Cooking 'country-style pork ribs' in place of a 'pork shoulder'

[SmokingPat]

I've cooked several pork shoulders, but since it's only my wife and I, and she doesn't eat very much, I always have so much pork leftover in the freezer. I portion it into smaller packages, but still, I always view it as 'I cooked too much.'

I bought some 'country-style pork ribs' (sliced pork shoulder) that were on sale, and wanted to cook them as if I had a pork shoulder: rub them, smoke them, baste while cooking, and pull when they're tender.

What are your thoughts? Do you end up with too much bark? Would I end up with a drier collection of meat (higher surface area-to-volume)? Should they be braised or cooked in an oven, instead? Is there a better alternative, like a 'picnic shoulder'?

Edit: The meat came out fine. Maybe a little dry, but that can be fixed next time.
For those of you that might appreciate a smaller cook: give it a try!

[Jerod Broussard]

I put rub on them and cook them as is and take them up to 203 internal, then I put cold barbecue sauce on them and cook until they rise back up to 200-ish internal. They can stall.

[Mr. Bones]

Yup, cook same same as pork butt, never experienced any dryness with this cut, jus more bark, like ya done said...

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/the-pit-mastery-program/porknography-ribs-pulled-pork-ham-etc/713102-weber-kettle-boneless-country-style-ribs

[Old Glory]

Malcolm Reed's Method is pretty good

https://howtobbqright.com/2013/11/07/country-style-ribs-recipe/

[Skip]

I make them often but need to be careful that they don't get too dry. The way our Butcher cuts them they seem to be leaner than Pork Shoulder. Very tasty IMO. Smoke, sauce, and braise works best for me.

[mgaretz]

That’s all I do now: https://blasphemyribs.com/2020/03/13...y-pulled-pork/

But since it’s faster than a full shoulder but still takes a long time, I don’t waste the heat, smoke and time to just make one. So I make 3-4, pull them, then divide it and vacuum seal and freeze the cooked pork. Reheats well especially if you add a bit of sauce to make up for the moisture loss.

[Potkettleblack]

GENIUS!
But, try a variation...
don't pull it before vac sealing. Just vac seal the ones you're not gonna eat right away, shock em cold, and maybe sous vide them back to temp.

This is my process for pulled pork at a remote site, and it works perfectly...

[jfmorris]

I was going to point him to your site - glad you beat me to it!

[gcdmd]

Years ago my church used to BBQ chickens for fund raisers. The sop they used had echoes of Carolina mustard vinegar sauce and might work with pork shoulder or country style ribs. Here it is if anyone wants to try it on pork or chicken. Scale it up or down as you see fit.

1 Quart Vinegar
1 Quart Water
1/2 Cup Mustard
1/4 Cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 Cup Oil
1/8 Cup Salt
1/8 Cup Pepper
1/4 cup onion
1/4 cup lemon juice

Mix all except onion and lemon juice together in a large pot:

Then, puree onion and lemon juice together (use food processor or blender or chop onions very, very fine – this is the most important part).

Add puree to pot and simmer for 1/2 hours; then, keep warm.

[Murdy]

No such thing as too much bark!

[Potkettleblack]

Do you end up with too much bark?

I don't even understand the meaning of this question.

[jfmorris]

Bark is the best part!

[latenight71]

An example of Too Much Bark