Smokerless Smoked Shoulder Shortcuts

malcolm.mccaffery

Following recipe here for first time https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/smokerless-smoked-pork-shoulder

Not saying there won't be compromises, but due to a delay from butcher my pork shoulder for a Friday lunch is behind schedule! I cut the 4kg shoulder into two pieces (because my stock of large bags run out...) and brined/injected for only 12 hrs

I am making pulled pork - and deciding on shortcut option

* cut the sous vide from 24 hrs to 23 hrs and use the baking time for 160c for 1 hr. However given the meat now is not as thick would it be a good to idea to reduce the baking time further and/or increase temp to avoid overcooking too much

Or

* cut sous vide time to 20 hrs and bake in 120c for 3 hrs.

Brandon_Byrd_40557

I would nudge the temp of the bath up 3 degrees (C), go for 20 hours, and do the final bake for the full 3 hours. You don't want to cheat on the final baking step since that's where the bark and texture develop. You need the time for the exterior to dehydrate (slightly) and for the sugars in the glaze to break down a bit. SV BBQ pork shoulder really needs the textural contrast; if you don't have the bark right, it can be mushy and sad.