eva908•29d ago

Debate: Should butchers trim fat cap off pork shoulders before wrapping?

I visited a barbecue competition in Kansas City last month and noticed half the teams trimmed the fat cap down to a quarter inch before wrapping, while the others left the whole cap on. The ones that trimmed got more bark but the untrimmed ones seemed juicier. What do you guys do with your pork shoulders when pulling them for customers or yourself?

3 comments

3 Comments

foster.charles29d ago

Hold up, did the trimmed ones have a wetter wrap compared to the untrimmed ones when you opened them up, or was it about the same inside the paper?

taylor_hayes2528d ago

Tbh @foster.charles, mine were definitely wetter in the trimmed ones too, exact same thing happened to me.

king.stella28d ago

Oh man, yes, exactly this! I had the same thing happen with a batch I trimmed last week. The trimmed ones were definitely more damp in the wrap when I opened them up after a few days. It was like the moisture had nowhere to go because there was less leaf surface to breathe through. The untrimmed ones came out feeling a lot more even and less sweaty inside the paper. I think trimming too much right away traps that extra moisture and it just sits there.