PBC PORK Shoulder. To Wrap or Not to Wrap.

[Spinaker]

Do you guys/gals usually wrap your pork shoulders or just let them go? If you do wrap them, what temp. I was gonna shoot for 165 to wrap, but I didn't see anything in Meatheads recipe that says to wrap a pork shoulder. (that I could see) maybe I don't need to wrap at all.....
Thanks!!

[_John_]

Some do, some don't, I have done both but to me tenderness and moisture outweigh a slightly better crust, especially when it all gets mixed together. Not to mention time savings. I have thought about putting in a pan and letting it crisp up but haven't done it yet. I wrap when the crust is good or when i'm about 3 hours from eating, primarily because I like to rest 2 hours, 1.5 minimum. This does seem to end up happening around 160-165.
To me the rest time is key, the point of low and slow is to give time in the higher temps for everything to melt, wrapping and resting lets it spend time doing just that without getting the interior any warmer. This sacrifices crispiness either way you go.

[Spinaker]

John, Well said. Thanks for the input. I'm gonna get this guy wrapped up and save the moisture!

[TJP1]

I prefer not to wrap and wait out the stall... I'd rather wait than sacrifice the bark (personal preference)

[bep35]

I have done it both ways and both are good. I probably prefer the unwrapped. Though not as moiste I end up mixing my pulled pork with sauce which adds the moisture back in.

[Jerod Broussard]

I wrap when I have ample bark on everything. Last two butts never got wrapped, and they were definitely on par with others.

[Spinaker]

Just took out the shoulder. I took it off at 199 internal. Looks awesome! I'm throwing it in the Cambro now. But I wanted to share a picture. I used Huskee's rub on this one. Gave me a really nice bark. Cant wait to try it.

[Clarkgriswald]

Awesome looking shoulder! I pull mine off at 160 and wrap until 200ish. Letting it rest for 1.5 to 2 hours makes it melt in your mouth! I love Huskee's rub.

[Jerod Broussard]

Very nice. I am cooking three Friday.

[Huskee]

I hope you like the rub. I have 3 butts in the freezer I just picked up on sale. You guys have put me in the mood now, I'll probably do one next week. I work the full weekend starting tonight, no time until Weds earliest

Spinaker, can we get your signature filled out for you?

[Spinaker]

Yeah sure, what do I need to do?

[Huskee]

Spinaker I PM'ed you with instructions.

[fzxdoc]

I don't wrap. I like the yummy bark too much because it adds flavor and texture. In fact, for the next PB that I do, I'm going to follow Huskee's lead and slice the PB in half along the muscle lines as much as possible before applying the rub to get even more bark. I'd rather start a bit earlier and power through a stall than to wrap to save time. Just the way I roll with a PB.

John, Meathead says to rest a PB 30-60 min. Do you notice a big difference, when you rest it for 1.5 hours or more?

Kathryn

[BruceB]

I ended up with some awkward shaped pieces when separating a large PB along the muscle lines, particularly the section with the bone. It was hard to hang and varied greatly in thickness. I'll have to experiment with some alternative ways to separate the big lumps.

[Huskee]

@Bruce, the bone makes it tricky. I just try to cut a couple even hunks, I don't worry about the muscles, but I don't hang mine they sit on a grate.

[_John_]

Bruce, I cut mine diagonally, just avoiding the bone and a little crooked so the money muscle is mostly intact. It leaves a small piece of one muscle on the other (hard to describe but you'll know when you see it) and I just run the hook right through, this keeps them the same thickness and they finish around the same time.

Kathryn, it might be mostly in my head, but my first dozen or so were rested 30-60 minutes. Then for a family reunion 2.5 hours away I was told it would be fine. I was worried it would be mush, but it was my best one to that point. I've rested at least 1.5 hours ever since.

[BruceB]

That makes sense. I was trying to follow the muscle lines in 3 dimensions, should have just done as you described.

[fzxdoc]

Resting longer would work better for me, John, since I'm usually hustling to get the rest of the meal out all at the same time. It's whirling dervish time once the meat comes to temp and I set it to rest, so having an extra chunk of time would be great--plus having it taste better as you say--wow, what's not to like about that?

Kathryn

[Jerod Broussard]

Most my butts and briskets rest 2-3 hours. Easy.

[Spinaker]

Here is a picture of the finished product. (sorry for the shotty camera work) I let it rest for about 2 hrs. It was one of the best shoulders if ever made! Thanks again Huskee for the Rub, turned out great! Thanks for the help.

[Huskee]

Here is a picture of the finished product. (sorry for the shotty camera work) I let it rest for about 2 hrs. It was one of the best shoulders if ever made! Thanks again Huskee for the Rub, turned out great! Thanks for the help.

Looks great! Glad you liked the rub. BTW I PM'ed you in case you missed that from an above comment.

[HC in SC]

Looks jam-up Spinaker!

I have yet to do a butt on my PBC, but when I do them in the ECB smoker I have wrapped the last 2 when they hit 160 or so and dropped them in the oven @ 250 until coming to 195-200. I also let mine sit for at least an hour just to become manageable to pull w/o burning your hands.

HRR is my favorite for butts as well, but do yourself a flavor and try the MMD. It is more savory / less sweet. I like it on pork chops / pork loin (heck, I even sprinkled some on my cheese pizza the other night and it wasn't bad). With the fattier cuts like a butt or belly, the wife and I prefer HRR's sweetness.

I have used both on ribs and the jury is still out at my house. I will be doing another HRR vs MMD on ribs this weekend hopefully; this time no mustard slather - just the straight dope. Just remember that MMD has no salt in it (and you can make the HRR w/o salt if you choose - I keep the salt in it) and you will need to dry brine.

I suppose you could just add the necessary salt to the MMH (1/2 teaspoon per pound) and rock on.

Also do yourself a favor if you already haven't and check out Dr. Blonder's seminar on salt. He doesn't say NOT to use rubs that have salt in them, but you need to be aware that you have far less control of the amount of salt in a pre-mix w/ salt to hit the desired 1/2 teaspoon per pound. I usually assume that 1/2 of a OTS rub w/ salt is salt - i.e. if using a salt-in rub, I use 1 teaspoon / pound. Kind of loosey-goosey, but it has worked out thus far.

The only time I over salted was a dry brining incident where I 'mis-remembered' to use 1-2 teaspoons of salt; not 1/2 teaspoon. Looking at it as a pure experiment, yeah - the dry brining works like a champ; but it all had to be chucked in the trash because it burned your mouth it had so much salt in it.

Keep on truckin'!

[Spinaker]

HC,
You've gotta try a butt on the PBC. It works great. Yesterday I put my shoulders in foil at 165 but didn't seal them up all the way. Thinking that it would save a lot of my bark. It seemed to have worked. The meat was just melt in your mouth good and still had a nice bark on.

I let this one rest for about two hours. Something I've never been able to do because I wanna eat!! That made all the difference in the world. I have never had a pork shoulder fall apart like this one. The smoke ring and smoke flavor were amazing as well. I used about 10 ounces of Hickory and Apple in a 50/50 blend, that really gave off a wonderful smoke profile.

As for the rubs, I am certainly no stranger to Meatheads rub. I use it all the time. It really is my go to for pork ribs. I wanted to give Huskee's rub try and boy-o-boy did it work out. I may have to follow in your footsteps and make a side by side comparison between Huskee's and Meathed's rub.

Dr. Blonder's seminar was very informative and helpful. I have ran into over salting during dry brining in the past. I hate it when that happens, just like you said, it has to go in the trash. After the seminar though, I have a whole new perspective and respect for old NaCl.
Thanks for your input brother. It is much appreciated. SMOKE ON!!!
-John

[_John_]

Spinaker if you get hungry slice you of a chunk of the money muscle, it doesn't need to rest like the rest of the butt and is kind of a waste to just mix in anyway. I sometimes separate it altogether and smoke it separately, then slice it and eat it about the time I wrap the rest.