Watching a competition in Austin showed me everyone's pork shoulder mistake

I saw at least six teams pull their pork shoulder way too early because the temp read 203. The problem was they only checked one spot. I learned the hard way at home that you need to poke all over with a probe, especially near the bone. If it doesn't slide in like butter everywhere, it's not done. How do you guys check for that perfect pull-apart feel?

2 comments

2 Comments

lopez.holly3d ago

My last turkey taught me the same lesson about spot-checking temperatures.

amyc223d ago

Remember that year everyone swore by the pop up timer? I trusted one once and ended up carving into a bird that was basically still clucking. Now I just use a basic meat probe in three different spots, feels like overkill but it works.