25# whole shoulder

[Enrico Brandizzi]

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.

Hi lake dogs
Which everage T do you cook at whole shoulders?

 

[DownHomeQue]

i like whole shoulders too.. don't cook them often though..

 

[Lake Dogs]

Hi lake dogs
Which everage T do you cook at whole shoulders?

250-275. Many times I'm cooking them late in the cook with ribs (which are 260-280, so earlier in the cook I try to keep them in the lower range of 250, but frankly I dont sweat it too much. Anything 240-290 for me seems to work fine. I dont care for lower than 240 for a few reasons. First, it's just unnecessarily low and slow, and to get my smoker that low I pretty much have to choke it down, which tends to ruin the sweet blue that I get in that 250-275 range. I dont care for creosote. Higher that 300, IMHO, powers through the stall a bit too fast for my preference. The result is a Q that's a bit fatty and not as tender as I prefer it.

 

[RolandJT]

Lake Dogs--I love the butt and picnic mix too. Love to cook whole shoulders (I've even done small ones on a kettle which takes dedication).

I wonder if it wouldn't be better to cook them separately though. My picnics always seem to be done at a different time than my butts.

Anyone done it that way on purpose?