Figured out why my pork shoulders kept drying out

Was trimming too much fat off before smoking, leaving no barrier. Left a half inch layer on my last 10 pounder from Kroger and it came out juicy as hell. Anyone else learn this the hard way or just me?

2 comments

2 Comments

kevin_roberts412d ago

Used to be one of those guys who trimmed everything down to the bare meat. Thought the fat was just wasted space and would never render anyway. Then a buddy told me to leave a solid fat cap on and I felt like an idiot for all those dry shoulders I made before. That half inch layer does all the work keeping moisture in while the smoke still gets in there. Night and day difference once you stop overthinking it.

karen_sanchez102d ago

Funny you say that. My uncle had this old smoker that would barely hit 225. He’d put a shoulder on with the whole fat cap untouched. Just let it go for like 16 hours. Everyone thought he was nuts. But that fat would slowly melt down and baste the meat the whole time. His pork was always the best at family cookouts. Never dry, never tough. Just fell apart.