# Cooking a pork picnic shoulder (fresh) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 7, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-a-pork-picnic-shoulder-fresh/325136 "2005-10-07T02:38:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-a-pork-picnic-shoulder-fresh/325136/1 "2005-10-07T02:38:46Z")
So I’ve got this 8 1/2-pound fresh (i.e. not smoked or cured) whole pork picnic shoulder in the fridge, and I’m looking for suggestions/recipes as to how to cook it. From what I gather about the cut, I shouldn’t treat it like a typical roast. However, all the recipes I’ve found on the net so far talk about _smoked_ picnic shoulders, not fresh ones. I don’t have a smoker or a crock pot, and I’d have to cut it into much smaller pieces if I want to put it in my dutch oven. I got it thinking that it was the cut pulled pork or some such delight was made from, but now, well, I’m a bit stuck. Oh, did I mention that my in-laws are on their way over for dinner tomorrow night? I’ll be around all day so long cooking times won’t be a problem. Any suggestions? Thanks, Rhythm ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-a-pork-picnic-shoulder-fresh/325136/2 "2005-10-07T04:32:35Z")
I’m no chef, so I won’t have the right terms… Get a good Polska Kielbasa (hope I got that right) make and X cut into the roast and insert it into the pork shoulder (no snickering as you do that…) . Cut some garlic into little ‘spears’ and insert into slits in the outside of the roast. Then roast the whole thing in a charcoal Weber. I usually do this with a butt or sirloin, but it should be fine with a picnic roast too… enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-a-pork-picnic-shoulder-fresh/325136/3 "2005-10-07T05:17:54Z")
Do you have any type of grill? Gas, charcoal, anything? If so, here goes: This is one of my favorite cuts of meat to cook. Relatively cheap, tender and flavorful. First: Brine the meat. Soak it overnight in a brine marinade. Put the pork in a big pot. Cover it with water. Take the pork back out. Dissolve as much salt as you can in the water. Add other flavors if you want (e.g. wine, beer, garlic, bay, fruit juice, rum, etc…) Plan on cooking your shoulder for several hours at looow heat. Cook it indirectly (i.e. put the fire on one side of your grill and put the meat on the other. Cover.) Cook with aromatic fuel if at all possible. Best would be using chunks of real wood (hickory, cherry, mesquite). If not, use chips of said wood that have been soaked in water for a little while. The idea is to make them smoke. This is what I usually do: Soak the chips for at least 30 minutes, then wrap a big handful of them loosely in aluminium foil. Place the packet on the coals so it’ll burn and smoke can escape easily. Replace the packets every time you time you open the grill (don’t forget that you shouldn’t be opening it any more than once an hour or so.) Keep the grill covered and keep the meat as far as possible from the fire. Replenish the coals every 90 minutes or so. Replenish the chips at the same time. Don’t take the cover off the grill any more than you have to. I would let the meat cook for a minimum of 3 hours. More is better, as long as you’re cooking over low, slow, smoky heat. When you take the meat off the grill, let it sit for at least 15 minutes. If you want it to stay warm, cover it loosely with aluminium foil. Make a tent. Then, when you’re ready to serve, use two forks to shred the meat. You’ll love it. It’s a way of life. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-a-pork-picnic-shoulder-fresh/325136/4 "2005-10-07T05:44:52Z")
Low and slow baby low and slow. A picnic has lots of connective tissue and will be tough as a boot, unless you cook it at a low temp for a long time which will A) render the fat out B) cause the connective tissue to turn into gelatin. Google some recipes for pulled pork. Anyway to save you some time Season with a good rub, add salt if necessary Start you BBQ and stabilize it at 200-250 degrees F Add some wood chips apple is good. Cook until the internal temp is about 200-208 degrees F. This will take anywhere from 8-20 hours. Yes you read that right, it can take up to a day to cook. Anyway after pulling off the pit allow it to rest for about 20 minutes and then “comb” the meat with a large fork to pull it. This will allow you to remove any remaining fat, and connective tissue. Reseason the rest, and add sauce (vinegar based is considered traditional) Serve on a cheap white bread bun with cold slaw and yellow mustard. Enjoy the food of the gods. A couple of notes: [ol] [li]You will only get about 4.5-5 lbs of food out of an 8.5 lb roast. You might want to get a 2nd one, it is no more work to do 2[/li][li]If you use a meat thermometer, it will plateau and possibly even fall for several hours in the middle of the cook. This is normal[/li][li] No the meat won’t be dry[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-a-pork-picnic-shoulder-fresh/325136/5 "2005-10-07T15:59:14Z")
Thanks so far! August’s post came in after I hit the hay (with Bonny Lee, I might add 🙂 ) so it’s too late to brine it. We have a cantankerous gas grill with an unknown quantity of gas, so that’s a long odds crap shoot. Is there any way I can do this in our conventional oven? I can set the temperature as low as 175. As I said, the dutch oven is way too small to fit the roast, but I do have a large enough roasting pan/rack, scads of aluminum foil, and a digital remote thermometer. Or am I going to end up serving them chicken? ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-a-pork-picnic-shoulder-fresh/325136/6 "2005-10-07T20:07:42Z")
You can do it no problem in the oven, just rub it with whatever seasonings you want and maybe a rubbed coating of oil or butter and slow roast around 250F for several hours. You could also roast at slightly higher temperatures (350F) if you wish to cut the cooking time. I would probably add a small amount of flavorful liquid, like wine or stock and do more of a braise at higher temperatures to keep the meat moist. I would also reccomend covering it with foil for the first couple of hours. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-a-pork-picnic-shoulder-fresh/325136/7 "2005-10-07T20:16:17Z")
You can _braise_ it. That means the meat will be half-covered in water and cooked a long time with a cover on the pot. The long cooking will, as **Rick** says, convert the connective tissue to gelatin, and the resulting meat will be fall-apart tender. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-a-pork-picnic-shoulder-fresh/325136/8 "2005-10-07T20:31:21Z")
[Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=117717&highlight=unca+fenris)’s a recipe from **Fenris** that I can personally vouch for. Mmmm, mmmm, good. > [@Fenris](#): > > Unca Fenris’s BBQ Pork Recipe that’s so good that you’ll get much sex! > Gather 'round, best beloveds, Unca Fenris is gonna share his secret recipe for the ultimate BBQ’d Pork Sammich. It’s time consuming, but it’s easy to make and so good that anyone who tries it will go all weak in the knees and want to have sex with you. > > Ok, insane bbq purists may say that “this isn’t true bbq!” or “real men don’t use gas grills”. All you need to do to these types is to give them a smug grin as you think about all the good sex that this recipe will get you. > > First you get hickory chips. If you’re feeling macho, you’ll go into the woods, chop down a hickory tree, season the wood for a year and then chop the seasoned wood into chips. But if not, you wanna buy the kind made of real wood…not the pressed sawdust kind or the “artifical hickory-flavored briquette like product”. Dump a bunch of them into the sink and fill the sink up with hot water. Let 'em soak for at least 45 minutes. Yes, the package says “Soak 'em for 10 minutes.” Who you gonna believe: that lying plastic bag or Unca Fenris? > > Next. Get a couple o’ pork shoulders, BONE IN. If you can’t get BONE IN pork shoulders get BONE IN pork butt. But shoulder is better. If you can’t get either, kill your butcher and go to a different store. > > Take 2T ground cumin, 1T paprika, 2 tsp kosher salt, 4 or 5 grinds of pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder and, if you can get 'em, 1 tsp dried chipotle chili flakes, put 'em in a pan and toast 'em, stirring constantly. The minute it starts smelling “toasted” (you’ll know) yank it off the heat and dump into a container. Let it cool, add 5T of brown sugar, stir. > > Take your pork shoulders, sprinkle some Liquid Smoke and the Juice of a couple of limes over the pork shoulders. Spread the dry rub all over the shoulders. Put 'em on a rack and then put 'em into the oven (yes, the oven. Trust me) at 275o for at least an hour. Longer is better. > > Then mix up the BBQ sauce. This is where we enter the realm of art. > > Take 3 bottles of Heintz Chili Sauce. Dump 'em in a pot. Squeeze lime juice into one of the now-empty bottles until it’s between 1/4 and 1/3 of the way full of lime-juice. Shake well to get remaining chili sauce mixed into the lime juice and dump in the pot. Throw that bottle out. Take the next bottle, fill half way with apple cider vinegar. Shake well, dump into pot, throw out bottle. Take the third bottle, get regular white vinegar, fill a 1/6th of the way, shake well and dump into pot.) Add 1/3d cup of brown sugar, 1 tsp of bacon fat OR butter (bacon fat’s better, duh), 1 tsp celery salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp red chili flakes (the kind you put on pizza) and 1 tsp hot sauce (“Frank’s Hot Sauce” is great, but even Tabasco will do in a pinch). Mix well, heat and taste. If you taste it and think “Damn that’s good sauce but it’s a little too vinegary.” it’s perfect. If it doesn’t taste a little too vinegary add more by tablespoonful until it does. Trust me on this. > > Take your pork out of the oven. Scoop off most of the porkfat, and pour the juices into the sauce. Stir. Taste. It should be better, but still a little to vinegary. If it’s not, add yet more vinegar (by tablespoonful) until it tastes right… > > Let it sit on warm: it shouldn’t boil or even simmer. Just keep it warm so the flavors meld. > > Get your grill. If it’s charcoal, scrunch the coals all over to one side. If it’s gas, only turn on one side. Take a handful of the woodchips. Put 'em in the center of a big sheet of tinfoil. Fold tinfoil into a tight packet. Poke holes in the packet. Put the packet on the bottom (assuming you have multiple grill levels) grill rack (NOT directly on the flames/coals). Make at least two more of these packets, minimum. > > Put the meat on the top rack of the grill and/or as far away from the coals as possible. > > Cover the grill tightly and let the meat smoke > > If it’s a gas-grill, you’ll have more control of this next step: once the packet starts smoking, drop the temperature as low as it’ll go but still smoke. > > About 30 minutes later, add a new packet. Do it again 30 minutes after that. Depending on how smokey you want the meat, you can keep adding packets. > > By the way: hickory smoke makes meat turn a weird shade of pink. It’ll be cooked, even if it’s pink. > > If the outside of the pork doesn’t have some blackened areas, put it right on top of the fire for just a few minutes. > > Either way, take the pork and with two forks, shred the pork. Don’t cut away those blackened bits, shred 'em too. > > Pour the sauce over the pork until well coated (you may not use all the sauce…it freezes and is great on chicken) and put the pork’n’sauce in a pot on the stove and let simmer for about five minutes. Taste: magically, it no longer tastes too vinegary! (I think it has something to do with the carbonized bits interacting with the vinegar. Maybe.) > > Scoop this up and serve it on a toasted hamburger bun or kaiser roll. Either way, thinly sliced red onion and romaine lettuce top off this perfect BBQ pork sammich. > > You may now worship me and think of me as you get much sex from the joy that this recipe creates. > > Unca Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-a-pork-picnic-shoulder-fresh/325136/9 "2005-10-08T02:34:16Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Low and slow baby low and slow. > A picnic has lots of connective tissue and will be tough as a boot, unless you cook it at a low temp for a long time which will > A) render the fat out > B) cause the connective tissue to turn into gelatin. If you’re grilling a shoulder that has a fat side, that side should be facing up. All that fat will run through the shoulder, making it jucier.