Dry Pork Butt


 
A

A.D.Letson

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I bought 2 Boston Butts at a local grocery store (5.3 and 5.8) and they went straight to the freezer. 3 days later, find out I was supposed to have pulled pork for the next day so I pulled the butts out of the freezer. Knew the fridge wouldn't thaw it out, so did water bath. Did that until midnight that night and the butts were still frozen in the center. Couldn't inject since it was frozen so put mustard and rub on and put on the smoker. Temp was between 235 and 250 until 3 p.m. the next day. At 7 a.m. the butts hit 155 degrees and wouldn't move and only got to 162 at 3 p.m. Since they had to be ready by 5:30, I pushed the temp up to 300. The one without the probe in it got to about 205 and the one with the probe I pulled at 196. The 196 was juicier but they were both on the dry side. I have 2 questions. The first is I know that pork butts are supposed to take a while, but is it normal to be 15 hours in on a 5 lb butt and still be at 160 degrees? The second question is why did they turn out dry? Thanks
 
If they were still frozen, why didn't you try to de-thaw them in the microwave? I've never tried it with a butt, but it would be better than putting them on still partly-frozen.
Also, if you have to thaw them quickly, just put them out overnight and let them thaw at room temp. I know some people don't like this, but I've never had problems using this method.

As for why they were dry, I'd say you kept them on there too long. Did you use a mop sauce?
 
Every time I've tried to boost the temp that much to rush a finish it's been a little dry. Some folks recommend foiling to speed finish time.
 
A.D.--

No, not normal--but you weren't cooking 'normal' butts. The frozen center made them abnormal from the beginning. Thawing needs to have been completeted before cooking.

I'm faced with that situation often. I just go and buy more meat rather than risk a lousy finish by starting with partially thawed meat or
risking bacterial issues by forcing the thaw some other way.

So, the answer to the second question is: Because they were still partially frozen. Cooking dynamics have changed in this circumstance. Though 196 and 205 are too high for my taste those should be all right temps--the 196 anyway.

Make sure your probes are accurate as well. An inaccurate probe can cause you to cook too long and overcook the meat. But cooking from a partially frozen state can cause the same thing.
 
Thanks for the reply guys. This was the first thing I got to use my thermapen on so I think it was accurate. When presented with that situation again, how can I decrease the cooking time without dramatically reducing the quality?
 
If faced with that situation again:

Buy new butts so as to avoid having to thaw in a hurry and leave the frozen ones for when you have more time

or,

if that's not possible, thaw as you did making sure that the butt is completely thawed before cooking. You can speed up cook time if needed but it is hard to counter the interior dynamics if you're cooking a cut that has frozen interior sections. On that note:

If you are cooking a fully-thawed butt you should not have the problems you did. Should you need to speed up the cook, however, try to get it through the major rendering phase as usual, then foil it and cook till you hit your target internal. Rest an hour minimum. (I like a 190 pull temp. If necessary, any interior fat still present can be removed during pulling.)

Alternatively, you can bump the cook temp up to 300 but try to wait till you get through the first rendering phase before upping the temp, if possible. You can cook butts at a higher temp for the whole cook, if necessary, and get good results but it's important to make sure they rest a while--well-wrapped--after cooking. There is likely to be more of a need to discard fat/tissue from the interior of the roast during pulling so plan for that.
 
Man, I'm learning all kinds of stuff. I was only aware of one redering phase which occurred somewhere between 150 and 160. What temps do the others occur?
 
The only other thing I can suggest if faced with partially thawed butts next time is to go ahead and cut them in half. The smaller pieces should cook a little quicker.

It's not uncommon for a "problem" butt to stall around 165 and stay there for hours before slowly climbing out. Trim more of the excess fat if you are on a tight scheule.
 
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