I Bought A Pork Shoulder Picnic Roast

[Iron Woode]

I scored a pork shoulder picnic roast for 1$ per pound and weighs 9 1/3 lbs.

I am planning on a long, slow roast for this bad boy. I will also make garlic mash potatoes with, too.

 

[kn51]

Picnics are fun. I usually score the skin then after a long smoke it just falls off.

 

[mztykal]

Deals! I’d smoke it for awhile till it fallls apart...

 

[Kaido]

Nice, I just got the same deal last night! Although I cheated & did 70 minutes in the Instant Pot with some hickory liquid smoke & then cheated even more & used an electric hand mixer to shred it Came out great! #YayPork

 

[Kaido]

On a tangent, this is my favorite Pork Carnitas recipe ever:

https://www.afamilyfeast.com/carnitas/

A very slight variation, which is also excellent:

https://spicysouthernkitchen.com/pork-carnitas/

Special notes:

1. It requires bacon fat, so you'll need to save up 1/4 cup
2. It requires lard (I get my leaf lard from Fannie & Flo on Etsy, although the supermarket kind works fine too)
3. It takes 5 hours to cook in the oven
4. Be sure to cover the pan with parchment THEN foil (so the meat won't stick to the top)

 

[WelshBloke]

I will also make garlic roast potatoes with, too.

Good call!

 

[ponyo]

$1 /lb is like the everyday price here for pork picnic. I prefer butt to picnic but both are pretty much interchangeable. If you're looking for something different from the standard pulled pork, you can try Momofuku's Bo Ssam recipe. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12197-momofukus-bo-ssam

I have about 16 pounds of boneless pork shoulder in the fridge I need to smoke or freeze soon.

 

[Iron Woode]

I forgot to add that I picked up a 10lb bag of russet potatoes for $1.

 

[Iron Woode]

Nice, I just got the same deal last night! Although I cheated & did 70 minutes in the Instant Pot with some hickory liquid smoke & then cheated even more & used an electric hand mixer to shred it Came out great! #YayPork

unfortunately, mine won't fit my instant pot - bone-in and all.

 

[Kaido]

unfortunately, mine won't fit my instant pot - bone-in and all.

I cut off most of the fat, trim the pork into chunks, and add it to a steamer basket in the IP:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074CPVFN8

But, smoking FTW! I'll probably smoke one up on my pellet grill over Thanksgiving when I have some time...

 

[Kaido]

I forgot to add that I picked up a 10lb bag of russet potatoes for $1.

noice

If you wanna try something new: Outback Steakhouse salt-jacket potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Wash & dry potatoes (do not poke any holes in them); I prefer small to medium Russets for this method
3. Squirt some EVOO on them & rub it around to coat the potatoes by hand
4. Liberally coat shiny exterior with Kosher salt, until it resembles a salt lick
5. Bake for 70 minutes (I just stick them on the oven grate & put a pan underneath to catch the falling salt, then remove with tongs when finished)
6. Cut open in half length-wise, but don't finish the cut
7. Grab each cut end with your fingers & squeeze together, which will make the potato automatically break up & mush together really nicely

Should look something like this when done: (random copycat photo off google images)

This is the only way we bake potatoes these days. Comes out awesome every time!

 

[Iron Woode]

noice

If you wanna try something new: Outback Steakhouse salt-jacket potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Wash & dry potatoes (do not poke any holes in them); I prefer small to medium Russets for this method
3. Squirt some EVOO on them & rub it around to coat the potatoes by hand
4. Liberally coat shiny exterior with Kosher salt, until it resembles a salt lick
5. Bake for 70 minutes (I just stick them on the oven grate & put a pan underneath to catch the falling salt, then remove with tongs when finished)
6. Cut open in half length-wise, but don't finish the cut
7. Grab each cut end with your fingers & squeeze together, which will make the potato automatically break up & mush together really nicely

Should look something like this when done: (random copycat photo off google images)

This is the only way we bake potatoes these days. Comes out awesome every time!

That is how I always do it.

 

[Iron Woode]

I made a rub using salt, pepper, garlic powder, italian herbs and onion powder. Just for some bite I added a bit of cayenne pepper and some liquid smoke.

It's in the oven @ 275 and it smells amazing in here. It should be done around 6:00 or 7:00PM tonight.

 

[Paratus]

noice

If you wanna try something new: Outback Steakhouse salt-jacket potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Wash & dry potatoes (do not poke any holes in them); I prefer small to medium Russets for this method
3. Squirt some EVOO on them & rub it around to coat the potatoes by hand
4. Liberally coat shiny exterior with Kosher salt, until it resembles a salt lick
5. Bake for 70 minutes (I just stick them on the oven grate & put a pan underneath to catch the falling salt, then remove with tongs when finished)
6. Cut open in half length-wise, but don't finish the cut
7. Grab each cut end with your fingers & squeeze together, which will make the potato automatically break up & mush together really nicely

Should look something like this when done: (random copycat photo off google images)

This is the only way we bake potatoes these days. Comes out awesome every time!

What does the oil and salt do for the potato?
Do you eat the skin?


For us most of our ‘baked’ potatoes are done while grilling. After washing the potatoe we shove a potatoe nail in it, wrap in foil and place directly on the coals. Cook 50-60 minutes flipping once.

They get a nice smokey charcoal flavor.

 

[Iron Woode]

What does the oil and salt do for the potato?
Do you eat the skin?


For us most of our ‘baked’ potatoes are done while grilling. After washing the potatoe we shove a potatoe nail in it, wrap in foil and place directly on the coals. Cook 50-60 minutes flipping once.

They get a nice smokey charcoal flavor.

the oil and salt make the skin really crispy and tasty. Not eating the skins is a waste.

 

[zinfamous]

noice

If you wanna try something new: Outback Steakhouse salt-jacket potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Wash & dry potatoes (do not poke any holes in them); I prefer small to medium Russets for this method
3. Squirt some EVOO on them & rub it around to coat the potatoes by hand
4. Liberally coat shiny exterior with Kosher salt, until it resembles a salt lick
5. Bake for 70 minutes (I just stick them on the oven grate & put a pan underneath to catch the falling salt, then remove with tongs when finished)
6. Cut open in half length-wise, but don't finish the cut
7. Grab each cut end with your fingers & squeeze together, which will make the potato automatically break up & mush together really nicely

Should look something like this when done: (random copycat photo off google images)

This is the only way we bake potatoes these days. Comes out awesome every time!

What is EVOO?

IIRC< at Outback they shove teh potatoes in a brick of lard....though I doubt they would do that anymore or ever, really--because too expensive. But I think they are at least coated with lard, and the salt.

 

[Kaido]

What is EVOO?

IIRC< at Outback they shove teh potatoes in a brick of lard....though I doubt they would do that anymore or ever, really--because too expensive. But I think they are at least coated with lard, and the salt.

Nerd lingo for Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Annnnnnnd now I'm going to try coating my potatoes in lard, thanks for the idea

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Nerd lingo for Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Annnnnnnd now I'm going to try coating my potatoes in lard, thanks for the idea

Is "coating my potatoes in lard" nerd lingo for a sexual act? If it is, hey, we're not here to judge. And if it's not, skip the lard and use duck fat.

 

[Kaido]

What does the oil and salt do for the potato?
Do you eat the skin?

For us most of our ‘baked’ potatoes are done while grilling. After washing the potatoe we shove a potatoe nail in it, wrap in foil and place directly on the coals. Cook 50-60 minutes flipping once.

They get a nice smokey charcoal flavor.

I totally don't mean to burst your bubble on the potato nail, but:

https://amazingribs.com/bbq-grillin...ience-and-mythbusting/mythbusting-potato-nail

And yup! Like Iron Woode said, the oil & salt makes the skin nice & edible...salty & crispy! Plus no holes to poke in it because you're cooking them for longer (70 minutes) at a lower temperature (350F). I'm actually using my IP pulled pork to do loaded baked potatoes for dinner tonight. Random picture off google:

Oddly enough, they are also good with sweet potatoes...

 

[BUTCH1]

I forgot to add that I picked up a 10lb bag of russet potatoes for $1.

Wow, that's cheap. wish they have those prices around here.

 

[Iron Woode]

Wow, that's cheap. wish they have those prices around here.

It was a sale price.

probably due to harvest time and an over abundance of potatoes and they want to clear them out.

 

[Kaido]

skip the lard and use duck fat.

I actually prefer lard to duck fat. I get my duck fat off Etsy as well (srs), but lard is like magic for everything from baked goods to pork carnitas!

 

[Iron Woode]

The roast is done and I made garlic mashed potatoes.

The roast is amazing and the potatoes are great. I will be stuffed soon.

 

[Paratus]

I totally don't mean to burst your bubble on the potato nail, but:

https://amazingribs.com/bbq-grillin...ience-and-mythbusting/mythbusting-potato-nail

And yup! Like Iron Woode said, the oil & salt makes the skin nice & edible...salty & crispy! Plus no holes to poke in it because you're cooking them for longer (70 minutes) at a lower temperature (350F). I'm actually using my IP pulled pork to do loaded baked potatoes for dinner tonight. Random picture off google:

Oddly enough, they are also good with sweet potatoes...

Well in my case we are using aluminum nails which are closer to the copper nail than the stainless steel nail. All things being equal (nail length and diameter, cooking temp and initial potatoe temp) the rate of heat transfer is governed by the thermal conductivity of the material:

• Aluminum 205 W/mK
• Stainless ~12-45 W/mK
• Copper 385 W/mK

So Al conducts 5-17 times as much heat as the stainless nail.

As the prof who did the experiment you linked too said:

copper nail (or more safely, a copper nail within a stainless steel skin, or even coated with tin1, like in a tin can) might actually reduce cooking time in a small potato by half. But not plain stainless, or even plain steel. At home, if you are in a hurry, pre-cook with the microwave. Out camping? The whole point is to slow down and enjoy life. Use the nails to stake down your tent.

The other benefit is I’m not cooking in a nice even 400 degree oven but directly on the charcoal with a bunch of other potatoes. The nails help cook the potatoes which are larger or on the cooler side of the fire. When trying to make sure I have 5-8 potatoes done at the same time I’ll take even the small amount of help the nails give. (And when grilling for 5-8 people I can’t slow down and enjoy life)

(Although my daughter has to do a science project - this might be a good one)

 

[Kaido]

(Although my daughter has to do a science project - this might be a good one)

If she does it, please post the results!

My brother did a science experiment like that back in high school - which provides more shaves, lather-in-a-can or gel-in-a-can? I don't remember the exact details, but the overall result was that you got a TON more shaves out of a bottle of gel shaving cream than you did lather shaving cream. He also figured out the minimum-required gel-drop size required to cover your whole face, which was much smaller than what I was typically using (it's like toothpaste, you actually don't need a lot!), and so I've stuck with gel ever since, haha!