Big Honkin' Chunk o' Meat

[Jay59]

Next week my wife is going to roast a whole pork leg. It's over 10 kilos (23 pounds) bone in and skin on. The plan is to score the skin in a diamond pattern, put S&P and a mustard sauce into the grooves, sear at high heat for 30 minutes then reduce to 160° (325° F) until the meat temp is right. We would add liquid (apple juice?) to the pan to keep the oven moisture up.

Does anyone have experience with meat this large?

 

[americanwoman]

Next week my wife is going to roast a whole pork leg. It's over 10 kilos (23 pounds) bone in and skin on. The plan is to score the skin in a diamond pattern, put S&P and a mustard sauce into the grooves, sear at high heat for 30 minutes then reduce to 160° (325° F) until the meat temp is right. We would add liquid (apple juice?) to the pan to keep the oven moisture up.

Does anyone have experience with meat this large?

Good luck! I've done large portions of pork but only have fried it for carnitas. When you say roast, does that mean you going to do it in a traditional oven?

 

[Jay59]

Good luck! I've done large portions of pork but only have fried it for carnitas. When you say roast, does that mean you going to do it in a traditional oven?

It's a commercial size oven, but yes.

 

[americanwoman]

It's a commercial size oven, but yes.

Sounds good, let me know how it turns out. And what time dinner is.

 

[justabubba]

Next week my wife is going to roast a whole pork leg. It's over 10 kilos (23 pounds) bone in and skin on. The plan is to score the skin in a diamond pattern, put S&P and a mustard sauce into the grooves, sear at high heat for 30 minutes then reduce to 160° (325° F) until the meat temp is right. We would add liquid (apple juice?) to the pan to keep the oven moisture up.

Does anyone have experience with meat this large?

I have smoked 4 pork shoulders simultaneously on a kamodo
Their cumulative pre-cooked weight would approximate what you’re doing
My objective is to keep the temperature between 225 and 250°F; the more toward the lower temp the better
The cooking time is usually 10 hours or more to get to an internal temperature ideally of 203°
Low and slow cooking allows the connective tissues to melt away, resulting in a very moist and tender cut of meat
I tend to include Hickory wood to add the smoke
And liberally baste toward the end with a vinegar-based solution including the same spices I applied before placing the shoulders on the grill
Will be curious to learn how your cook turns out

 

[Jay59]

I have smoked 4 pork shoulders simultaneously on a kamodo
Their cumulative pre-cooked weight would approximate what you’re doing
My objective is to keep the temperature between 225 and 250°F; the more toward the lower temp the better
The cooking time is usually 10 hours or more to get to an internal temperature ideally of 203°
Low and slow cooking allows the connective tissues to melt away, resulting in a very moist and tender cut of meat
I tend to include Hickory wood to add the smoke
And liberally baste toward the end with a vinegar-based solution including the same spices I applied before placing the shoulders on the grill
Will be curious to learn how your cook turns out

Ten hours is not possible. Six is the upper limit but at 30 minutes plus 12 per pound, we should be alright. We are also doing this indoors, so smoke is not an option.

Basting is a possibility. Apple juice and beer have both been suggested. You sound like you make North Carolina style Q. We are looking for sliceable more than pulled.

That said, a good pulled shoulder sandwich on a Kaiser roll would do me right now.

 

[justabubba]

Ten hours is not possible. Six is the upper limit but at 30 minutes plus 12 per pound, we should be alright. We are also doing this indoors, so smoke is not an option.

Basting is a possibility. Apple juice and beer have both been suggested. You sound like you make North Carolina style Q. We are looking for sliceable more than pulled.

That said, a good pulled shoulder sandwich on a Kaiser roll would do me right now.

Yeah, you nailed it: North Carolina. Eastern through the 70s and Piedmont/Lexington style since the 80s
Hope you will make a point to post about how your hog leg turns out

 

[Loulit01]

Where I'm from you can, or could, rent a special box, put a whole pig in it, bury underground over coals and cook it all day. It a Latin thing. I forget the specifics because I was never the chef when this was done, and there was usually a keg of beer involved, but I attended about a dozen such cookouts and there's nothing like it — unless you go to Hawaii where they do something similar.

 

[Jay59]

Yeah, you nailed it: North Carolina. Eastern through the 70s and Piedmont/Lexington style since the 80s
Hope you will make a point to post about how your hog leg turns out

I knew an old boy from Boone once upon a long time ago. He said you could put his iced tea in the fridge and serve it on hotcakes for breakfast. I never put it to the test.

Where I'm from you can, or could, rent a special box, put a whole pig in it, bury underground over coals and cook it all day. It a Latin thing. I forget the specifics because I was never the chef when this was done, and there was usually a keg of beer involved, but I attended about a dozen such cookouts and there's nothing like it — unless you go to Hawaii where they do something similar.

We call that pit BarBQ. It sometimes literally involves a back to dig the big hole in the ground.

 

[Jay59]

Well, it happened. Like an idiot, I didn't get pics. Sorry about that. It was beautiful, browned skin in an attractive pattern, rather like magazine pictures of a whole ham. without the cloves. The meat was tender, lightly seasoned, moist, and received excellent reviews. The drippings made fantastic gravy. It was a touch sweet from the apple juice which was a nice twist.

Rather than use the oven on a hot day, we pulled out the roaster, like below. I scored the skin with a utility knife set at about 0.7 cm (1/4"). We rubbed salt and black pepper into the s F)cores then worked in some rosemary and sage leaves. We set the pan on high for about 10 minutes to give a sear, added half a liter of apple juice, then backed the dial down to 150° (300° F). for about five and a half hours. One thing we did wrong was place the thermometer probe too close to a bone so we almost stopped too soon (it read 79³ when 59° was closer). Fortunately, we did multiple checks and figured out the problem. Portions near the hoof end--it was basically triangular--were very done and some of the interior was only about medium, but the bulk of the meat was almost perfect. From a 10+ kg (23 lb) fresh weight, I figure about 30% was waste and about 70% usable meat. Since I allowed for 50% we had half again what we needed. There are two large bags in the freezer and a container of drippings in the cooler.

This is like what we cooked it in

 

[Jay59]

I didn't get pics, but this is close to what it looked like. Ours had far fewer herbs and was a bit darker, likely because the sugar in the apple juice caramelized. Below that is what it looks like uncooked. There was a lot less bone than I expected.