Can I use this for Pulled Pork?

Here I go with my daft questions, as many of you will know, Pork Butt is not a common cut of meat in the UK, I really fancy having a go at pulled pork, & while walking through Sainsbury's yesterday I found this.



It is listed as a 'Boneless shoulder joint' & weighs 3.4kg.

I know it does not have a bone in, do you think it is the same cut? Can I cook this the same way you would normally do pulled pork (time, temp etc.). If not, any suggestions on how to cook it would be welcome.

Yes I use them all the time and it's the exact same method.

Thanks Dr.KY, I know what I'm doing this weekend!

Great looking pork there Dr. KY!

Is this cut from the butt end of the shoulder?

Carpe 'Que,
Jim Rhino

Oops, just noticed, it's 2.37 kg, (3.4 is £ per kg.)
& this was the largest one they had!
After a bit of research I think I'm right in saying you cook it until it's 195F internally, so maybe it won't take quite as long as some of the recipes, just 8hrs instead of 12? I think it should feed two of us though.

Novice wrote:Oops, just noticed, it's 2.37 kg, (3.4 is £ per kg.)
& this was the largest one they had!
After a bit of research I think I'm right in saying you cook it until it's 195F internally, so maybe it won't take quite as long as some of the recipes, just 8hrs instead of 12? I think it should feed two of us though.

For pulled pork 195F is okay. I typically take mine to 198F to 200F, then wrap in another layer of foil and a few towels, then rest it in a warm, dry cooler for at least an hour before pulling.

Carpe 'Que,
Jim Rhino

You won't notice much difference because the picnic and the butt are both cuts from the whole shoulder. You will get a couple of muscle tendons that just wont "pull" properly. Set them aside, chop them up, then add them back to the pulled meat.

Dont matter much which part of the shoulder it comes from as I find I get great meat from all parts of a whole shoulder..

Jim is right on with the temps. I try to shoot for anything over 195 degrees. The meat will rise a bit in internal temp after it comes off the cooker. The best thing for good pulled pork is that rest in the cooler. You will get some awesome juices that you can add back to the pulled meat for some extra flavour.

Good luck..!!

Dr_KY wrote:You won't notice much difference because the picnic and the butt are both cuts from the whole shoulder. You will get a couple of muscle tendons that just wont "pull" properly. Set them aside, chop them up, then add them back to the pulled meat.

With the way that it is tied, looks like a thinner cut of meat. Made me curious. Thanks for the info!

Carpe 'Que,
Jim Rhino

i just put one on myself that was all tied up YUCK!! lol I trimmed the fat off the top so I can have some bark and let the rub in the meat. ( you already know about this Jim but I thought the new people would wonder why. .) Recieved my new Redi Check in the mail today so she's all pluggen in ready to wake me if things go wrong tonight. It's raining at the moment but the UDS can take it.

In the cryo




All the fat...




Trimmed



Seasoned..



In the smoke..

Go0d morning people.
addes some sausage for lunch this morning.

Lookin' Great!

Email some over to me, would you?

I've never seen the Redi-Check therms...how'd it work for you? Are the wires pretty sturdy?

I'm going to be doing up some butts, beans, slaw, potato salad, and pasta salad for a couple of parties next weekend. I'll try to remember to get pictures.

Carpe 'Que,
Jim Rhino

This is how the Sainsbury's Pork Butt worked out;
I made up quite a lot of mustard & covered it


Then I coated it with a generous amount of all purpose bbq rub



Wrapped it in clingfilm & left overnight. I got up at 6.30 Saturday morning to get things going, by 8.00 it was on the smoker & cooking. I used apple & cherry wood & put in a foil pack every 2 hrs or so. I also sprayed apple juice on every couple of hrs



It's the first time I've used the Maverick thermometer, & it's fantastic. I set the temp limits to alarm should it go out of range (smoker 210F - 275F & food 200F). The Frontier ran solid between 225F & 250F with little attention. I added a little more fuel a couple of times, but it went for nine hrs without attention.
In a previous post I voiced concern over the lid thermometer in the Frontier, I have to say, I'm really impressed how accurate it stayed to the Maverick throughout the entire cook, (my worries before were due to my incorrect understanding of baby back ribs).

It took 12 hrs to get to 193F, at that point we were ready for food, So I took it off & rested it, covered in foil for 40mins








We have nothing to compare it to, but I'm chuffed with the results, I think I'll be doing this again, & maybe test it out on some friends next time!

Bark looks excellent. How'd it pull for you after removing at 195*?

Sorry for the delay in replying, I've been working away all week.
I have nothing to compare it to (this is only my 4th cook & my 1st pork butt), but the meat came apart very easily, it was very tender. I've watched the videos on youtube, & although this was a fair bit smaller, it looked to be very similar in the way it came apart. As soon as I broke into the bark the meat just pulled apart with two forks, it only took a minute or two to do the whole thing.

Novice wrote:Sorry for the delay in replying, I've been working away all week.
I have nothing to compare it to (this is only my 4th cook & my 1st pork butt), but the meat came apart very easily, it was very tender. I've watched the videos on youtube, & although this was a fair bit smaller, it looked to be very similar in the way it came apart. As soon as I broke into the bark the meat just pulled apart with two forks, it only took a minute or two to do the whole thing.

Sounds perfect! Good job!