I roasted a 4 pound bone-in pork shoulder yesterday with a dry rub and a NC-style BBQ mop of cider vinegar and red pepper. 300 degrees in the oven for 3 hours.
It was awful. Greasy with big gobs of fat throughout. I salvaged enough for two barbecue sandwiches, and gave the rest to the dogs (saved the bone for pea soup, though, so it won’t be a total loss).
The scary thing was that the weekly recipe in today’s NY Times Sunday Magazine was for…slow roasted pork shoulder. And they said to roast a NINE pound shoulder for 3-4 hours at 300 degrees.
cook it in beer in a crockpot until you’re bored. take it out and throw barbecue sauce on it and throw it in the oven until it reaches your desired level of texture. Do it high on the rack so it gets crispy on the edges. Or just throw the sauce on and eat it in it’s tenderized state.
:smack: Just noticed OP says boneless pork ribs. I would have cooked those until about I’m guessing 185 internal, but would have tasted them (assuming they are in pieces/slices, because I don’t know what they would be otherwise) to test for doneness/tenderness. OP got to 170, probably close enough, but I most likely would have let them go longer (though I rarely check temps for meats that are braised or cook in such a way to break down the collagen.)
Around here, boneless pork ribs, or as they’re more commonly called “country-style” ribs, are actually from the loin, and should be treated as one might treat pork chops. This is a cut I like to wet brine, then cook reverse-sear (start at low temp then finish under broiler), internal temperature 145°.
Oh, huh. Here “country style ribs” are from the loin close to the shoulder, so cook up like pork shoulder, or they may even be pork shoulder. They are definitely fatty and collagen-rich, suitable to slow cooking/braising methods.
That’s definitely my experience as well out here in the hinterlands of the Plains states. Since D-Odds is from a similar neck of the woods as the OP, maybe it’s a regional thing.
My favourite pink pork recipe is to stuff a tenderloin with goat cheese/fruit/herbs, brown it all over then roast for just twelve minutes in a preheated 180 degree (C) oven.
But with tougher cuts I can’t see a problem with long, slow roasting. In fact it’s essential.
Late to the thread, and I see on a scan the pork is cooked; so I haven’t read all of the replied.
I cook ‘country-style’ ribs (and spare ribs, and butt roast, and…) by giving them a dry rub and some liquid smoke, putting them on a rack in a pan, covering the pan with foil, and putting them in a 230ºF (or so) oven for six hours (usually longer for roasts). At the end of cooking (ribs, not roasts), uncover and apply BBQ sauce. Increase oven temperature to 350ºF, or turn on the broiler, and cook until sauce is thickened or (if using the broiler) slightly charred. (Note: Roasts don’t get BBQ sauce applied. Sauce is served on the side.)
You can certainly do shoulder to 140/145 if you like. It’ll give you a different product, though, than cooking it up to 185. I do a Philadelphia roast pork sandwich with shoulder/Boston butt that I cook to 140, cool, then slice thinly on my deli slicer, before finishing in some jus to warm it up. It’s delicious. And even if you just hand slice, it’s pretty good, but it’s definitely got more unrendered fat and a much firmer texture. Not what you think of when you think of something like barbecue. (Though if you do sous vide, I think you can get a nice soft texture and an internal of 145-150, but I don’t have the patience for sous vide. That’s something my brother has expertise in.)