Pulled Pork Shoulder

Jimbeam3678

Jimbeam3678

Jimbeam3678

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Hi in an effort to keep me and my friends awake until the early hours to watch the Mayweather fight I'm cooking a pork shoulder.

The weight is going to be 6KG~ how long will this take roughly to get up to an internal temp of 89 Oc ?
 
How are you cooking it? What temperature are you cooking at? Are you going to wrap it?

A 6kg shoulder cooked at 120c on my smoker without wrapping will take quite a long time, between 12-16 hours.

Also, a pork shoulder is done when it's probe tender and not when it reaches a specific temperature, the temperature range to check for doneness is 90-96c.
 
I'd cook it at 110C for the full period, yeah. Wrapping it in foil is optional. You will get a crispier crust ("bark") if you don't wrap it in foil but it will take longer to cook. You'll also run the risk of it drying out in a regular oven. I'd personally stick it in a roasting pan with a ton of chopped up onions beneath it. They may or may not help it stay moist but either way at the end of the cooking process you'll have a lot of very tasty roasted onions covered in pork juices :)

Basically, ganesh's advice above is pretty much what you should go for. I personally would cook at 110C rather than 120C but either can work.
 
FrenchTart said:
I'd cook it at 110C for the full period, yeah. Wrapping it in foil is optional. You will get a crispier crust ("bark") if you don't wrap it in foil but it will take longer to cook. You'll also run the risk of it drying out in a regular oven. I'd personally stick it in a roasting pan with a ton of chopped up onions beneath it. They may or may not help it stay moist but either way at the end of the cooking process you'll have a lot of very tasty roasted onions covered in pork juices :)

Basically, ganesh's advice above is pretty much what you should go for. I personally would cook at 110C rather than 120C but either can work.
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Cheers for the advice so 110 Oc in a fan oven for anywhere between 12 and 16 hours, basting it to avoid it drying it out. Is it worth putting a tray of water in as well to help keep it moist.

Wish I'd stayed with cooking a fore rib :p
 
Fore rib is good but pulled pork is pretty awesome too :p

As toasteh said, you may want to read through the other thread to get a few ideas too.

I wouldn't say basting is really needed but the odd bit now and again will probably help make the bark more delicious. I wouldn't put water underneath. Just chuck a ton of chopped up onions. They'll provide a little moisture early on (later on you'll have tons of pork juices and fat anyhow) and when cooked they'll taste amazing.
 
You have got me worried about it drying out:-(

I've done pork shoulder before on a smaller scale without any issues but on a larger scale it seems a little daunting !
 
If anything, larger pieces of meat are less likely to dry out so I wouldn't worry about it. The most common issue you're likely to run into is for it not to be be fully up to temperature all the way through - which may makes it seem like the outside is fine but the inside is dry. This can usually be fixed by either more cooking or a long rest period which will give the inside more time to come up to temp/for the connective tissue to break down.

edit: If you want something a little unusual but really simple to go with it then I totally recommend celeriac remoulade:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/celeriacremoulade_77607

Two celeriacs would make enough for a fair few people. Rather than trying to cut it into small pieces just peel it and then grate it with the largest holes on your grater.

edit2: Also, I would remove the skin but leave a thin later of fat all over (0.25 cm). Score this fat down to the meat and then apply your rub.
 
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