Best laid plans (stinky pork)


 
j biesinger

j biesinger

TVWBB Platinum Member
After a good solid year of working out my wsm, I'm starting to gain some real feel and confidence. I was all set to do 2 pork butts this morning and report back a text book cook. I did all my running around yesterday so that I could rub the butts in the evening and get them going nice and early this morning.

Last night, I pierced the cryovac on a double pack of what I thought were bone-in butts (I paid for bone in butts) and could not believe the smell. It was a strong smell and faintly sulfurous, enough to be really gross. I rinsed the really good, and even scrubbed them with some vinegar, but the meat still had an off smell. I did some quick searching here and the internet and didnt find many first hand accounts but most recommendations were to not take chances and to get new meat.

The butcher doesnt open until 8:30 which pretty much kills my day (meat wont be on until 10:00). I really like this place, they have great prices, and the butchers in the back are very helpful (which makes up for the front end help). I guess this will be the test, to see if they can retain my business by rectifying this situation and convincing me this wont happen again. btw-the butts were deboned, despite what I requested, and what it said on the upc.

for full disclosure, the butts were in my car for about a 30 min ride home and stayed in a 38 degree fridge for the rest of the afternoon.
 
I have noticed this before with ribs and butts. I rinse the meat and let it rest. And the smell well go away or lessen. I don't think it means the meat is bad. I have cooked and ate it many a time and no one has ever gotten sick and the food tast fine. In fact my neighbor bought over 2 slabs of ribs for me to cook for him on the 4th I opened them up to season and the were stinky. He said they were great and no one got sick.
 
J:

You are probably doing the right thing taking the butts back if you aren't comfortable using them. When the raw meat is put in the cov at the packing plant it is treated with what is called a gas flush. The flush is to force all the oxygen from the package helping extend the shelf life of the product. When the cov is first cut you will get a funny smell, which is the gas exscaping.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I did some quick searching here and the internet and didnt find many first hand accounts but most recommendations were to not take chances and to get new meat. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
You'll find a few here. As noted, the smell should dissipate in fairly short order with oxygen exposure (I give it q15-20 min). I don't rinse (I pat dry) but you certainly can. Funky smells are not indicative of pathogens (they don't have an odor) but often of a combination of spoilage bacteria, the lack of oxygen surface fat rancidity, etc. (Gas flush is more often used in non-vac'd retail packages of smaller cuts.) Nothing here will make anyone sick, i.e., you're not 'taking chances' in terms of health, a common myth, but you might be taking chances in terms of quality.

Odors should dissipate. I pat dry and walk away so as not to allow any odor to 'stick in my head' and make think it hasn't dissipated when it has. Lingering traces don't concern me. If the odor is still fairly strong, or worse, it indicates a problem in how the meat was handled prior to packaging or how the package was handled afterward. One can cook it and it'll be safe to consume--but it won't taste very good.
 
lets just say the smell filled my house, and was still noticeable an hour or so afterwards (luckily wife was in bed, i can only imagine her reaction). Even the douche, and an overnight set in the fridge (exposed to air) and the meat still had a sulfurous odor.

The butcher was happy to exchange them and requested me to return them if I still had them so they could "get back to the packer." You could see that they could smell it when they were handling the meat. an hour later, one less gallon of gas, and I was home with 2 bone-in butts, one pound more than I started (woohoo! I scored a free pound of pork*, almost makes it worth it...NOT!).

they new butts have been on for almost 4 hours.
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*or $1.49
 
Man, sorry to hear about the nasty pork. Did you really take it so hard you tossed back a fifth of bourbon already??
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I've gotten some of the same stuff from time to time, once just a few weeks back. There is a definite difference between a mild-to-moderate funkiness when you open up the cryo versus a lingering stank that fumigates the kitchen. When my wife comes in from the next room to ask what died, I know it's time for a new cut of meat.
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Last summer, for an experiment, I went ahead and smoked a butt that smelled like that, based on the information that it was not harmful to one's health, and DEAR GOD. Almost all of it ended up in the garbage. The food itself did not make me sick, but it smelled just like a smoky version of that rancid aroma. 12+ hours in the smoker did nothing to mask or tame the stank.

You did the right thing, and I hope your cook turns our well!

-Benny
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">lets just say the smell filled my house, and was still noticeable an hour or so afterwards </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Someone let that case warm up for a while at one point or another and the spoilage bacteria had a field day.

Good that you're cooking now.
 
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about 5 hours in and looking good. some burning on some of the protruding pieces. rub had a lot of sugar in it, but I'm thinking it might be my cheap paprika. I just upgraded to hungarian sweet, which according to penzey's catalog, isn't supposed to burn. I haven't cracked bag yet. I yanked one of those knob and it sure was tasty.

The wind break works well, and it folds flat. I made three for competition, and one's starting to lose some of it's hinge screws since they're fairly short. If you plan on making one, it helps to use a template and a router to set the hinges in place for assembly, and the center gap it mitered at a 45 so the hinge can rotate past 180 degrees.
 
Great pictures! Yeah, I had one that smelled like that too, but it did disipate shortly after being allowed to sit out. There was no effect on the flavor though.

That would have to be the biggest letdown, having a cook go for the better part of a full day, and then having to throw the whole thing out.
 
That's looking mighty fine.

Any chile will burn, including paprika. Better quality paprika means much better flavor--though I don't find that even the best stands up to long dry-heat cooking so I don't use it in most rubs. There are many other chilies out there that retain their flavor.

Table sugar doesn't burn at the temps at which I assume you're cooking. Meat can look burnt even if it's not. Darkening occurs for many reasons--Maillard reactions at the meats surface (which sugar in rubs furthers), sugar melting and creating a better substrate for smoke particulates to adhere, the effects of heat on chilies, herbs and some spices, etc.
 
Those pics are looking great! I don't even think about calling a butt or picnic "done" until it looks like a meteorite. Now I'm anxious to get home and fire up the grill.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I yanked one of those knob and it sure was tasty. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


Lol...I remember my dad doing butts and when he'd put them on the counter to rest before pulling or slicing, he'd always have to tell my mom, "God Damit...stop picking at the meat there won't be enough left for dinner."
Truth be told I was guilty of helping eat those crispy nubs too!!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">"God Damit...stop picking at the meat there won't be enough left for dinner." </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

hey, this was a morale booster. nothing like knowing you're only 30% done, but at least knowing you haven't screwed up yet.

besides, its got plenty of time for bark to reform over the wound.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I don't even think about calling a butt or picnic "done" until it looks like a meteorite </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I haven't taken one that far, I usually end up foiling it along the way. I had to foil these guys because I got stared about four hours later than I planned (best laid plans), and I want to make sure I'll have time to let 'em rest before I pull them.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Better quality paprika means much better flavor--though I don't find that even the best stands up to long dry-heat cooking </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

here's what I read (from penzey's):

Californian paprika is deep red, mild and sweet, nice for chicken but browns with long cooking.

It didn't say anything specifically about the hungarian (other than its better than californian). guess I assumed it wouldn't brown like the californian. oh well, one more experiment to try.
 
well, I served up the pork today(sunday) and it was about the best I've done. I serve half with a memphis style ketchup based sauce and half with a carolina mustard based sauce and it was sure fun watching people go back for thirds and fourths in an effort to see which they liked better.
 
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