Author Topic: Bark on Pork Shoulder  (Read 9851 times)

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Offline muebe

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Re: Bark on Pork Shoulder
« Reply #14 on: July 10, 2014, 07:13:19 AM »
I don't believe the butt would burn if on the PBC rack. That is high enough from the coals. And with the lid on there should not be any flare-ups normally.

The tray is a good idea however if you want to catch the juices.
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Offline TentHunteR

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Re: Bark on Pork Shoulder
« Reply #15 on: July 10, 2014, 07:32:03 AM »
If you like foiling and a crispier bark, give this a try:

First, if foiling, definitely use either molasses or a rub that has some sugar in it like the others have suggested.  The sugars help the bark develop a little quicker.  I like brown sugar which has molasses in it.

Then, after you take it out if the foil, put it back on the PBC rack with plenty of heat for a while and that bark will crisp right back up.
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Offline jani80k

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Re: Bark on Pork Shoulder
« Reply #16 on: July 10, 2014, 08:14:31 AM »
I don't believe the butt would burn if on the PBC rack. That is high enough from the coals. And with the lid on there should not be any flare-ups normally.

The tray is a good idea however if you want to catch the juices.

Ok, fair enough, but wouldn't you then not at least have to flip the meat to ensure even cooking?
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Offline muebe

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Re: Bark on Pork Shoulder
« Reply #17 on: July 10, 2014, 08:24:35 AM »
I don't believe the butt would burn if on the PBC rack. That is high enough from the coals. And with the lid on there should not be any flare-ups normally.

The tray is a good idea however if you want to catch the juices.

Ok, fair enough, but wouldn't you then not at least have to flip the meat to ensure even cooking?

If you were cooking over direct heat then yes. But in reality in the PBC your technically cooking in a large oven fairly indirect due to the rack being far enough above the charcoal. Then the drippings from the shoulder will fall down onto the charcoal. This will cool the charcoal directly below the butt some and make a nice grease fog. This fog is one key to the great flavor you get from the PBC. And the high humidity is what helps keep everything so moist and prevents flare ups.

You could flip it to help with bark creation but the closer you get to a IT of 200F the more of a chance it may start falling apart when you flip it. If going for a sliced pork then 160F is a better target. The nice thing is the rack can be lifted out when the shoulder is done however you might need to put on some heavy duty heat resistant gloves before attempting this ;)
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Offline jani80k

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Re: Bark on Pork Shoulder
« Reply #18 on: July 10, 2014, 09:47:01 AM »
If you were cooking over direct heat then yes. But in reality in the PBC your technically cooking in a large oven fairly indirect due to the rack being far enough above the charcoal. Then the drippings from the shoulder will fall down onto the charcoal. This will cool the charcoal directly below the butt some and make a nice grease fog. This fog is one key to the great flavor you get from the PBC. And the high humidity is what helps keep everything so moist and prevents flare ups.

You could flip it to help with bark creation but the closer you get to a IT of 200F the more of a chance it may start falling apart when you flip it. If going for a sliced pork then 160F is a better target. The nice thing is the rack can be lifted out when the shoulder is done however you might need to put on some heavy duty heat resistant gloves before attempting this ;)

Ok, I might give that a try this weekend as I am planning to do a pork butt.

The old school bbq joints in Lockhart, TX that are shown on TV documentaries every now and then do it just the way you described. They put the coals right under the meat with no shielding but I though there is a guy walking around flipping the briskets and ribs from time to time as described in this article.

Quote
Large slabs of meat are laid out on long smoking racks and regularly flipped for hours and hours until ready.

That is why I though you could get away with no flipping by using a tray.
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Offline muebe

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Re: Bark on Pork Shoulder
« Reply #19 on: July 10, 2014, 09:56:58 AM »
If the coals are right under the meat then flipping would be a must but the PBC has a large distance between the coals and the rack.
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Offline lctrcbddha

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Re: Bark on Pork Shoulder
« Reply #20 on: July 10, 2014, 12:46:16 PM »
Would there really be much of a difference between leaving it hung for the entire cook or putting it on the rack unfoiled at the stall?

Offline IR2dum

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Re: Bark on Pork Shoulder
« Reply #21 on: July 10, 2014, 12:58:42 PM »
In Lockhart, I don't think that they cook over coals. There are no coals in the pit under the meat. All the fire is outside the pit and the heat and resulting smoke is sucked into the pit through an opening in the side of the pit and drafted down the pit (about 10 to 12 feet) to the chimney at the other end. This creates different temp zones for either hard smoking (close to the fire)or just keeping warm (at the opposite end of the pit). The only time I have seen them flip briskets is when they move them to a different spot in the pit for temp control. The closest the meat ever comes to the fire and the burning coals is probably about 3 or 4 feet. It's hard to explain so I'll search for a vid.


Offline muebe

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Re: Bark on Pork Shoulder
« Reply #22 on: July 10, 2014, 02:41:23 PM »
Would there really be much of a difference between leaving it hung for the entire cook or putting it on the rack unfoiled at the stall?

I would think that it might not stay on the hooks if taken to a pull-able temperature.
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Offline jani80k

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Re: Bark on Pork Shoulder
« Reply #23 on: July 10, 2014, 03:12:31 PM »
It's hard to explain so I'll search for a vid.

Ah ok, I got that confused with this type of cooker.


By the way, I definitely want to go to Lockhart one day.
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Offline lctrcbddha

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Re: Bark on Pork Shoulder
« Reply #24 on: July 11, 2014, 08:19:11 AM »
Would there really be much of a difference between leaving it hung for the entire cook or putting it on the rack unfoiled at the stall?

I would think that it might not stay on the hooks if taken to a pull-able temperature.

Yeah, I suppose that's a possibility.  Anecdotally though, it hasn't happened to me yet.

Offline teesquare

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Re: Bark on Pork Shoulder
« Reply #25 on: July 11, 2014, 08:43:09 AM »
It's hard to explain so I'll search for a vid.

Ah ok, I got that confused with this type of cooker.


By the way, I definitely want to go to Lockhart one day.


It is o.k....Myron "THE MOUTH" Mixon" confuses all of us. He is a great BBQ guy - but his attitude and personality are as unpleasant as that manure exit located just below the horse's tail..... :D :D :D
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Offline muebe

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Re: Bark on Pork Shoulder
« Reply #26 on: July 11, 2014, 08:44:37 AM »
Would there really be much of a difference between leaving it hung for the entire cook or putting it on the rack unfoiled at the stall?

I would think that it might not stay on the hooks if taken to a pull-able temperature.

Yeah, I suppose that's a possibility.  Anecdotally though, it hasn't happened to me yet.

I had a couple whole chickens drop into the coals. My fault for improperly hooking them and they got so tender the meat just gave way.
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Offline Smokefood

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Re: Bark on Pork Shoulder
« Reply #27 on: July 24, 2014, 12:31:45 PM »
Okay, so I got it... here is the way to bark up a pork shoulder nice on the PBC.

1.  Rinse and then dry the shoulder really, really well
2.  Brush with black strap molasses
3.  Rub with your rub, I use Meathead's memphis dust, modified with Ancho and Chipotle pepper
4.  Hang in the PBC and cook to 175
5.  Wrap in foil, don't use too much beer, 1/4 of a cup will and take it to 200
6.  Once it is at about 190 you can open the foil up a bit to dry the outside a bit

It was perfect.

Offline jani80k

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Re: Bark on Pork Shoulder
« Reply #28 on: July 26, 2014, 02:06:09 PM »
Okay, so I got it... here is the way to bark up a pork shoulder nice on the PBC.

1.  Rinse and then dry the shoulder really, really well
2.  Brush with black strap molasses
3.  Rub with your rub, I use Meathead's memphis dust, modified with Ancho and Chipotle pepper
4.  Hang in the PBC and cook to 175
5.  Wrap in foil, don't use too much beer, 1/4 of a cup will and take it to 200
6.  Once it is at about 190 you can open the foil up a bit to dry the outside a bit

It was perfect.

Nice! Great post.

In regards to bark optimization:
When I did flank steak on the PBC the other day, which I hung til around 180°F and then pulled it (this flank steak had the best bark I ever tasted - it was dark and crunchy), I got the idea to do the same with pork neck. What I will try next week is to cut a 5 lb pork neck into 4 pieces of a bit more than 1 lb, heavily rub them with one coat of brown sugar which should form a nice crust and one coat of magic dust enhanced with red chipotle for the taste and hang them in the PBC til 180°F then pull and slice. I hope that I will get a similarly awesome bark this way.  I know that I wont be able to do pulled pork that way but I will get a nice bark and the slices will be fine for sandwiches, too.
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