First shoulder of 2011

This is the first pork shoulder I am cooking this year and probably the last for a while... If you haven't noticed there has been a reoccurring theme on this blog and it happens to revolve around pork. Now by no means am I saying im sick of pork, but how much can one man eat? No tomatoes is basically a 2 man/WOman team that means not only do we do all of the prep work, cooking and cleaning but the eating as well. While this is not exactly the biggest drawback on the planet some variety would surely revive my lust for all things smoked. Fortunately for this last shoulder I got to share it and get some feedback from an outside source.... my new neighbors! What better way to welcome someone to the neighborhood than with free bbq? not to mention my best bbq yet! Without further a due my best pork shoulder to date!

well sort of this is how it started but let me tell you this thing turned out amazing! 

As always a trip to the local butcher shop was in order to pick up the no tomatoes special. A nice 9.8lb bone in boston butt along with the supplies to make a batch of the usual suspects.

One quick thing I will say about ABT's to serve as a reminder to myself for next time is that I need to try something new mixed into the filling... The filling we use right now is actually really good (philly cream cheese, shredded 4 cheese blend, some rub, and some creole season) but I would imagine just about anything mixed with cheese and piped into a bacon wrapped jalapeno would be delicious. Maybe for next time I was thinking maybe some sausage or shrimp added to the basic filling? Maybe im trying to fix something that isn't broken but I think the ABT's are a perfect platform for experimenting.

Up first is the injection

Be sure to let this cool before using it

Time to trim the fat cap.

  Ninja cutting stance engage

Ready for some rubbin'

Mustard, makes for some of the best bark!

 Now I just need to add some rub and were almost ready to shoot it up and throw it on the smoker.

Pumped full of flavor and ready for some smoke!

ABT's

 yum... this stuff is good as is, would actually be good on a cracker.

Cored and halved

The ghetto piping bag, ziplock with the cut corner!

Half way done, almost time for some ...

bacon! I plan on trying to make some of this myself this year. Hopefully I will have results sooner than later.

Ready for some smoke, unfortunately there is no record of completion for these as they magically disappeared as soon as they were done....

My Boss checking in on the progress.

thats a good sign...

the bottom of the damn thing slid right off

but the end results were well worth it...

So what did I learn?

big butts take a long time to cook! this shoulder took so damn long to finish!!!! This shoulder stalled for almost 5 hours! total cook time at 225* was a little over 16 hours to get to a 195* internal. Tack on a 2 hour rest and were looking at 18 fucking hours of waiting. Thank god this was an over night smoke had I started this thing in the morning I would have been pissed waiting up all night for this thing to finish. I am really happy with the results though, the last two smokes have been the best yet and they seem to keep getting better. Both the the injected shoulders were smoked entirely with apple wood which I personally really like. I feel like the apple wood provides a sweet smokey bbq that isn't overpowering. I would like to try some hickory or a combination of hickory and apple on my next smoke to see how much of a difference it makes flavor wise. 

more smoke coming soon...

shoot it up

there is something nostalgic about having aluminum fool and oversized syringes laying around....

And it reminds me of pork shoulder!

I think I have finally gone the way of the needle. After doing this shoulder with an injection I think this is not only a great way to prepare a piece of meat for smoking but it makes for some pretty damn good bbq too. I have actually done two shoulders with injections since the new year and I will definitely be doing it a third time. The injection did a good job of keeping the shoulder really juicy throughout along with providing a lot of flavor directly to the meat.

The injection was pretty simple and found online (supposedly Chris lilly's). Just heat the wet stuff on low and stir in the dry ingredients until dissolved. It makes enough to thoroughly do 1 whole 10lb+ shoulder or two 6-8 lber's lightly. I emphasize thoroughly because both times I was left with probably close to half of the injection despite pumping them to the verge of rupture.

Pork injection
3/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons Worcestershire

Time to Prepare the meat.

Today's cut is a 8.11lb Bone in Pork shoulder, I just lightly trimmed excess fat from the cap.

Time for a quick mustard massage... followed by a dusting or the top secret rub and a few shots.

Here are some action shots of me breaking in el cheapo injector. I figured for the price it was worth a try I will definitely invest in higher quality injector in the future but for now I will probably use these as "disposable" units.

One of the really nice parts about injections is there is no waiting. You can literally finish prepping the shoulder and go straight to the smoker. I might try letting one sit over night but I have a feeling it might make the meat a bit too salty and too strongly flavored. You may end up losing the delicious pork flavor that makes really good bbq what it is. If there is one BIG thing I have learned so far its that less is definitely more. You may have noticed that there have been less and less photos taken throughout the cooking process. The reason for that is the fact I am never taking the lid off of the smoker unless the thing spontaneously combusts. Honestly the only time the smoker even gets more air than it should is when im adding wood chunks or topping off the water pan. So far this decision has exponentially improved the final product so im going to stick with it. I might try and sneak some picture in of the next few smokes at the halfway point but it will be purely educational.

After 14 hours of cooking at 225* the bone slides out cleanly!

This was an AWESOME pork shoulder. By far my best so far and I will credit that to two thing. Number one the injection, I truly believe this made a huge difference in the taste of finished product. Number two was rock solid temperature control. This is partly based on the fact the wsm is an incredibly simple yet incredibly effecting smoking device along with a more experienced user operating it. This was my very first overnight smoke! I started it the smoker around midnight and had the meat in the smoker around 1:30am I put the shoulder in the smoker with the temperature around 220* and watched for about an hour, it seemed to be holding so I hit the hay. Probably slept until around 4am before going outside to check and add some more wood chunks but other than that I basically checked on the fire ever 3-4 hours and rode it out. Definitely a nice way to smoke, who doesn't want to wake up to a freshly smoked pork shoulder?!?!

So what did I learn?

first of all injections are awesome! I will definitely be using and experimenting more with injections especially when making pulled pork. I think it could work well in a brisket application as well but seeing has I have never smoked a brisket I am really talking out of my ass on that one.

Secondly this was the first time using a new rub which was actually really good. It was definitely more to my liking than the precious one we were testing and experimenting with. This one provided a more traditional bbq flavor and seemed to go better with the meat without overpowering it with spice.

One last thing!!!

ABT's were kind of an after thought for this smoke. In fact I didn't even get any pictures of them once they came off because we were eating them before they even made it into the house haha.

So for your viewing pleasure here is a random picture from the middle of ABT prep.... the only record that these ever even existed...

 

 I think im going to start weighing myself and checking in every post. Although the signs are mild im pretty sure I have gotten a little bit more fluffy than when I started all of this.

incoming!!!! lots of overdue updates!