Pulled Pork Temps


 
F

Fred BW

TVWBB Fan
I have never been all that big on pulled Pork. The times I have got it,I just havn't been that impressed. And the heck of it is,I live in Kansas City. Memories of it are sometimes dry. Sometimes chalky. ( I am talking BBQ stores here)
All that said,I tried my first Pork Butt today on my WSM. I didn't put enough coal on the fire last night,and this morning there were only a couple lonely coals smoldering on the grate. The Pork was still about 110 degrees. I put it on about 9:30 or 10 last night. This morning I quickly had a chimney going,and the water pan refilled,and the temps back up in no time. About 10 O clock today my meat probe read 185 so I took it off and wrapped it in foil,and just let it set till noon. I mostly followed Chris's Mustard slather recipe to the tee.
Believe it or not,I think it came out better than any Pulled Pork i have bought from a bonified KC BBQ store. But it still came out kind of chalky. Making me think it was overcooked.
I guess my question is what temp to take it off. I have become a big fan of taking things off early and wrapping them in foil,and finishing in the oven. Which is almost what i did this morning when the fire was almost out. But since i just had no idea how far along it was, i opted to just flip it over and leave the temp probe in and shoot for 190. What makes pulled Pork come out chalky? Orrrrr,what is (I know this is an extremely loaded question). Whats your tried and true method for pulled pork?
 
I'm no expert but every bone-in shoulder that I've smoked I pulled at 198-203. I cannot relate to your description of it being chalky, so I cannot comment on that. As for dryness, if you decide that you do like pulled pork that you make yourself then you can save the juices and add to it, or I have even occasionally added a tad of chicken broth; it is said that chicken broth is neutral enough that it doesn't interfere with the taste. I often smoke enough shoulders that we have leftovers and I freeze it in Foodsaver bags, sometimes freezing the juices with the pork or separately.
 
185F is low for pulled pork. It's obviously "done" and safe to eat but it's not going to pull easily and you've probably left a lot of collagen unrendered. I think most of the veterans will agree that temp should be just a guide. The thing to look for is almost no resistance to insertion of the probe all the way to the hilt. It should feel like you're pushing through "warm butter". (Not literally, but not far off from that.) It's difficult to describe but you'll know it when you feel it. As it gets close to "done", you'll get that feeling near the surface and then greater resistance toward the center. That part isn't done yet.

Generally speaking you're not going to get that warm butter feel at anything under 190F. Most butts will be closer to 200F, maybe even 205F, but it varies and if you want to nail it you have to go by feel and not temperature.

I can't address the chalky thing. I've never had one I'd describe as chalky.

If you want to wrap it during cooking, I'd suggest taking it to the beginning of the stall, ~160F, and wrapping it then. This should significantly speed the cooking process. Whether you leave it on the smoker or finish it in the oven is up to you. If you wrap it tightly in foil it won't make any difference to the butt. Heat is heat.
 
I agree with the previous posters. Mine are usually probe tender at about 205°. Now you see why home cooked BBQ is usually superior to restaurants. I usualy foil when I hit the stall - 160° to 170°. I take it off the smoker and rest in a cooler stuffed with towels for 1 to 4 hours. I catch the juice that's in the foil and separate the melted fat from the meat juice. I pour the juice over the pulled pork.

You're off to a good start. Have fun.
 
By chalky,I mean a powdery feel while you are chewing on it. It wasn't nearly as noticeable last night after sitting all day. (I left it wrapped in foil on the kitchen counter. It was still warm last night). I first cut the end off at lunch time and didn't have any issues pulling it apart. I had to go easy handling it to keep it from falling apart. It is not dry at all. All in all it was a great success. I'm just trying for better:) Chris's Mustard rub slather says to take it off at 190 http://virtualweberbullet.com/pork1.html .It was by no means hard to pull apart. But the way i cooked it,it had a cool off period about 5 in the morning when the charcoal burned out until i restoked the fire about 6:30 or 7:00. I think I will try the MR. Brown recipe next time,and take it off at a higher temp. But I am growing real fond of using Mustard on pork. There is no question it forms bark.
 
Fred, I know what you talking about, I also live in an area famous for its BBQ, but if we go eat at a BBQ restaurant, I'll get a hotdog, as I don't like the taste of the stuff they call BBQ. As stated above, temps are a starting point to begin checking for "probe tender". I can best describe it as checking a cake with a toothpick to see if it is done baking. I check my pork butts at 190* and its usual pretty close at that point. (Maybe 30-60 minutes longer on the smoker) try no water in the pan next time, foil over the top and your good to go.
I hope this helps,
Tim
 
Tim's suggestion of no water in the pan will almost definitely result in charcoal that burns longer but it will make temperature control more of a challenge, particularly if you're not used to smoking without the water. You'll likely have to keep the bottom vents more closed than with water and temperature spikes can be more severe if you're not keeping a close eye on things. All that boiling water is sucking a lot of heat out of the air inside the smoker. Getting rid of the water means more heat for the meat, but it also means the loss of a lot of thermal mass and a giant heat sink. No water means greater efficiency but less room for error. Not that you shouldn't try it. Just be aware that you'll need to keep a close eye on it the first few times you go dry.
 
Chalky could be a gritty taste from a rub based highly in Paprika or a bad fire.
I never had a powdery mouth feel to anything unless it was overdone with flour or baking soda, etc.

I like foiling once the color looks good and I start to see some drawback on the bone. Once foiled I don't temp, just let it go till it feels soft with a gloved hand.
Once that happens I'll unfoil it and probe it to see if it's truly tender.
Save those juices, add to a gravy separator and add them when your pulling your pork.

Tim
 
By chalky, do you mean "grainy"? That's a sign of overcooking and oddly is mostly located at the center of the butt.

I foil at 150F. I found it gets through the stall in no time. I pull my butts off when it's probe tender. Sometimes that ranges between 200 and 207F. I wrap them in towels and let them sit AT LEAST 2 hours.

I pour the juices off before I start pulling. I strain it through a nylon net to remove solids then the pot goes to the freezer. The fat sets up while I'm pulling.

After pulling, I spoon off the fat and reheat the juices. I also add a few tablespoons of rub to it. You can always add the juices then sprinkle rub on the entire batch.

I usually add 2 cups of juice back into an 8# (before cooking) butt. You can mix it in with your hands or tongs. The meat will say moist/juicy until it's all gone.

For leftovers I vacuum bag them at 1# per bag. If you do this while it's cold the juices are in and on the meat and vacuuming will not suck out the juices. For reheating I just boil the bag. It keeps the juices contained and it does not evaporate and dry out.

I found that doing it this way I rarely ever use BBQ sauce. It's not needed.

Good luck!
 
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