Pulled Pork Shoulder

Soldato
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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.
 
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.

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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