Anyone else pull butts off in the 170's ?
- Thread starter Bill S.
- Start date
Barry McCorkle
TVWBB Super Fan
Count me in the club. I usually pull boston butts when they get to 175+. I think it has more to do with my cooking method. I target 225-235 cooker temp (measured at the lid) and usually let it cook for 2+ hours per lb. By that time, the fat has rendered and it is easy to pull apart. Any time I get the meat to 190, it is too soft.
Sammy Shuford
New member
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">goes through the meat like butter </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I though that was for Briskets (VBG)
I though that was for Briskets (VBG)
Bill S.
TVWBB Pro
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Sammy Shuford:
I though that was for Briskets (VBG) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Goes for butts too. Just seems to happen in the 170's. What's vbg?
I though that was for Briskets (VBG) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Goes for butts too. Just seems to happen in the 170's. What's vbg?
Dale Perry
TVWBB Guru
I check my thermometers often and the butts I cook go off closer to 190-200. @ 170 and I would have to use an electric knife.
Corey Elks
TVWBB All-Star
i usually foil around 160 unfoil 180 then finish to 195. Never really tried to pull at 170. Seems like it might be a bit tuff. Butt if it works for you keep on going with it. bbq is definently not a science and everyones tastes r different.
Bill S.
TVWBB Pro
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dale Perry:
I check my thermometers often and the butts I cook go off closer to 190-200. @ 170 and I would have to use an electric knife. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Can't imagine 190-200. Mine about fall apart at 175. What temp do you cook at? I'm at the usual 240-250, no foil. I pull apart then chop it up a bit finer.
I check my thermometers often and the butts I cook go off closer to 190-200. @ 170 and I would have to use an electric knife. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Can't imagine 190-200. Mine about fall apart at 175. What temp do you cook at? I'm at the usual 240-250, no foil. I pull apart then chop it up a bit finer.
Steve Petrone
TVWBB Platinum Member
I prefer pulled pork and usually take butts to 190-200. For slicing, I could see 180. Perhaps your method gets em done at a lower temp?
PaulFisher
TVWBB Super Fan
Sometimes my butts aren't done until they are over 200. Just depends.
Dale Perry
TVWBB Guru
Bill, I cook @ 225-240 tops. To be honest with you and I do not mean or want to sound rude, butts at 170 are tough. I am assuming that either your thermo is wrong or you may just like it that way. No offense meant but it is what it is. I actually foil our pork but not until it is @ 170-180. I go by color because I do not want my bbq to be pitch black, that is a failure to me. I cook alot of bbq,so much that I cant hardly eat it anymore and I have never seen a butt really tender even at 180. I cooked a huge butt just yesterday to 195 and it was really tender, almost perfect.
Newbies reading these discussions need to try their own thing. Try a butt at 170 and see for yourself. Tug on the bone and see if it slides out easy. Im all about experimenting so why not give it a try..
Bill,Maybe you have a method that works? I dont know but if you are happy, that is all that matters. What you, me, or anybody likes is all good if everyone is happy about it.
Newbies reading these discussions need to try their own thing. Try a butt at 170 and see for yourself. Tug on the bone and see if it slides out easy. Im all about experimenting so why not give it a try..
Bill,Maybe you have a method that works? I dont know but if you are happy, that is all that matters. What you, me, or anybody likes is all good if everyone is happy about it.
Bill S.
TVWBB Pro
Dale..No problem at all, I like critiques. Actually here is one I pulled off in the low 180's. One of the few times I let it get that high. Fell asleep at the switch...lol. You can see the bone was clean etc. The one in the pics was just a tad dry actually. 170's just works can't explain it. I've had different thermometers, it's always the same. Same for my briskets. Always 170's a few times low 180's.
http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/...661024495#5661024495
Heres a 180's brisket
http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/...471021106#5471021106
http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/...661024495#5661024495
Heres a 180's brisket
http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/...471021106#5471021106
Just my 2 cents worth but here goes. Your brisket looks beautiful. Moist and juicy. But your pork butt, IMO, looks a little undercooked. Also, your comment that it was "just a tad dry" tells me sufficient rendering had yet to take place. How do you determine if your meat is done? Are you going strictly be temp or are you probing for tender as well? Just curious.
Barry McCorkle
TVWBB Super Fan
If we are going to discuss final internal meat temp for pulling, we probably need to know cooking temp AND cooking time - both are important. Meat cooked at a lower temp can be probably be tender at a lower temp if it had enough time to render the fat. Higher cooking temps probably need a higher finishing temp to have all of the fat rendered.
I usually target 225 - 235 lid temp and my butts take 2+ hours per lb to get to nearly 180 internal meat temp. I rarely pull a butt lower than 175 and never let it go above 185. 170 is too low for me, since the meat usually has a sizeable temp plateau in the 170 - 172 range that it needs to go through to break down the meat and render the fat. Bone always pulls clean and the meat is easy enough to pull.
I usually target 225 - 235 lid temp and my butts take 2+ hours per lb to get to nearly 180 internal meat temp. I rarely pull a butt lower than 175 and never let it go above 185. 170 is too low for me, since the meat usually has a sizeable temp plateau in the 170 - 172 range that it needs to go through to break down the meat and render the fat. Bone always pulls clean and the meat is easy enough to pull.
Bill W. Michigan
TVWBB Guru
Bill S.
TVWBB Pro
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jerry P.:
How do you determine if your meat is done? Are you going strictly be temp or are you probing for tender as well? Just curious. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I add both temp and ease of probe into it. From the first time I've done them I've always pulled at the same temps. The one in the pic is the only one that has come out "dry" for me. Was surprised actually. It's also one of the rare times I have let cook to that temp. So I figure those two are connected. Next time I do a butt I'll grab a picture. I'll get one with the probe in and during pulling it. Don't do them often, I do mainly Briskets and Ribs...So it may be a while...lol.
How do you determine if your meat is done? Are you going strictly be temp or are you probing for tender as well? Just curious. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I add both temp and ease of probe into it. From the first time I've done them I've always pulled at the same temps. The one in the pic is the only one that has come out "dry" for me. Was surprised actually. It's also one of the rare times I have let cook to that temp. So I figure those two are connected. Next time I do a butt I'll grab a picture. I'll get one with the probe in and during pulling it. Don't do them often, I do mainly Briskets and Ribs...So it may be a while...lol.
Dave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
It's been a while, but yeah. I did that when I cooked pork butts all day long and thought I had to mop the meat often, tending a cheap offset, too. Talk about some WORK, and then the nerve of folks askin'.."Is it done YET?" (tip: cutting board and meat cleavers, beer and tylenol)
(...Fast-forward in my bbq journey, skipping my uds days...)
Cooking butts overnight with the wsm SOLVES the "not done in time" dilemma. I've gotten them to stay well over the necessary 140* all day long in a good pre-heated cooker when needed. (Add a couple of hot wrapped fire bricks or hot water filled two liters.)
I cook butts 225-250*, measured through the dome vent, and they're usually tender around 190*. The faster you cook, the higher the final IT, but I've never had one truly tender that wasn't at least 180-something*, not that I can remember, and I've cooked 'em up to eighteen hours LOW-N-SLOW.
(...Fast-forward in my bbq journey, skipping my uds days...)
I cook butts 225-250*, measured through the dome vent, and they're usually tender around 190*. The faster you cook, the higher the final IT, but I've never had one truly tender that wasn't at least 180-something*, not that I can remember, and I've cooked 'em up to eighteen hours LOW-N-SLOW.
If you are cooking at 225 at the lid, then you are likely around 200 at grate.
I tend to cook at higher temps personally but this might be worth experimenting. The whole idea is to render fat but more importantly break down the connective tissue. Given a longer time at a lower temp this might be able to be achieved without raising the internal to the 185+ most people use.
The results are really all that matters... and you pics look good to me.
I tend to cook at higher temps personally but this might be worth experimenting. The whole idea is to render fat but more importantly break down the connective tissue. Given a longer time at a lower temp this might be able to be achieved without raising the internal to the 185+ most people use.
The results are really all that matters... and you pics look good to me.
If watching temps, I cook till the plateau breaks. After that I wrap and hold in a cooler till it is time to pull and serve.
My brother gets it to 170, pulls it off, and we all love his final product. I go a little longer. IMHO, he has to work harder than me to pull the meat apart... But I love the taste and texture of his pulled pork!
Most of the time... I don't temp anything... Not the cooker or the meat. It is a very forgiving piece of meat and style of cooking.
My brother gets it to 170, pulls it off, and we all love his final product. I go a little longer. IMHO, he has to work harder than me to pull the meat apart... But I love the taste and texture of his pulled pork!
Most of the time... I don't temp anything... Not the cooker or the meat. It is a very forgiving piece of meat and style of cooking.
RichPB (richlife)
TVWBB Wizard
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave Russell:
It's been a while, but yeah. I did that when I cooked pork butts all day long and thought I had to mop the meat often, tending a cheap offset, too. Talk about some WORK, and then the nerve of folks askin'.."Is it done YET?" (tip: cutting board and meat cleavers, beer and tylenol)
(...Fast-forward in my bbq journey, skipping my uds days...)
Cooking butts overnight with the wsm SOLVES the "not done in time" dilemma. I've gotten them to stay well over the necessary 140* all day long in a good pre-heated cooker when needed. (Add a couple of hot wrapped fire bricks or hot water filled two liters.)
I cook butts 225-250*, measured through the dome vent, and they're usually tender around 190*. The faster you cook, the higher the final IT, but I've never had one truly tender that wasn't at least 180-something*, not that I can remember, and I've cooked 'em up to eighteen hours LOW-N-SLOW. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Dave, how's things in Lebanon -- Spring yet? I used to pass through all the time driving from Gate City to Jefferson and back. One of my favorite areas.
Your comments about cooking butts overnight (or whatever) and holding to be sure they are "on time" are perfect. It took me a while to figure that out, but I'll never have guests waiting form the meat again!
Edit: Whoops, sorry about that Dave, I was thinking of Damascus! (Wrong state and way too far east of you.) Since I've been on 40 through Nashville so much in more recent years, Lebanon must have gotten stuck in my mind. And now I'm sure you have just as much Spring as we do.
Rich
It's been a while, but yeah. I did that when I cooked pork butts all day long and thought I had to mop the meat often, tending a cheap offset, too. Talk about some WORK, and then the nerve of folks askin'.."Is it done YET?" (tip: cutting board and meat cleavers, beer and tylenol)
(...Fast-forward in my bbq journey, skipping my uds days...)
I cook butts 225-250*, measured through the dome vent, and they're usually tender around 190*. The faster you cook, the higher the final IT, but I've never had one truly tender that wasn't at least 180-something*, not that I can remember, and I've cooked 'em up to eighteen hours LOW-N-SLOW. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Dave, how's things in Lebanon -- Spring yet? I used to pass through all the time driving from Gate City to Jefferson and back. One of my favorite areas.
Your comments about cooking butts overnight (or whatever) and holding to be sure they are "on time" are perfect. It took me a while to figure that out, but I'll never have guests waiting form the meat again!
Edit: Whoops, sorry about that Dave, I was thinking of Damascus! (Wrong state and way too far east of you.) Since I've been on 40 through Nashville so much in more recent years, Lebanon must have gotten stuck in my mind. And now I'm sure you have just as much Spring as we do.
Rich