Pompey: I haven't ever done a proper Boston cut I'm afraid. My previous cooks, up until doing the collars, have all been regular 'picnic' shoulders from the local supermarket. All I can say is the collars came out way better than anything I've done previously. They were around 2kg each and I bought 2 for £19 at Smithfields. I've read some stuff on US forums where people explain that the Collar isn't allowed in competitions but this fact was lost on the guests I had over on Sat, who smashed the lot lol. Bonus: I finally got to use my new bear claws
essexsmoker: Yes, was the USDA Choice Packer that TH do, weighed in at around 17lb but I trimmed most of the hard fat out and took about 1.5 inches off the length, from the flat end, to ensure it would fit in my WSM, so I reckon it was closer to 14lb when it went on. Was planning on foiling once it hit 160f, to push through the stall a bit quicker, but it got there relatively quickly and so I made a snap decision to just let it go (did the same with the collars too). Started cooking at 5pm on Friday and the flat was at 200f at about 7am Saturday. Was a little quicker that I was expecting. My Maverick probe for the cooker temp was clipped to the underside of the top grate with the brisket above it, which may have meant I was actually running hotter than it was reading (which would explain the early finish, didn't affect the tenderness none). Probe was at circa 240f for most of the cook. Triple-foiled and stuck it in my oven on the lowest setting until serving the flat at around 2:30pm. Stuck the point in the freezer (going to attempt burnt ends with it when I next have time).