Question about that pork shoulder advice from Myron Mixon

My buddy told me to cook my pork shoulder at 300 degrees instead of 225 because Myron Mixon does it that way, so I tried it last weekend. Hit 200 internal in 6 hours flat but the bark came out weirdly soft and the meat tasted more like roast pork than barbecue. Anyone else have this happen switching to a higher temp on a pork shoulder?

3 comments

3 Comments

matthews2121d ago

You ever notice how this same thing plays out with almost any craft, not just barbecue? People see a pro do something extreme and think it's a shortcut, but they don't realize the pro's whole setup is dialed in for that one specific result. Like, Myron Mixon's cooking for judges who take one bite, not for a family sitting around pulling pork for twenty minutes. The high heat works if your smoker holds temp perfectly and you're okay with sacrificing a little flavor for speed, but for most of us, that soft bark means the collagen didn't really break down, it just got pushed around fast. It's kind of like trying to bake a cake at 450 degrees because you saw a bakery do it, then wondering why it's burnt on the outside and raw inside. The slower method at 225 just gives everything time to settle properly, and that's usually worth the extra hours for home cooking.

lindamartin21d ago

I did the same thing once after watching his competition videos and my bark looked like wet sandpaper! Turns out the higher heat works great for a competition turn-in where they only need a few perfect slices, not for a whole family dinner. That soft bark was a big clue my shoulder needed more time for the skin to set properly.

jadew6320d agoTop Commenter

Man, you just described my first attempt at "competition style" cooking perfectly. I thought I was gonna be a genius saving 4 hours, ended up with a shoulder that looked like it went through a car wash. The bark was so soft I could have spread it on toast, which is not a compliment in barbecue circles. My family stared at me like I'd served them pot roast from a slow cooker, and honestly they weren't wrong. Learned the hard way that just because a pro does it doesn't mean my backyard setup with a janky offset and questionable fire management can pull it off.