Berkshire Shoulder on the Smoker

[TAFKAP]

TAFKAP IV turned one yesterday, so for his birthday party today, I thawed out a Berkshire picnic shoulder I've had in the freezer. I bought a whole shoulder from the farmer (Home Place Pastures in Como, MS), butchered it into the butt & picnic shoulder sections, and have already cooked the butt. That one turned out spectacular, and I have high hopes for this one. I just flat out didn't feel like making a seasoning rub for this one, so I got a rub mix made by the "Hog Wild" people in Memphis, with some store-bought Cajun seasoning as well. Rubbed it in pretty well, and vacuum sealed it in with a splash of apple juice. It's been sitting like that since Tuesday. I'll post up some "during" and "after" pics. Typically, I'd burn charcoal all day in my barrel grill, but we have a ton of stuff to do today. Therefore, I'm cheating a bit with the old-school Weber electric smoker. That, and with as good as this meat is ,I just can't afford to screw it up.

 

[TreyB]

Well how did it turn out?

 

[TAFKAP]

It turned out awesome. But in the hustle & bustle of trying to get everything done, I didn't get but one more picture, halfway through cooking. And after 10 hours on the electric smoker, I also didn't have enough time to break through "the plateau" of BBQ where the temperature starts climbing again. This essentially became a beautifully smoked "shoulder roast", rather than fall-apart BBQ. I sliced 1/2" steaks, and chopped it up. Nobody complained, though. The fat turned out incredible by itself, as it always has with these Berkshire hogs. That bone pulled out with just a slight bit of pressure, but didn't just slip out like it should've. I think another hour would've done it just perfectly. But alas, guests had to eat!

 

[BamaProud]

Looks great.

 

[TAFKAP]

I should've wrapped it up at this point. It ended up "blackening" a bit from being exposed to the heat the whole time. It was awesome. And I can't brag enough on the quality of Berkshire meat. It's a complete game changer.

 

[WTM]

ive gotten away from finishing butts or shoulders like that on the smoker. i looked at one of alton browns recipes for pulled pork where he smoked for 5 hours and then wrapped in foil and finished in the oven at 300 deg for a couple of hours until the meat hit about 200-205. i thought he was insane for doing it this way until i tried it and you know, it is the most moist smoke flavored meat ive ever ate. so tender it just about melts in your mouth and the "pros" consensus is that a piece of meat will pretty much absorb all of the smoke that it is going to in about 4-5 hours.

it looks like some of the competition folks are starting to do shoulders and beef brisket at higher temp finishing in order to overcome the stall. i was doing some reading on this site that farmin68 that describes the physics behind it. very interesting read.

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_techniq ... stall.html

 

[WTM]

While finishing in the oven is hardly purists, I agree that it is super practical with great results.
I started doing smoked venison that way.

which cuts of deer turn out the best without drying out too much? i was thinking of trying a neck roast or front shoulder that way but was afraid it might not turn out that well.

 

[TAFKAP]

ive gotten away from finishing butts or shoulders like that on the smoker. i looked at one of alton browns recipes for pulled pork where he smoked for 5 hours and then wrapped in foil and finished in the oven at 300 deg for a couple of hours until the meat hit about 200-205. i thought he was insane for doing it this way until i tried it and you know, it is the most moist smoke flavored meat ive ever ate. so tender it just about melts in your mouth and the "pros" consensus is that a piece of meat will pretty much absorb all of the smoke that it is going to in about 4-5 hours.

it looks like some of the competition folks are starting to do shoulders and beef brisket at higher temp finishing in order to overcome the stall. i was doing some reading on this site that farmin68 that describes the physics behind it. very interesting read.

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_techniq ... stall.html

I'll read up on that more tomorrow. Sounds interesting. I only smoke for about the first 30% of cooking time, anyway. This was on one of those electric element Weber "bullet" style smokers. It's either on or off, with no temperature control. I need to figure out a way to finish a shoulder in 10 hours. The butt we did earlier in the summer didn't take nearly as long, but it didn't have a bone in, either.