Shoulder secrets??

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (Foodbme)

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:05:00 GMT

Great Job! I'm so glad everything turned out so well and sounds like you raised some money for a worthwhile cause. As I mentioned in my PM, the pictures are on their way to Buffetbuster since I don't know how to post them and wanted to make sure they get posted on here.
Again, CONGRATS!

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (pwdff142)

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:38:46 GMT

Let me take a moment to say Thank You to everyone that helped us throught out the preping for this Cook-off. We had a great time and the BBQ that we came out with was awesome and very tasty. We sold out at about 18:30 on Saturday with about 200- 300 more plates sold that normal. I couldnt have done it without all of your help, I have sent several pic to Foodbme to post for me, so look for them soon. If you have any questions Please feel free to ask, maybe I can take the information you gave me and pass it on to someone else. Thanks again!!

pwdff142

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (pwdff142)

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 22:40:52 GMT

Thanks Guys, I will definintly take that advise!! I thought it might be a little soon, but I'll keep a check on them and see. I thought I would start a grill full then, the next at about 30 mins to an hour after that one to give myself some breathing room between them. Thanks again keep all the advice coming, tomorrow is the day, and I'll keep you posted.

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (caver)

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:38:13 GMT

I would agree, do a full load a few days ahead if you can if you haven't run them on those before. That will give you a good idea of time and any difficulties you might run into.

That's a lot of pig, I'd keep it as simple as possible.

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (Foodbme)

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 13:05:05 GMT

Foodbme

Brad_Olson

prisonchef

here is all you need to know;
!--pit temp 225f.
2 -go to 190f internal temp. appx 45 mins/lb.
3-put them in a cooler for 30 mins before pulling.
those are the basics. doesn't mater if your smoker is gas,charcoal or pellets.

45 minutes per pound at 225 for a whole shoulder (butt & picnic) sounds a bit optimistic to me. It took 8 hours at 250-275 for my 3-3/4 pound bone-in butt to get from fridge temp to 195 yesterday and I regularly run into times of 2 hours or more per pound.

Brad

When I read that, I thought the same thing, Especially if pwdff142 is going to put 6-10 shoulders in one grill at the same time!
NOTE TO PWDFF142.
Your estimate of 6-7 hours per load seems low. You might want to consider starting a load or two earlier. If they are finished earlier you can always wrap them in foil to hold them.

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (Foodbme)

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 13:03:58 GMT

Brad_Olson

prisonchef

here is all you need to know;
!--pit temp 225f.
2 -go to 190f internal temp. appx 45 mins/lb.
3-put them in a cooler for 30 mins before pulling.
those are the basics. doesn't mater if your smoker is gas,charcoal or pellets.

45 minutes per pound at 225 for a whole shoulder (butt & picnic) sounds a bit optimistic to me. It took 8 hours at 250-275 for my 3-3/4 pound bone-in butt to get from fridge temp to 195 yesterday and I regularly run into times of 2 hours or more per pound.

Brad

When I read that, I thought the same thing, Especially if pwdff142 is going to put 6-10 shoulders in one grill at the same time!
NOTE TO PWDFF142.
Your estimate of 6-7 hours per load seems low. You might want to start a load or two earlier. If they are finished earlier you can always wrap them in foil to hold them.

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (Davwud)

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 11:26:16 GMT

Save the rendered pork fat. Smoked pork fat is great. Use it to saute onions, etc. and make BBQ Baked Beans.

DT

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (ScreamingChicken)

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 10:08:46 GMT

prisonchef

here is all you need to know;
!--pit temp 225f.
2 -go to 190f internal temp. appx 45 mins/lb.
3-put them in a cooler for 30 mins before pulling.
those are the basics. doesn't mater if your smoker is gas,charcoal or pellets.

45 minutes per pound at 225 for a whole shoulder (butt & picnic) sounds a bit optimistic to me. It took 8 hours at 250-275 for my 3-3/4 pound bone-in butt to get from fridge temp to 195 yesterday and I regularly run into times of 2 hours or more per pound.

Brad

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (pwdff142)

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 06:14:38 GMT

I will!! I plan to take a bunch of pics and download them on here with the totals. "Thank You" to everyone who has helped me to this point.

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (Foodbme)

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 02:41:03 GMT

pwdff142

Thanks prisonchef,
Yeah, I think I've got my plan down. It appears we're going to be cooking about 100 shoulders, and the teams will cook the rest, so I've got my work cut out for me, HUH??? Going to rub them and Put them on in waves and take them off in waves in about 6-7 hours. If anybody else wan't to come cook I've got PLENTY of spots left???????

Be sure to let us know how everything turned out! Hope you get good weather!

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (pwdff142)

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 21:51:37 GMT

Thanks prisonchef,
Yeah, I think I've got my plan down. It appears we're going to be cooking about 100 shoulders, and the teams will cook the rest, so I've got my work cut out for me, HUH??? Going to rub them and Put them on in waves and take them off in waves in about 6-7 hours. If anybody else wan't to come cook I've got PLENTY of spots left???????

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (prisonchef)

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 16:59:11 GMT

here is all you need to know;
!--pit temp 225f.
2 -go to 190f internal temp. appx 45 mins/lb.
3-put them in a cooler for 30 mins before pulling.
those are the basics. doesn't mater if your smoker is gas,charcoal or pellets.

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (pwdff142)

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:19:42 GMT

Yes, they have back to back lids with a brace it the center to hinge them, its not made for whole hogs by great for everything else. I do like that smoker idea I'm going to try that. Well I am pulling my camper up there to lay down if I need to during the night. I tryed to attach a picture of the grills but they wouldn't attach( the newbie thing I guess) I will send it to your email address then you can post it IF its post worthy???.

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (Foodbme)

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:40:55 GMT

pwdff142

Thanks Play27, I will have to try that. Would two work on a grill with 6-10 shoulders or should I add more??

Whew! Glad to hear you have big grills and sounds like you're using enough lead time. Not planning on sleeping on Friday nite are you?
Play 27's idea is a good one.I would have extra pans as backups. Two to put in each Grill and several to back them up. As one set burns down, you'll have a second set ready to go. Then just rotate them as needed. Do the grills have covers/lids on them to help hold in the heat & smoke?

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (pwdff142)

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 11:15:19 GMT

Thanks Play27, I will have to try that. Would two work on a grill with 6-10 shoulders or should I add more??

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (Play27)

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 09:13:58 GMT

Unfortunately, BBQ cooked over gas will always taste like, well, BBQ cooked over gas. Adding any smoke to the process will help. You can do that by using foil pans filled with hickory wood chips, soaked for several hours. Put the wet chips in one pan, set another pan inside of it with holes poked in it and you ahve yourself a disposable smoke device. your meat will taste better guaranteed.

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (pwdff142)

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 06:34:01 GMT

Foodbme,
We have 8 commercial grills with a 5' x 8' grill surface, and they should be somewhere between 12-15 lbs a piece. The plan is to start Friday morning (around 11) cooking what we are going to have to cook, and the competitors will get theirs at 20:00, that night. We are currently looking at about 10-12 teams so far. So Looks like we'll have to cook about 100 shoulders at this point, so I'm making up a LOT of rub. Thanks

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (Foodbme)

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 04:45:35 GMT

pwdff142

Thanks Everyone for your posts and keep them coming!! To answer the questions: Yes they are whole shoulders, and we will be cooking everything that the teams doesn't. Unfortunately, I only have gas grills to cook them on, so smoking them will be hard, but I make one hell of a rub so maybe that will make up for it.......... I guess we'll see ?????

Cooking 175 Shoulders on Gas Grills???? Are they large commercial catering grills or Household Backyard Grills???
That's about 12-1400 Pounds of Shoulder, correct???? A MONUMENTIAL task without adequate equipment! Are you going to try to cook them low & slow? Are you going to start several days ahead and do them in batches? Having trouble visualizing how your going to be able to accomplish this endeavor!

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (pwdff142)

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:10:47 GMT

I defininetly agree with that!!!!!!!

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (pwdff142)

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:06:32 GMT

Thanks Everyone for your posts and keep them coming!! To answer the questions: Yes they are whole shoulders, and we will be cooking everything that the teams doesn't. Unfortunately, I only have gas grills to cook them on, so smoking them will be hard, but I make one hell of a rub so maybe that will make up for it.......... I guess we'll see ?????

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (wfmitchell)

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:20:57 GMT

Let's try to keep that secret from all the BBQ Restaurants in America who cook Boston Butts (shoulders) as their main offering.

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (JoseyWales)

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 11:33:09 GMT

Shoulders are okay, just a lot of waste product unless you intend to incorporate the fat into the finished product. I would assume that you are not going to do that so if you have a lot of time to "work" your finished product then use shoulders by all means. Once you learn the "anatomy" of a trimmed bone in Boston Butt and the ease of processing (IMHO) the shoulders will fade into obscurity. Shoulders are less expensive to purchase as they require less processing by the meat wholesalers. Just my thoughts and experience. Why pay for what you can't use?

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (hardluk1)

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 11:18:33 GMT

The wood you cook on will change flavor a great deal. Oak , better with hickory and some apple wood or juice in a can under to add flavor. To far from magroves or add some black magrove to your wood. 10 hours + and sauce may not be needed. Sauce is a local thing to. Good luck.

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (russ2304)

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 23:23:05 GMT

Stud them with spears of fresh garlic--------gives a subtle earthy flavor that is devine cause with that amount of time in smoker they melt into the meat------lovely.
Russ

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (RibDog)

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 22:33:37 GMT

Thanks Foodbme.

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (edwmax)

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:42:46 GMT

You said shoulders, are these "whole shoulder" that include the butt? .. Or, shoulder as in "Picnic ham"? If these include the butt, I would separate and cook for pulled pork. Otherwise, the picnics have the skin on it. So Rubs are not going to penetrate the meat well. Maybe a light injection solution (pepper & garlic; very little salt). I would leave the skin on to hold moisture in during the long cooking. .... Next, how are these going to be served? Pulled, falling apart or sliced? .... Pulled or falling apart, I would cook to 180/190 deg. For sliced, cook to 160/170 deg. Let the customer add BBQ sauce to their plate. ... Work on a kick-ass sauce!!!!

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (Foodbme)

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:37:49 GMT

RibDog

wfmitchell

A Boston Butt is the shoulder. I have never heard of BBQing a butt.

A boston butt is the upper or butt portion of a whole shoulder. Once again, if you read the third post in this thread, the thread origninator speaks of cooking "whole hog and butts mostly" but goes on to say that he has never cooked "whole shoulders." Is there something I missed here?

John

Ribdog get's an "A+" in Pig Anatomy!

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (RibDog)

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:02:56 GMT

wfmitchell

A Boston Butt is the shoulder. I have never heard of BBQing a butt.

A boston butt is the upper or butt portion of a whole shoulder. Once again, if you read the third post in this thread, the thread origninator speaks of cooking "whole hog and butts mostly" but goes on to say that he has never cooked "whole shoulders." Is there something I missed here?

John

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (wfmitchell)

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:39:03 GMT

A Boston Butt is the shoulder. I have never heard of BBQing a butt.

Re:Shoulder secrets?? (RibDog)

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 09:49:47 GMT

wfmitchell

I assume we are speaking of Boston Butts here. I do them very well on a Klose Smoker for 10-12 hours but I have yet to find that over the top BBQ Sauce. I even tried Dinosaur BBQ's Mutha Sauce but ended up tossing that one out.

I don't think he is doing butts. In the third post, he talks about smoking 175 shoulders.
Personally, I would be cooking butts over shoulders but that is just me. With butts, I can get more rub to the meat than I can with the shoulders. And don't worry about injecting them. With 175 to smoke just getting them rubbed and on the smokers will be a job.

John