First run of my WSM - Pork Shoulders

[AlanL]

After getting my WSM a couple of weeks back I decided that the weather was going to be good enough this weekend to give it the first fire up.

Thanks to all the previous folks that have posted on here as I gained a lot of info to give me the confidence to give it a go and results turned out pretty good. As per advice I kept a log of the cook which is included at the bottom.

Pictures can be seen on my OneDrive: http://1drv.ms/1gx9MQw

Pork pulled pretty well at the end but maybe could have been a bit easier so possibly cook a bit longer next time.

The important thing is both tasted very nice.

Welcome any comments.

Alan.

22/Feb/2012
Weather: Dry, Sunny with a bit of a breeze Temp approx 12oC.

Shoulder 1 - 1.35kg
2 tsp Chilli Powder
2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
2 tsp Sea Salt
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Garlic Granules

Ground together and rubbed over meat about two hours beforehand and meat left out to get to room temp. All rub used.

Shoulder 2 - 1.245kg
Used a Weber Sample Rub - American BBQ
Rubbed over meat about two hours beforehand and meat left out to get to room temp. All rub used.

Smoker set up:
Fuel: Weber long lasting Briquettes
1 unlit Chimney set in grate.
1/2 Chimney lit and set atop unlit coals.
Water bowl filled mainly with boiling water. Inside of bowl foiled
2 large & 3 small pieces of Cherry wood added.

Temp of smoker 125oC (Ambient temp 12oC)

Cook start at noon.

12:00 Vents set at 1/3 1/3 1/3 - 125oC (12oC)
12:30 Vents set at 1/3 1/3 1/3 - 125oC (11oC)
13:00 Vents set at 1/3 1/2 1/2 - 120oC (11oC)+
13:30 Vents set at 1/3 1/2 1/2 - 115oC (11oC)
14:00 Vents set at 1/2 1/2 1/2 - 115oC (11oC)
14:30 Vents set at 1/2 1/2 1 - 110oC (11oC)
15:15 Vents set at 1/2 1/2 1 - 110oC (11oC)
15:15 Foiled. Shoulder 1 = 65oC / Shoulder 2 = 75oC
16:15 Vents set at 1/2 1 1 - 110oC (10oC)
17:00 Vents set at 1 1 1 - 110oC
17:00 Shoulder 1 = 85oC / Shoulder 2 = 94C
17:40 Vents set at 1 1 1 - 115oC
17:40 Shoulder 1 = 93oC / Shoulder 2 = 99oC
17:40 Shoulder 2 removed and left in foil to rest.
18:35 Vents set at 1 1 1 - 115oC
18:35 Shoulder 1 = 98oC removed and left in foil to rest.

All vents closed on Smoker to extinguish fire. Still some coals left could have possibly run for another hour.

Some wood chunks still visible.
No water added during cook and probably about a 1/3 water still in the pan.

Smoker cold by 20:15.

Probably a 1/3 (1/4) of fuel left unburnt in grate next morning.

[robgunby]

Hey Alan

Good work, and a nice comprehensive log. You mention they might have needed longer, but you cooked them to an IT of 208 F - by 200 they should be ready to pull, by 208 they should be getting to the point of being difficult to remove from the smoker without dropping to bits. It might be worth checking your probes are a) not touching bone, b) not sticking so far through the meat that they are past the centre of the thickets part and c) accurate.

It's also worth probing a second spot of a joint to make sure the temp is constant throughout.

Hope they tasted good! What sauce did you use? And which was better, the homemade rub or the commercial rub?

[BRUN]

did you wrap em at any point ?

did you inject ?

[AlanL]

Hi Rob, thanks for comments. I have two thermometers and will do a comparison test next time to see if they read the same. (If they don't I'll need to get a third to see which is reading right !!)

The pork did come apart OK but being this was the first time I'd done this I wasn't sure how easy it should. The second shoulder did start to split when I moved it to the plate.

I didn't use a sauce expect for a some Hoisin in one sandwich. I found it tasted OK without and not dry. I preferred the rub that was made up as it had a bit more of a spice kick to it. Some others like the Weber run one as they said they could taste the actual pork more which they liked. I guess we all have out own tastes.

Hi Brun, I foiled after 3 hours. I did not inject or baste. The WSM uses a water bowl to regulate the heat so that probably helped prevent shoulders drying out? Good work with your UDS by the way.

[BRUN]

id definitely recommend injecting your shoulders, i did a 4kg one in the oven yesterday and it was really moist and tasty

i used this recipe

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

also you might find this page useful as it was done on a WSM - http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/pork4.html

[robgunby]

I never inject pork shoulders, they should be more than moist enough if you cook em right. A thin finishing sauce of cyder vinegar and salt and pepper (ad lib the rest!) should be all that's needed.

If you want to test your probes, use a pan of boiling water - should read 100C.

Finally, if you need a further test other than IT to see if your pork is done, tug at the bone - it should come clean out.

[Alan (H+T)]

In response to the above advice about testing your probes.
To achieve 100 degrees C you will need to place the tip of the probe in the steam of a boiling kettle.
Placing in a pan of boiling water will never get you to 100 degrees

[aris]

In response to the above advice about testing your probes.
To achieve 100 degrees C you will need to place the tip of the probe in the steam of a boiling kettle.
Placing in a pan of boiling water will never get you to 100 degrees

You need to take altitude into account too.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/boili ... _1344.html

[robgunby]

Haha, I stand corrected, fair enough!

PS can't steam achieve >100C?

[DJBenz]

Blimey, so not only do we need a kettle to calibrate temp probes, we also need an altitude meter? This is some accurate cooking science!