Fat Cap, how much is too much? (Pulled Pork)

[daiflu]

Hey Guys,

I'm going to have my second try at pulled pork this weekend. There are a lot of things I learnt from my first attempt, so I know I can improve. I also have some American friends coming for dinner, so they know what pulled pork is supposed to taste like!
I went to my butcher, and after much pointing to diagrams and hand signals (he speaks Chinese, me.... not so much), he hacked off a sizable (9lbs) portion of meat from around the shoulder area. Neither him or me have ever seen a 'Boston Butt' before, but I think it'll do the job.
I've been reading a lot of tips from the forums, but one thing I'm not clear on is to remove the skin and fat cap or not.
Most of the pre-cook photos I've seen have the fat cap removed, or have a relatively small cap, which is crowned.
The piece I have has a very thick fat layer on one side, and not so much on the other.
The first pulled pork I did, I removed the cap, but there were a few things not quite right with that cook, so it didn't really give me a good indication.
Should I remove the skin and cap completely, or just trim it down and crown it?
What's a good cap thickness?
Any advice would be appreciated.

[Inner10]

That looks awesome, not like your average uber-lean steroid pig. Honestly if I did touch it at all I would cut the skin off it but leave most of the fat to keep the meat lubed during its long slow cook. Any remaining fat can be removed after the cook when you pull it.

[k.a.m.]

daiflu, I would remove the skin and bring the cap down to about 3/8''. I also like to crown the shoulders about a 1/4'' deep. I do not like to get into the meat because as it cooks it starts to pull apart and the finished presentation before pulling is not as nice. I hope this helps.
_________________
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Hybrid Cooker

[daiflu]

Cheers for the replies.
I'll trim it down a bit and give it a crowning.
Looks like it was a fat pig alright!