Rolled Pork shoulder?

[aguycalledadam]

HELP PLEASE! A friend of mine offered to get me some Pork shoulder for me to turn in to pulled pork this weekend but its turned up rolled rather than whole. Will this work? I could send it back but given they have done me a favour I don't want it to turn into a pain. Any advice appreciated!

[Akovia]

My first butts were tied or netted because I thought they might need to be held together. Not necessary at all, but they cooked up just fine. Make sure they are actually shoulder roasts tho, and not a rolled loin roast. Those aren't fatty enough for Q IMHO.

[aguycalledadam]

yeah def shoulder, thanks

[Steve Vojtek]

Rolled? Is it boneless and tied up with butcher string? I've done boneless shoulders tied with butcher twine. Usually buy them vac-sealed and tie them myself an they work great. No problem at all IMHO...They turn out great. Little loss of bark when removing the twine but minimal.

[Henrik]

It will work out fine. I personally think the shoulder is just a bit too lean for pulled pork, so given a rolled up version I would cook it like a porchetta (which is usually made from pork belly).
That means: unroll it, so you have a big flat piece of meat. Put some herbs and other flavors on it, roll it up again and tie it together well with butcher string. Cook it low 'n slow until done, typically 180° F, slice and enjoy.

[EdF]

Hey, wait a sec, Henrik . If you consider shoulder too lean, then what do you use for pulled pork? That's assuming you're using the belly for porchetta too. ;-)

[HorseDoctor]

...and if your pork shoulders are too lean to pull, why would it be a substitute for belly in a porchetta? I'm getting confused again.

[Henrik]

EdF - it may be a nomenclature mismatch in my head, but I make PP from boston butt, located 'higher up' (above the shoulder).

As for porchetta: yes, I make it from pork belly. It's a great dish.

My recommendation to cook it like a porchetta has two advantages as I see it:
1. You get to pack it with a lot of herbs/spices, which is good for flavor
2. Instead of cooking it to 200° F-ish and pulling, you cook it to a slightly lower temp (still way past well done) and slice it. It looks good, and tastes good.

As for the lean-ness comment on my behalf: it isn't a night/day difference, so you can definitely make pulled pork from shoulder (I have), but I personally prefer just a little more fat which I get from a boston butt. And since this particular cut was in a roll already I figured it is a good candidate for a faux porchetta.

But there are many ways to skin a cat :-)

[HorseDoctor]

I guess that we (at least I) consider the pork "shoulder" to be comprised of a top half (Boston Butt) and a bottom half (picnic roast). Both halves work quite well for pulling, the picnic just has more bone. Just semantics.

[Henrik]

That explains it well. I'm comparing picnic roast with a shoulder, which may not be correct. Good point. Either way, some good food is about to be barbecued soon!

[EdF]

Henrik, you were right - it was just nomenclature, as HorseDoctor pointed out. Happy cooking!

[JPGators17]

I have two boneless butts/shoulders dry brining in the fridge now, cooking them on the PBC tonight. For one of them I trimmed off the "skinny" side, or strip, leaving one good hunk. I plan to roll up and shape the skinny, elongated piece into a smaller roast form as best I can.

After I did that to the first one I decided to leave the second one in tact, and i will probably shape it into a larger roast, similar to its original form before it was deboned. I am undecided on whether or not to twine them up, since I'll be cooking them on the PBC grate. I'm not sure if it's necessary. I'd rather not twine if it won't make a big difference. What say yall?

[EdF]

You know that skinny part you're talking about: try this. You won't regret it!

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12690-grilled-pork-and-peaches

[JPGators17]

Thanks EdF but these are for a party tomorrow, so I'll need all of it for that.

[EdF]

You never know, it could pass out some early "appeteasers". Anyway, good to keep in mind for another time. We love this recipe.

[Yelnoc]

IMO it is a bit more than semantics. Picnic is definitely not shoulder - more like lower leg, and not comparable to a butt/shoulder especially since the lower section of the picnic is a hock often called a fresh shoulder hock (even though its on the opposite end from the shoulder) to distinguish it from a ham hock. Back in the day say 1970 before BBQ was big and when we ground up wings for dog food at the A & P in Alabama where I was the most junior meat cutter ($1.80 per hour) most picnics were smoked and offered as a more affordable option to a ham. Even now here in pork central USA and near a huge processing plant, I don't really see them much and I would not use them for pulled pork. They aren't as scarce as say tri-tip......

[Yelnoc]

I have two boneless butts/shoulders dry brining in the fridge now, cooking them on the PBC tonight. For one of them I trimmed off the "skinny" side, or strip, leaving one good hunk. I plan to roll up and shape the skinny, elongated piece into a smaller roast form as best I can.

After I did that to the first one I decided to leave the second one in tact, and i will probably shape it into a larger roast, similar to its original form before it was deboned. I am undecided on whether or not to twine them up, since I'll be cooking them on the PBC grate. I'm not sure if it's necessary. I'd rather not twine if it won't make a big difference. What say yall?

Since AR.com consensus is bones don't add much, I am on a second set of 4 shoulders which I removed the 7 bone - it is a pain but makes pull faster and if you remove the bone yourself you won't have as big a mess to try to deal with. I hate to pull because it usually is done in the evening when the thought of pulling another 4 shoulders doesn't really make me jump for joy, especially after happy hour. Prep/dry rub day before, rub in the morning. This is how I'm going to do it until I get lazy again.