SRF Kurubota Whole Pork Shoulder - don't let me mess this up

[harrybbq]

I have cooked many briskets and pork ribs, but only once I've done a pork butt. It was a little 7 pounder butt piece. I remember the end result was just 'meh'
It was tender, juicy, blah blah, but it was just kinda ordinary. Very different than my brisket experiences, where they actually come out like something I would pay money for. That pulled pork, not as much. Maybe pork is just blend?

So, last time I ordered a wagyu black grade from SRF, I also threw in a kurubota whole shoulder to try. The thing is enormous, at 21 lbs.

I've been reading threads on pork shoulder cooks. Some say such big piece could go for 20 to 30 hours, and others say few hours of smoke than wrap.

Is it the norm with pork shoulders that they are always wrapped? If yes, it it to speed it up or to prevent it from drying?

I intend to smoke this on my offset, and serving the next day, early evening 5pm or so.

Any tips, experiences, suggestions, would be much appreciated

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

I've not cooked a lot of Kurobota pork, but I do cook a ton of pork butts and shoulders. In fact I've got 145Lbs of pork butts on my smoker right now for a vending event tomorrow. Obviously cook time will depend on your temp, but generally, in my experience, pork shoulders tend to take about 10-15% longer than briskets. I ALWAYS wrap my pork butts or shoulders in a pan because it catches all the juices. I like to pull the pork and then reincorporate some of those juices back into the pulled meat. You can easily not wrap the pork shoulders and it's not going to hurt anything, but you'll end up with a slightly drier product since you'll be losing all of those juices.

I usually smoke my pork at 225-250 and wrap when I hit the stall at about 165° internal temps. I put them in a foil pan, then foil over, and let it go until they are tender. When I'm cooking low and slow they are usually perfectly tender at 195-200°. When I'm cooking hotter, between 275-350°, they usually aren't tender until the 208-211° range.

Good luck with the cook and I'm sure the pork shoulder will come out just perfectly. You're looking for the same tenderness as you would in a brisket in terms of "probe tender."

 

[drunkenmeatfist]

With a fancy pig like that I would think that simple is better to let the meat shine. This is my new go to pork shoulder recipe after I found it recently. Good stuff

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=151525&highlight=Lexington

 

[BillN]

The last SRF shoulder I did I put it on the top shelf above a hotel pan for a couple of hours then put it in the pan for a few more hours uncovered than about the 4.5 hour mark sealed the pan with foil and it was pull apart done by hour 7. When I pulled it I incorporated all the collected juices. Delicious, tender and extremely moist.

2 hours in...


Hour seven...

 

[BillN]

For the above SRF shoulder I only used kosher salt. Plus it came really closely trimmed almost no external fat covering however that did not negatively impact the finished product.

 

[sudsandswine]

Timely thread, I’ve been pondering one of these lately.

 

[Potatoe]

I want to do one Also, but like the OP is seeing, the cook time is all over the place and that's one thing that kept me away so far. . . .i think ill just have to do one and take notes before serving one at a party, or just be prepared to hold it. . .Harry please let post your results

 

[SweetHeatBBQnSC]

In regards of the bland tasting meat, I know it won't be popular, but I think the sauce really helps make the pork. A lot of people just allow people to sauce it on their own. However, if you cook the sauce into the pork the flavor hits a totally different level. I am a big sauce guy so you may not agree, but I definitely think this is the case with pulled pork.

 

[rwalters]

In regards of the bland tasting meat, I know it won't be popular, but I think the sauce really helps make the pork. A lot of people just allow people to sauce it on their own. However, if you cook the sauce into the pork the flavor hits a totally different level. I am a big sauce guy so you may not agree, but I definitely think this is the case with pulled pork.

110% agree! Years ago, when I began incorporating a finishing sauce into my pulled pork, it was a complete game changer. Tons of flavor and guaranteed no dry meat [emoji39][emoji39]

 

[harrybbq]

For the above SRF shoulder I only used kosher salt. Plus it came really closely trimmed almost no external fat covering however that did not negatively impact the finished product.

Hi Bill
You say your cook took 7 hours? How big was the piece, and at what temperature did you smoke it?

Thanks

 

[harrybbq]

I want to do one Also, but like the OP is seeing, the cook time is all over the place and that's one thing that kept me away so far. . . .i think ill just have to do one and take notes before serving one at a party, or just be prepared to hold it. . .Harry please let post your results

Yes, will surely post the results. Will start the cook Friday late night and serve it Saturday.