Smoking smaller cuts of meat (e.g. pork shoulder, brisket)

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Re: Smoking smaller cuts of meat (e.g. pork shoulder, briske

Postby gavinbbq » 03 Oct 2015, 10:35

Fair enough. Though like others have said I will generally do a large joint then invite a couple of people over and just vacuum seal the leftovers and keep them in the freezer as little barbecue treats throughout the year.
I wouldn't ever smoke another brisket or pork shoulder until I got rid of the stuff out the freezer too. In fact the pulled pork I had from the freezer the other day I think tasted better after reheating in a bag of low simmering water


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Re: Smoking smaller cuts of meat (e.g. pork shoulder, briske

Postby jonhobbs » 04 Oct 2015, 19:09

OK, so it didn't go great, but not because it was too small I think.

The problem was that I had allowed 5-6 hours based on the weight and put it on 225F. Guests arrived at 2pm and by 3pm it was still a very long way off temperature. So I read a few articles about the temp stalling and the advice was to wrap in foil or to increase the temperature, so I turned up the temp but half an hour later it wasn't going up much higher. So, basically I kept turning it up until it was as high as the smoker would go and STILL it wasn't getting there, so about an hour and a half earlier we just had to eat and I knew beef was safe to eat at the temperature it had got to, which was 82C/179F.

It was cooked, not pink in the middle at all, but it was tough, very tough. The teaste and seasoning was fantastic but the fat was stringy and did I mention it was tough?

I can only assume that if I had have had a couple more hours and had left it at 225F and got it all the way to 200F that it would have been juicier and would have fallen apart the way brisket is supposed to, but I simply didn't have time. Next time I'll start it much earlier.
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Re: Smoking smaller cuts of meat (e.g. pork shoulder, briske

Postby essexsmoker » 05 Oct 2015, 09:01

It's all a learning curve. Always start early as you can put it in a coolbox to rest for several hours if you have to.
You need to experiment with crutching and decide if you want to do it or not and develop your method. For small joints I'd say it's a given. Will help it not to dry out too much and steam through the stall.
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Re: Smoking smaller cuts of meat (e.g. pork shoulder, briske

Postby Jlot » 01 May 2019, 18:25

I don't have much space in the freezer and no space for a second freezer anywhere so I have a similar issue. I love smoking ox cheeks and pork cheeks as they are great for low and slow cooking, really tender with lots of flavour but two people can manage them easily. Ox tail is another great option. Ox cheek and tail is also very cheap and easy to get hold of, my local Morrisons sells both. Hope that helps.
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Re: Smoking smaller cuts of meat (e.g. pork shoulder, briske

Postby Jlot » 01 May 2019, 20:19

Ox cheek and pork cheek are great small cuts for low and slow. Also ox tail works really well. Ox cheek and ox tail are both easy to find in the UK and cheap. My local Morrisons sells both. Pork cheeks are harder to find but my butcher sometimes has them and Farmisons online butchers often has them. Hope that helps.
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Re: Smoking smaller cuts of meat (e.g. pork shoulder, briske

Postby Jlot » 02 May 2019, 19:25

Sorry to post in an old thread! You have probably forgotten you started it or have found your feet with the cuts you like to smoke ect. But I saw your post and I also struggle with the larger joints due to lack of space in the freezer ect. I really like smoking ox cheek and pork cheek as they are smaller cuts that still benefit from a long low and slow cook and typically benefit from an internal temp that you would aim for with a brisket or butt. Ox tail is another great one! Ox tail and ox cheek are also very easy to find in the Uk and are cheap! Pork cheek I pick up from my butcher but he does not have them that often. https://www.farmison.com/ can be a good place to pick these cuts up too although the price is much higher here. My local Morrisons carries ox cheek and tail and they are a quarter of the price listed on Farmisons.. You might already use those cuts, but if not they might be perfect for what you want! Sorry for the long and late post, but hope it helps!
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