Smoked shoulder for pulled pork question
 

Ok, I've been smoking since the mid 80's but have never done a pork shoulder for pulled pork.

Yeah yeah, I know so don't even start with the insults.

I'm planning on taking the plunge and smoking one this weekend for a March Madness watching party.

Been looking at recipes and I have a question to the seasoned shoulder/butt smokers out there.....do you pre-soak in a brine?

meat + fire

No need to presoak or brine a shoulder. Cover it in mustard or olive oil, then coat with your favorite bbq seasoning the night before you plan to smoke it.

No just rub, and smoke it low and slow. Also good quality meat will help your final product a lot. Mcgonigles or some higher end meat store is only a few cents more for great meat for a extra good finished product.

I'm planning on getting a smoker before the summer and the 1st thing I wanna try is a shoulder. I can't. Believe you've never tried it.

A shoulder is the easiest meat to smoke, keep it below 275 degrees and pull it off when the internal temp hits 200 degrees (or 190 if you wrap it in foil and towels then put in a cooler for a few hours).

I've been injecting mine with Coke (soda not drug) the last few times and it makes it a little sweeter. Compliments a spicy rub well.

IMO, that is way too high of a temperature to be smoking a shoulder at. I just smoked two a couple days ago and I always smoke them at ~195 until the temperature stabilizes at 175-185 and then increase the temp closer to 275. It takes quite a bit longer but slow and low is the only way to go when smoking. I don't think bringing is necessary but I did brine but the last two I did on a recommendation from a friend and I did like the result. I was able to get a serious bark on the shoulders and the meat was still incredibly moist and basically pulled itself when it came time to pull the pork.

Take it for what it's worth, but I have been doing them under 200 degrees for a long time and everyone loves them. I took one of the shoulders to a group of about 20 people that work for me and the entire shoulder was gone in less than 10 minutes.

225 till the internal is 195. About 6-10 hours depending on size. then all the brine / inject / mustard is meaningless its just smoke and meat :)

This is me too. I don't do a whole lot to butt or shoulder if it's just going to be pulled anyway.

Only recipe I've seen calls for a cold water brine of mollasses and pickling salt (and water of couse) and then just a dry spice rub.

Haven't made it myself yet, waiting for it to get warmer out before I put together my smoker and give it a go.

I just throw mine in a crockpot on low with a half bottle of sweet baby rays for like 10 hours. =P

I typically cook mine between 225-250, if the temp gets to 275 there is no reason to freak out. It is my understanding that it is unsafe to have a large pork shoulder on the smoker under 225, there is too big of a bacteria risk. Same thing with a turkey.

Once the internal is above 160 it doesn't matter. 195 just makes sure its fall apart goodness.

Wouldn't it take the internal way too long to get there?

changing gears a bit - Has anyone ever smoked catfish fillets?

I'm going to try it this weekend and would like to hear from anyone who's tried it.