Pork Shoulder on the Rotisserie?

[Willy]

I've got a nine-pound butt dry-brining and I plan on tossing it on the Weber gasser/rotisserie tomorrow. I love chicken thighs, whole chickens and turkeys, and pork tenderloin done this way, so I figured I'd try pork butt.

Have any of you done this and does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations?

[scottranda]

As long as the higher internal temps doesn't make it fall off the rotisserie. That's prob the only thing I'd worry about.

[RonB]

I have thought about it too, but it may be hard to control temps with all the air the rotisserie setup allows to enter. I would suggest some type of minion or snake setup for the coals. I have no idea what you will need to do that though. The SnS might work, but, again I have no idea how to control the temp with all the air coming in.

An idea - if you have access to a heatproof rope, (or something similar), to stuff in the gap between the rotisserie wall and the edge of the kettle, that might help control airflow. Then either keep the top vent closed or block as much air around each end of the spit as possible and use the top vent for airflow control. If you can control airflow, the SnS should be fine. You might need to use a bit of foil to prevent fat from dripping on the hot coals.

Good luck.

Edit to add I missed that you were using a gasser, so temp control should be easier... But after all that typing, I'm leaving it.

[fuzzydaddy]

Hey, you may come up with an excellent method! Go for it. Can't wait to hear how it goes.

[troymeister]

Willy I am more than interested to hear and see how this goes.

[Willy]

Well, it looks purdy, but it came out dry, which was quite surprising to me for a rotisserie result. Anyway, pics below:

Fresh on the gasser first, then almost done, then as shredded:

[Bruce54]

How did you run the burners? I think this method could work well, just need some more tries.

[Willy]

I just finished shredding the shoulder to salvage it by throwing in the CrockPot with some sauce. I noticed there was very little congealed fat in the ZipLoc the butt was refrigerated in. Perhaps this is not surprising since the butt was dry, but, I wonder, is it possible to buy a butt that is to lean? I never look at butts (insert joke here) for marbling the way I do beef cuts.

[Bruce54]

Hope there's a "next time" on this. A ways back I had a three burner Weber, and the rotisserie was kind of a secret weapon. Maybe try just using one burner, cook temperature under 275, and something to block the radiated heat from those bars over the burner? In your photo, I didn't see a pan. Although your air temperature was 300, I'd bet the bars over the burner are hotter. Kind of a weak IR broiler, but after 8 hours of it ... (Of course, this might be where docblonder jumps in with "No, it doesn't work that way.")

Were you doing any sort of doneness tests outside of the meat temperature? For long cooks I'm a fan of using the thermometer to tell you when it should be getting close, then let the meat tell you when it's done.

As for marbling, given the opportunity to compare, I will. Any meat, any cut, pick the best marbling.

[Willy]

Bruce54 I did not do any other tenderness tests for doneness beyond looking for 203°F, which has been very reliable in the past for me. That may be a problem. I always run both outside burners when doing rotisserie and usually about 100°F hotter. This is the longest I've ever dome a rotisserie, fer shure. Usually about 2.5 hours for a turkey has been my max.

The grill is hottest at the right side (when facing it), so the butt was pushed as far left as it would go. Air temp was taken roughly in the center of the grill a couple inches below the spit rod (grate level). Using an IR thermometer, the meat surface ran about 200°F for the first few hours, then I stopped measuring it. Maybe not wise. I did not use a water pan, which may have also been unwise, but the meat does not extend as far as the outside burners, else-wise there are big flare-ups from dripping fat. The butt didn't blacken until almost done and I have had much blacker butts (insert more jokes) than this that turned out fine.

This isn't a big deal in the sense that I don't think a long gasser rotisserie cook is cost effective or likely better; it's just a burr that got under my saddle and I had to try it. Not sure I'll give it another go, though I am leaning towards a too-lean butt as the most probable answer at this point. Sadly, even the CrockPot failed to save it. In the end, it was essentially overcooked, whatever the cause.

[docblonder]

Probably just overcooked. The gasser is dry, and the IR does cook a bit hotter. As Bruce54 mentioned, trust a pull test over the thermometer until you have the process dialed in.