Wrapped pork shoulder in pan after stall?

[JohnDS]

I usually either cook the shoulder naked all the way through, or more recently I've been waiting until the stall, then I'll wrap in butcher paper.

This time, I've decided to wrap in butcher paper at the stall, and then put the wrapped shoulder in a deep alumininum foil pan for the remainder of the cook.

My logic this time is that the shoulder probably has enough smoke and maybe a little more smoke if it is in fact true that the smoke penetrates through the paper(still question that), and just making it easier overall after it's done without a mess because I can just open the paper up right in the pan and cut it up(after resting of course). I was going to add some sort of grate to the pan to keep the wrapped shoulder from sitting in whatever liquid comes out while cooking, but the foil pan shape wouldn't allow me to do so. Plus I'm not sure it matters anyway.

Next time, maybe I'll use a pan with lower sides if it would matter. This one is one of those turkey pans.

So I'm wondering what you guys think about this method and any advice you can offer. I also wonder whether or not I could have just made it even easier by putting the shoulder in the pan naked and just sealing the top over with foil.

Thanks.

 

[Buckeye1]

So I'm wondering what you guys think about this method and any advice you can offer. I also wonder whether or not I could have just made it even easier by putting the shoulder in the pan naked and just sealing the top over with foil.

Thanks.

This is what I do. Then I can separate the fat from the gravy and use the gravy to keep the pork moist. Sometime I pour a touch of apple juice or ACV in bottom of pan.

 

[Motodad1776]

I only wrap for the rest with a shoulder, and yeah it always rests in a pan so that all the yummy juices can be used when I pull it. I don't keep the shoulder on the smoker for more than 6 hours either, I always finished in the mentioned pan in the oven until finished......then I wrap it for the rest.

 

[Mannydog]

I do something similar. Several years ago I found a small rack that fit inside standard half-size disposable aluminum pans. It's enough to keep the pork butt (or leg of lamb, chuck roast, whatever) above the juices and let some smoke get underneath the meat, too. Once it hits the stall, I'll usually just wrap foil over the pan, keeping it reasonably tight against the meat if I can. Sometimes I'll remove the butt, wrap & return it to the pan, but it's easier to do the other way, and no real difference in final results in my opinion.

 

[AlphaPapa]

These racks should fit inside a 9X13 aluminum pan. They are .6” high. I think that will be enough to keep the meat above the juices and allow for some smoke under the meat.

I have always avoided using pans because I thought they would interfere with the smoke circulation. However, it looks like many folks here don’t worry about that.

I‘m doing 2 butts this week and plan to use this method. I’ll use the above racks in 9X13 pans. At the stall, I’ll put a piece of foil tight over the meat and inside the pan. Then, I’ll put heavy duty foil over the pan and seal it tightly.

 

[Mannydog]

These racks should fit inside a 9X13 aluminum pan. They are .6” high. I think that will be enough to keep the meat above the juices and allow for some smoke under the meat.

I have always avoided using pans because I thought they would interfere with the smoke circulation.

You could also turn the rack sideways (or even use a larger rack to begin with) across the top of the pan to elevate the meat even more until the stall, and then turn it 90 degrees to place everything in the pan to wrap and finish the cook. I've done that as well, like with the brisket in this pic. Lots of options to see what works best for you. Enjoy!

 

[SmokeZilla]

I appreciate the numerous techniques discussed in this thread. I use 2 small RT racks and put pans under them. This allows for a great deal of circulation as the elevation puts the protein in the smokiest zone on the RT700. It also allows me to capture any juices that escape until they hit the stall. When the stall is complete and I like the bark, I wrap in peach paper then place the butts in the aluminum foil roasting pans until they hit my desired internal temps. From what I can tell, by the time the butts complete the stall, they don’t absorb very much smoke since they are fully saturated by that time. The butts I use are typically between 9-13lbs post trim. (Note: I also notice a lot of the “pros” take the butts off the smoker/grill and place them in warming ovens to save pellets/fuel because they allege the butts are fully saturated.). Another added technique is to use your pizza oven set at around 140F as a holding chamber until you are ready to pull and serve the pork. It keeps them at the right temperature for serving and you can keep them warm for up to ~7 hours or even over night if needed without fear of them drying out if you put a tray of water in the oven. That techniques also works well for briskets and other large sized proteins.
Just my thoughts.

 

[kstone113]

Just throwing my 2 cents in with my method which is very similar to those above. I've done pork shoulder numerous ways but with a pellet grill, I do like to leave naked most of the time. I do like wrapping in butcher paper which I do on briskets but found it wasn't worth the effort with pork shoulder.

I have an elevated rack I use(I have 2 of them if doing 2 pork shoulders) and put a small pan under the pork shoulder with 1/4 to 1/2 full of apple juice/apple cider vinegor. Once I get to around the stall or based on how the bark is looking, I eventually remove the rack and put the shoulder in the pan with a little bit a liquid(apple juice). If I have to add juice in during the cook, I do because I want the drippings to mix in there. You can cover the pan in foil in you are in a hurry but I usually allow enough time to just put in the pan uncovered and let it finish. That way when done, I just pull apart in the pan full of juices which mix back into the pulled pork and the meat will quickly absorb most of those juices.

You can use any juice you want instead of apple juice. If I'm doing cantias, I use like lime juice, orange juice, pineapple juice instead of apple juice. Similiar method to above but I do cut and flatten out the pork shoulder which allows to cook faster and also allows for more bark.

Many methods you can use but one thing I try to allow with my pellet grill is to allow as much smoke time as possible. I know at a certain point the meat doesn't take in any more or little smoke but the pellet smoke is much lighter in nature than a stick burner or any other kind of smoker that uses real wood and/or charcoal.