Overnight pork shoulder - mix bbq/oven

[FlashGordon]

My apologies if this has already been asked, but i don’t remember seeing it anywhere.

It’s my birthday this week, and i have said i will bring in pulled pork on Friday for lunch. Last night i bought an 11lb bone out pork shoulder and i plan on cooking partly on the smoker, and then in the oven overnight, simply because i can’t risk losing temperature overnight and it being raw the next day,

I’m a bit concerned with my timings, I can have it on the smoker by about 6pm, it will already be rubbed and trimmed etc. Then i want to put it in the oven about midnight, to take to work at 8am the next day.

I've done the maths, and i don’t think i have enough time to get it to 200, cooking at 225. Does anyone have any hints, or tips for me so that i can speed it up and make sure it’s done in the 14 hours that i have?
Once in the oven I was going to cover with foil, and apple juice, I want it to be perfect though because ive raved about pulled pork the last few months.

My plan is to trim the fat off tonight - so that I can get rub all over and then to either cut it into strips and lay over like bacon (Christmas turket style) , or to cut it into very small strips, and using a skewer insert all over the place, my theory is to self-baste, could be nonsense so any thoughts on that would be great. Normally i would baste/spritz you see if i was doing in the oven.

I’m going to serve on rolls with some slaw, a fellow bbq-smoker is providing a bbq sauce, but i am thinking of making a vinegar based one as well, so if anyone has any thoughts on that it would be great.
Going to smoke on apple, and maybe a hint of hickory, has anyone tried that combo?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Al

[keith157]

I'd cut the fat cap almost through like a hinge, season it well then just lay it back on. The great thing with the shoulder is that it's generally internally self basting. There are a couple of current threads on this same topic well worth reading. Hope it goes well and have a great birthday

[RobinC]

In terms of the wood. I quite often use both Apple and Hickory at the sametime. I'll be honest I personally can't detect a flavour difference between Apple and Hickory but I can detect a difference in the amount of smoke flavour.

11Lbs in 14 hours doesn't sound long enough to me. The typical butt I cook is normally in the region of 7 - 8 Llbs bone in. They typically take me 10 - 12 hours plus a couple hours of resting.

Foiling will definitely reduce the time, as will increasing the heat. Could you not start it on Sunday and take it in Monday - that would give you a lot more flexibility time wise.

Keiths suggestion re the fat cap is fine. I've also had good results with removing the fat cap (but this was cooked on a smoker for the whole cook)

Happy birthday by the way

[The Social Smokers]

It really is a difficult one! At Grillstock we had a 3pm turn in for pork on the Sunday, so we started at 3am and kept an eye on it until turn in. I always leave 12 hours as a guide for a 6-8lb pork shoulder but you want to cook to internal temps, not time.

Pork can stall as well, which means the internal temp will stand still for a number of hours and if you aren't monitoring that, you won't know it's happening. When it stalls you want to wrap it in foil to push it past that.

Have you got a cool box? You can hold pork for hours (around 6-8) wrapped in foil, then in a towel and in a cool box. It will still stay warm.

So with knowing that, you might be able to time your cook better?

Can you not pop home on your lunch break on Thursday, fill the smoker full of coal and get it on, see to it when you finish work and time your last chimney for around midnight, go to sleep and get up at 4-5 on Friday morning and wrap it in foil, in a towel, into the cool box and hold it until lunchtime?

[FlashGordon]

Thanks guys,

I have a cool box to take to work - going to do the towel thing so hopefully it will be warm come lunch.

Its not so much the over night thing, its i dont get home till 5.15 so in at 6 on thursday, all the way through till 8 the next day. But thats only 14 hours or so and i think it will need 16-17.

Would it be bad to smoke it tonight, then cool overnight, and then start again on thurday over night?

[RobinC]

I think his issue is that he only has a 14 hour window to cook the pork. Presumably he is working on the Thursday and he wants to cook and take it into work on Fri

Other option is to cut the butt in 2. Its the distance from the surface to the centre as much as anything that determines the cooking time.

[RobinC]

Would it be bad to smoke it tonight, then cool overnight, and then start again on thurday over night?

I think your issue would be more around how you cool it/store it safely from a food hygiene perspective.

[The Social Smokers]

How many people are you feeding?

[FlashGordon]

I think i am feeding about 15 people.

I could cut in in two, thats one option. If i could get home then that would really help, but i doubt i will get away to "sort my pork out"

[RobinC]

Well if you manage to get it cooked don't think any of you will be going hungry!