I think that with the bigger cuts you might be giving up more bark, but the tradeoff is that you can keep it in the 170 - 200 degree range longer, which is where the real magic of fat rendering and the resulting tenderizing occurs. I actually don't worry about the cook temp too much before I start approaching 150 or so. That doesn't mean I crank it up to 350, but if the cook temp runs a bit hot at 275 for a while I'm not terribly concerned about it.
Once the pork hits the 150 mark is when I want to be sure the cook temp is at 250 or ideally 225. I usually place my butts or arms in an aluminum pan at about 160 or so and cover with foil for the final run to 203. I use the drippings from that for the basis of my sauce. I also put some butter and honey on it at that point (and sometimes just a touch of maple syrup).
Anyway, I think that the bigger mass of meat allows for a more tender piece of meat at the end because it simply takes longer to reach the final temp.
Comment