[C_A_Braun]

Scoop is right about the connective tissues being key to great BBQ. Anyone who has ever done brisket, picnic or boston butt is familiar with the great beer drinking ritual that occurs between 160-170, known as "The Stall" where the meat generally cooks to about 160 reasonably quickly but then seems to take 30-60 minutes to go from 1 degree to the next between 160-170 before resuming fairly quick internal temperature escalation. It is that stall when all the magic of great BBQ is happening. Some people dont like waiting for the stall so they will wrap their meat in foil to speed up the process. HUGE MISTAKE! Wrapping means no bark mush and misses the point of great BBQ.

[ScoopLV]

I slow it down even more for "the stall." All the magic happens between 160f and 170f. Stretch that out rather than try to compress it.

[Tek_Freek]

Fascinating thread

[OmegaSupreme]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

I slow it down even more for "the stall." ............Stretch that out rather than try to compress it.

how exactly? i've never heard about that but would be willing to give it a shot

i've wrapped briskets at 160-165 but not to power through the stall, rather to keep the moisture in.... and you don't need to wrap in foil, franklin's bbq in austin (and i'm sure thousands of others) use butcher paper instead (you can get it at sams club)... bark comes out just fine with either method imo

also if anyone has an amex card, i suggest you sync with the Smart and Final offer (3x $25-off-$50) and go there and stock up on groceries

their meat selection is a little small, but they have pork picnic shoulder for 89c/lb this week and i saw a couple of select briskets for $50 (so you could get one, and then get a $25 credit from amex = $25 whole packer brisket!!!)

[clutchcargo777]

Originally Posted by OmegaSupreme

also if anyone has an amex card, i suggest you sync with the Smart and Final offer (3x $25-off-$50) and go there and stock up on groceries

their meat selection is a little small, but they have pork picnic shoulder for 89c/lb this week and i saw a couple of select briskets for $50 (so you could get one, and then get a $25 credit from amex = $25 whole packer brisket!!!)

Thanks for the Amex tip, just noticed that deal and added it to my card.

OT: There is a spend $20 at Amazon get $20 credit too!

[OmegaSupreme]

Originally Posted by clutchcargo777

Thanks for the Amex tip, just noticed that deal and added it to my card.

OT: There is a spend $20 at Amazon get $20 credit too!

The amazon one is random. Some get it, some don't.

[WestieJeff]

If you've ever used one (from Amazon) previously, you don't get another one.

Originally Posted by OmegaSupreme

The amazon one is random. Some get it, some don't.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by OmegaSupreme

how exactly? i've never heard about that but would be willing to give it a shot

I do my mopping and spraying during the stall. (I always have a spray bottle filled with an appropriate fruit juice, and a mop made with juice and leftover rub.) Opening the smoker lowers the temp and causes the stall time to increase. (My setup is totally manual, so I don't have to worry about the smoker cranking itself to 11 to compensate.) Once the stall is over, temperature rises fast anyway. Mopping isn't as big a deal. Just a few dabs near the end.

[delgadobb]

Originally Posted by OmegaSupreme

also if anyone has an amex card, i suggest you sync with the Smart and Final offer (3x $25-off-$50) and go there and stock up on groceries

their meat selection is a little small, but they have pork picnic shoulder for 89c/lb this week and i saw a couple of select briskets for $50 (so you could get one, and then get a $25 credit from amex = $25 whole packer brisket!!!)

GREAT suggestion.

The AMEX Smart & Final offer is a $25 rebate back to the card when you spend $50 or more in a single transaction at Smart & Final. You need to be signed up in advance. One of my cards was already linked (viewable in the 'offers' section at the bottom of your online account info), the other required me syncing it via Twitter (I believe the tweet was #Smartandfinal ). In theory, I can make 6 $50+ trips to Smart & Final before June 30, 2015 & get 6 $25 statement credits. In reality, I'll likely do it 2-3 times.

Tonight I stopped at Smart and Final & picked up 4 pork shoulders @ $.89/lb, 3 packs of chicken leg quarters @ $.79/lb (ferret food) & some miscellaneous stuff for just over $50. The pork shoulders will cost me under 50 cents/lb when all is said & done. They did have whole briskets for about $50, so I may pick up one of those on a future trip.

Anyone have a preferred recipe or preparation method for pork shoulder? It's a cheap cut of meat, but has generally worked out well when I cook with indirect heat on the grill. Open to suggestions ...

[OmegaSupreme]

Originally Posted by delgadobb

Anyone have a preferred recipe or preparation method for pork shoulder? It's a cheap cut of meat, but has generally worked out well when I cook with indirect heat on the grill. Open to suggestions ...

I'm going to smoke mine and make bbq pulled pork out of it.... or maybe I'll just throw it in the slow cooker..... haven't used picnic shoulder before, so I'm checking out some recipes first

As for brisket, I'm going to do a "hot and fast" smoke on the kamado, so should be done in 6-8hrs, as opposed to 15-20