Smokin Jim Posted this on his web page a few years ago. I have not had a dry pork butt since
Frank cooks his pork butt to 185 degrees internal temperature and it turns
out very tender, moist, and just great. John cooks his butt to the the same
internal temperature and it is dry, over cooked, and not acceptable. This
can happen not only with pork, but with brisket, chicken, and other cuts of
meat. What went wrong? This is a degree of smoking that, to my knowledge,
has not been addressed. Here's the real deal.
The temperature you are smoking at will have a great determining factor as
to "when to take the meat off at x temperature." If Frank smoked his pork
butt at around 240 to 250 degrees, or even a little higher here and there,
the 185 degree internal temp. will work great. If John smoked his butt at
210 to 225 degrees and brought the internal temp. up to the the same as
Frank's (185), his meat will be dry, over cooked, and just a bad experience.
Here's what's going on inside the meat. Since the meat itself works as an
insulator in its own right, and if you are cooking at just a few degrees
above the internal temp. you are wanting to achieve, chances are that it
will never achieve it, and if it does, it will be over cooked. The wider
the gap between the cooking temperature (to a point) and the internal
temperature one is wanting to achieve, the easier it is to get there, and go
by guide lines some of us set as "taking off temperatures".
If one is smoking at a lower temperature than the recipe calls for, then
adjustments must be made to the "take off the fire" internal temperature of
the meat. For instance, John should have taken his pork butt off the fire at
a much lower internal temp. than Frank did. I would guess at about 170
degrees or so, (bet I'm close), but I'm not for sure on this since I don't
cook at the 210 degree range. The reasons for this are simple. If the meat
is cooked at a lower temp., it will get tender (break down the collagen ) at
a longer and lower temperature, where as cooking at a higher temp., the meat
will break down at a faster rate due to the higher temperature. How far one
can go on either end of this style of cooking techinque will be argued till
the end of time.
So here's where I'm going with this post. This applies to meats that need
to be smoked long and slow...tough cuts of meat.( Not meats that can be
cooked at higher temperatures for short, fast cookings...like loins, whole
rib eyes, etc). If you are following a recipe that calls for an internal
temperature of say 180 degrees or so, make sure the temperature in you pit
is a least 50 or 60 degrees above that temp. For example, to get to a 180
degree internal temp., I would cook in the 240 to 250 degrees range. If you
are cooking at a lower temp., then make adjustments for the internal
temp....you would take the meat off at a lower internal temperature, but it
would cook longer.
Tip: On the longer, slower smoking meats, add one hour more cooking time
for every 10 degrees that you are staying below the ideal cooking
temperature. For instance, if I said smoke a 10 lb. brisket for 10 hours at
240 degrees, and you are cooking at 220 degrees, you would need to cook your
brisket for approximately 12 hours. You can take that to the bank.
After so many years of Q'ing, I take my meat off by the fork tender method,
and am sure that a lot of you ol' backyard pros, and professionals do also.
But I sure didn't when I first started out! Felt like this is a letter that
needed to be written for the many beginners and intermediate level boys and
girls out there. Hope this will be of help to some of you and that you have
a great "smokin' summer".
Danny
P.S. Adjustments need to be made to my FAQ on smoking butts, etc. Bill W.,
you listening? I wrote down the temperatures I smoke at on a guess...I was
wrong. (Some of us ol' pit masters get a little cockie in our old age). I
am actually smoking at the 240 to 250 degree range on everything I cook.
Sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower, but that's a good
average for me. Please forgive me, and don't tell Belly.
Tim
Hope this helps.
Frank cooks his pork butt to 185 degrees internal temperature and it turns
out very tender, moist, and just great. John cooks his butt to the the same
internal temperature and it is dry, over cooked, and not acceptable. This
can happen not only with pork, but with brisket, chicken, and other cuts of
meat. What went wrong? This is a degree of smoking that, to my knowledge,
has not been addressed. Here's the real deal.
The temperature you are smoking at will have a great determining factor as
to "when to take the meat off at x temperature." If Frank smoked his pork
butt at around 240 to 250 degrees, or even a little higher here and there,
the 185 degree internal temp. will work great. If John smoked his butt at
210 to 225 degrees and brought the internal temp. up to the the same as
Frank's (185), his meat will be dry, over cooked, and just a bad experience.
Here's what's going on inside the meat. Since the meat itself works as an
insulator in its own right, and if you are cooking at just a few degrees
above the internal temp. you are wanting to achieve, chances are that it
will never achieve it, and if it does, it will be over cooked. The wider
the gap between the cooking temperature (to a point) and the internal
temperature one is wanting to achieve, the easier it is to get there, and go
by guide lines some of us set as "taking off temperatures".
If one is smoking at a lower temperature than the recipe calls for, then
adjustments must be made to the "take off the fire" internal temperature of
the meat. For instance, John should have taken his pork butt off the fire at
a much lower internal temp. than Frank did. I would guess at about 170
degrees or so, (bet I'm close), but I'm not for sure on this since I don't
cook at the 210 degree range. The reasons for this are simple. If the meat
is cooked at a lower temp., it will get tender (break down the collagen ) at
a longer and lower temperature, where as cooking at a higher temp., the meat
will break down at a faster rate due to the higher temperature. How far one
can go on either end of this style of cooking techinque will be argued till
the end of time.
So here's where I'm going with this post. This applies to meats that need
to be smoked long and slow...tough cuts of meat.( Not meats that can be
cooked at higher temperatures for short, fast cookings...like loins, whole
rib eyes, etc). If you are following a recipe that calls for an internal
temperature of say 180 degrees or so, make sure the temperature in you pit
is a least 50 or 60 degrees above that temp. For example, to get to a 180
degree internal temp., I would cook in the 240 to 250 degrees range. If you
are cooking at a lower temp., then make adjustments for the internal
temp....you would take the meat off at a lower internal temperature, but it
would cook longer.
Tip: On the longer, slower smoking meats, add one hour more cooking time
for every 10 degrees that you are staying below the ideal cooking
temperature. For instance, if I said smoke a 10 lb. brisket for 10 hours at
240 degrees, and you are cooking at 220 degrees, you would need to cook your
brisket for approximately 12 hours. You can take that to the bank.
After so many years of Q'ing, I take my meat off by the fork tender method,
and am sure that a lot of you ol' backyard pros, and professionals do also.
But I sure didn't when I first started out! Felt like this is a letter that
needed to be written for the many beginners and intermediate level boys and
girls out there. Hope this will be of help to some of you and that you have
a great "smokin' summer".
Danny
P.S. Adjustments need to be made to my FAQ on smoking butts, etc. Bill W.,
you listening? I wrote down the temperatures I smoke at on a guess...I was
wrong. (Some of us ol' pit masters get a little cockie in our old age). I
am actually smoking at the 240 to 250 degree range on everything I cook.
Sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower, but that's a good
average for me. Please forgive me, and don't tell Belly.
Tim
Hope this helps.
