jordan464•22d agoProlific Poster

Appreciation post: I was dead wrong about using apple juice in my pork shoulder

Been doing pork shoulders for years and always thought the apple juice thing was just hype. Figured it was one of those BBQ myths people pass around without really testing it. But last Sunday I had a buddy come over who swears by it, so I figured why not try his method. I spritzed a bone in shoulder every 45 minutes with a mix of apple juice and apple cider vinegar. Man, I gotta say the bark came out way better than my usual dry rub only method. Not sticky or wet like I was worried about, just this nice mahogany color with a hint of sweetness. The meat pulled apart like butter after 11 hours on my offset. Has anyone else had a similar experience where they changed their mind about a popular technique after trying it themselves?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_john22d ago

Apple juice and vinegar spritz, man I was the exact same way." It's funny how that works though. Reminds me of how I used to hate putting salt in my coffee until I actually tried it. Sometimes you just gotta trust the hype and test it yourself instead of being stubborn lol.

claire_campbell22d ago

Got me thinking about how we're so quick to say "no thanks" to stuff that sounds weird on paper. It's like our brains put up this wall against anything that doesn't fit our usual routine. I see it all the time with friends who refuse to try a new restaurant or a different flavor of something just because it's not what they're used to. Once you actually give it a shot, you realize half the time your first reaction was just noise, not a real reason.