oZY[/ame]
 
a few weeks ago I did a 15# shoulder, I had a thread on it with pics. I ran my UDS around 250-260 for about 12 hours. I wrapped it at 170 degrees. After the 12hrs, I brought it in to the oven for another 2 hours to keep a constant temp and finish it off. It turned out well. It made 2 full gallon baggies of pulled pork. Dog just about bit my finger off trying to give her a piece.
 
I cook 'em for MBN and MiM competitions. The 22# is my favorite. Easy to handle; makes GREAT Q. Between competitions (where I cook 9 at a time), and home cooking (I'll usually cook 4 at a time), I've probably cooked 200 of them. The whole shoulders cook exactly the same as if you had a picnic and and boston butt weighing the same. Then again, I'm using an RF offset, that has a superb air flow, to the point where it almost has a convection affect. If you're on a tiny smoker not meant for this amount, if it's restricting air flow, then yeah, you'll have a longer cook time.

I question a few of the temperatures above. Make sure you're measuring the cook surface temperature and not using the external mounted thermometer to determine what you're cooking at.
 
Enrico said:
Hy Roland
This the log to my 25 lbs whole pork shoulder youtube video. Any how I needed 24 hours with some gas oven at the end.
Click to expand...

Even for a whole hog, this is too low and too slow. I suggest that you might've been cooking closer to the 200 degree range. External mounted thermometers are notorious for being off, in some cases off by as much as 60 degrees, from the temperature on the cooking surface.
 
25 pound chunk of meat will take you 24 hours.

I buy 25 pound whole chuck rolls all the time. I cut them in quarters. Then they take 10-12 hours.

Save yourself a lot of fuel. Cut the things up. You're going to pull them anyway, right? Plus, the more you cut them up, the more surfaces get rubbed. Win-win.
 
A 25# whole shoulder doesnt cook like a 25# ham. One is nearly twice as thick (dense) as the other...

RolandJT, how'd it go?
 
RolandJT, any news? Pics? I hope it went well for 'ya.
 
still wondering here, too.....that's a pretty big piece & i appreciated your input, Mr. L. Dogs................
 
1buckie said:
still wondering here, too.....that's a pretty big piece & i appreciated your input, Mr. L. Dogs................
Click to expand...

You're welcome. The size thing is the joke around here; they say I can't cook for 2; I just have to cook for 200... That's why when someone is talking about cooking 1 rack of ribs, or a 6lb butt, I usually dont offer much. But when they're talking about large hams, whole shoulders, etc. they're in my wheel house... To this day, I'll never forget the mis-information I received when I was preparing to cook 9 22# whole shoulders. Looking back, it took information as gospel from people who'd never done it before; complete conjecture, and it was 100% inaccurate. 1 person gave me good/accurate tips; that was Pete Cookston of Yazoo's Delta Q. Since that time I've cooked hundreds (literally) of 22+-# whole shoulders; partly because we do them in MBN competitions, but largely because it's my favorite to EAT. :thumb: I'd like to think that I can now cook shoulders right there with him/her (Pete and Melissa) and just as good as Myron and the others...

If you're cooking 10-20 racks of baby backs, let me know. Per my team partners and good friends (lots of CBJ's in this crowd), apparently I have them down pretty good too... I love ribs, but they're not my favorite to eat.
 
Thanks guys. Went well. It took about an hour or 2 longer, so my planning was good. Thanks to the feedback i was able to plan well and had it done 1.5 hours before serving and held in a cooler for that time--just about perfect timing.

My neighbor decided to help out by pulling and had it 1/2 dissassembled by the time I washed my hands and got the cellphone out for pics. I'll definitely trade good pics for serving help any day--man he pulled an ebtire shoulder as fast as i've ever seen so I appreciated the help. This guy is the zen master of 2 forks.

BBQ sucess but documentation failure.:oops:


I decided not to post only the preparatory stuff without the money shot.
 
Lak Dogs--2X on shoulder being a favorite to eat.

Butt is easier to cook and it always seems to turn out well no matter what. Whole shoulder tastes better--it just isn't the same unless you get some of the gnarlier, hammier, drier but meatier meat from the picnic.

Worth the trouble to cook IMHO.

BTW--my dad is from West TN. I cooked this one in his prefferred style--seasoned only with salt and heavy smoke (none of this 3-6 chunks for a 12 hour cook stuff). Thin hot vinegar mop and finishing sauce.

If you've never tried it, give it a try. You'll be shocked how well it turns out without the rubs and thick sauces.
 
Super super super! Yeah, there's just something about mixing the butt and picnic that's just extra special. Every time I've done them for crowds it gets extra raves (over the butts or picnics alone). Absolutely worth the little extra trouble of handling the larger cuts.
 
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