What temperature to cook a hog shoulder?

[bisonic]

I'm going to smoke a shoulder I have from a sow I shot last spring and am wondering what internal temp to take it to. It's about a 5 pound shoulder with a decent amount of fat on it. I'm going to brine it overnight then put on my Trager smoker tomorrow morning so it will be ready for dinner.

I've cooked store bought pork shoulders before and taken them to 180 or so, which I understand is the temperature where the fibers start to break down so it falls apart easlily. SHould I go this high? My plan is to cook it low and slow till it gets to 140 or so using a pan in the smoker with extra liquid, then wrap it in foil until it's done.

I've seen various posts that say to go as low as 150 and as high as 190.

Thanks!

 

[cgdc]

If you want it for pulled pork then take it to 195 internal. Cook it at 225-250.

 

[rooster85]

I smoke them to 145-150 then pull it and wrap in foil and a towel and let it rest.

 

[BelchFire]

Shoot for 225 for 4-6 hours and it'll be great (longer if nearer 200, shorter if nearer 250). I don't measure internal temp, but given that external temp, my shoulders are pulling apart and just as tender and moist as you could want.

 

[ltdann]

The book says, 152-155 degrees, internal temp. I usually brine for 3 days with tender quick, the dry for 12 yours at 130, raise the temp in 3 hour increments to a max of of 170. I smoke for about an hour towards the end. It's done when the internal temp hits 152. It takes about 24 hours in the smoker.

Here's a rough guide. http://www.sausagemaker.com/tutorials/ham/beginners_ham.html

 

[sancho]

slow and low!

 

[bisonic]

Well I cooked it up today and it came out AWESOME! Brined it for 12 hrs (just salt and brown sugar in the water), covered in dry rub, then smoked it for about 5 hours at low temperature till the internal got to about 160. Wrapped it in foil and let it cook at that temp for another hour or so, then removed it and let it sit for about an hour. It didn't really pull apart very well so I mostly cut it into bits then served in tortillas with salsa, guac, and cheese. YUM! Great flavor, much better than the store-bought shoulders I've bought. Best thing is there's plenty of leftovers!

 

[BelchFire]

I'm diggin that color! Great job; how about emailing me a morsel?

 

[KTKT70]

mmmm yummy. i want sum ig-laughing: