1st Bad pork butt


 
D

DavidD

TVWBB Super Fan
For the first time, i did not cook my butt low and slow bc i didnt have time. It was the most disappointing butt ive ever made. It was tough and had chunks of fat vs the normal fall off the bone with fat melted down.

I cooked it at 300 degrees uncovered for 3 hrs then foiled for 2 hrs then another 30 min unwrapped with an internal temp of 190

Whar did i do wrong?
 
I'd expect an ~8# butt to take 8-9 hours at that temp. The internal temp of 190F doesn't really count for much either..... I'd expect that to rocket to 205F while being braised (foiled)..... so yeah, underdone IMO too.

Ienjoy tearing chunks from the outside that are done quicker than the inside (hard to imagine a bad butt, even bbq-sauce-greasy from a slow cooker :) ) Might've been a good specimen to try sliced........


oh yeah - better luck next time!

:wsm:
 
Davidd;
I have had butts tender at 195 degrees internal and some that took 205 degrees. In my experience they aren't done until they are tender and when they are tender they are properly rendered. Your butt sounds simply like it was undercooked as others have mentioned.

I use the Thermapen probe to determine tenderness as it approaches the finish.

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Davidd, if there is not thing this sight has taught me, it is that (finish) temps are mere guides as to when a particular meat may be done. The true test for telling if your butt is finished (as the others have already said) is probe tenderness. I do exactly as Robert Just said..at *190 I use my thermapen to probe for tenderness (in the center of the largest section of meat.). Good luck, don't give up on the HH method just yet. Try it one more time, using the probe test as your final determining factor as to when the butt is ready to come off the smoker.
Tim
 
I do all my butts HH. Mostly cuz I'm lazy and don't plan ahead. For pp I usually stick a fork in it and twist. If the pork easily separates it's done. You can get some large chunks of fat in the finished product because it doesn't get enough time to render all of it out. I just separate it when I pull it.

I think anyone cooking bbq should leave their thermometers in the kitchen drawer. They seem to ruin more bbq using a thermo than if they just cooked by feel. In all the shows I've watched that feature bbq restaurants and show off the pits most pit bosses point out that their pit thermometers are broken or non existent and the meat is "done when it's done".
 
Tim K said:
Davidd, if there is not thing this sight has taught me, it is that (finish) temps are mere guides as to when a particular meat may be done. The true test for telling if your butt is finished (as the others have already said) is probe tenderness. I do exactly as Robert Just said..at *190 I use my thermapen to probe for tenderness (in the center of the largest section of meat.). Good luck, don't give up on the HH method just yet. Try it one more time, using the probe test as your final determining factor as to when the butt is ready to come off the smoker.
Tim
Click to expand...

Ditto what Tim said...
 
when the butt reaches 195 I probe for tenderness. I typically don't pull the butt off until it reaches 200-205. I then wrap up and put in a small box for 30-60 minutes to let the meat rest. I have never had a bad butt using this method but I always cook low and slow...
 
If you have to "rush a butt" I've found this method to work best. You can basically cook a butt in about half the time, and it's very good. The only downside (if even at all) is the bark isn't as good as it would be if you cooked it fully on the BBQ/WSM

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?51784-Smoked-and-Braised-Pulled-Pork

I've increased the time on the grill and decreased the time in the braise to improve the bark, and had good success
 
I cook at around 280*, and 8-9# butts take about 9 hours. I foil pan / wrap in foil when they get the color I like (Mahogany for me, keep your meteorites), and then leave them until they are probe tender or the bones wiggles loosely.
 
Yup - undercooked. Higher heat cooks can reduce rendering of fat, but the real problem is that temperature of foiled meat is very misleading. Probe for tenderness.
 
Carl H. said:
...temperature of foiled meat is very misleading. Probe for tenderness.
Click to expand...

^^^^ This. Don't get discouraged on the high heat butt cook though, I've turned out some really great ones if I don't have enough time for low and slow. I prefer lower heat (usually I cook ~280 temp), but even the high heat is better than anything you will buy from someone else.
 
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