Watched a pork shoulder go from tough to falling apart in 45 minutes flat

I had this picnic shoulder that just would not cooperate last Friday. Been braising it for like 6 hours at 225 and it was still chewy as hell, temp stuck at 195. I got frustrated and cranked my smoker up to 300 just to see what would happen. Took a quick break to restock my display case and when I came back 45 minutes later, that thing went from tough to literally sliding off the bone. Probe went in like butter on the first try. I think the heat spike forced the collagen to break down all at once instead of slow and gradual. Has anyone else had a stubborn cut suddenly give up after you pushed the temp higher? I'm wondering if I should try this on purpose next time instead of just giving up.

2 comments

2 Comments

davis.mia1mo ago

So you're telling me the secret to perfectly tender pork shoulder is just getting mad and cranking the heat? Sounds like my aggressive cooking style might actually pay off for once.

beth_ward801mo ago

OH MAN, that's actually a legit technique you stumbled onto! I've been doing this for years but for a different reason. When you crank the heat on a stubborn shoulder, you're basically forcing the cooking liquid to hit a hard boil. That steam helps bust through that fibrous stuff way faster than low and slow can. The key nobody talks about is that your temp was stuck at 195 which is right where collagen starts to break but it needs more heat to finish the job. I've had shoulders that sat at 198 for THREE HOURS before I got mad and bumped it to 275 and they were done in 20 minutes. It's not cheating, it's just physics. The high heat gives a jolt to the chemical process that low heat can't match.