Bark Won't Set, Help


 
Bob Ivey

Bob Ivey

TVWBB Emerald Member
I have two pork butts on my WSM22. They went on at midnight at 225deg. They have been at about 155 IT since about 7am and the bark is soft and kind of mushy. At 7am I raised the grate temp to 250deg and now at 8:25 bark has still not set. Both butts were injected and then rubbed with SYD all purpose rub.
I have never had this problem with buts before am at a loss. Hoping to have them done by noon or 1pm latest since I have to do a couple of racks of spares also. Hoping to have all done by 4:30 when guests arrive.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
TIA :confused::confused::confused:
 
Hi Bob.

Please don't take offense, but I have to ask... Is the butt in a foil pan or wrapped? Are you spritzing? Those could be the issue.

If that is not the problem, you could try turning it over.

Finally, you could take the temp up to 275 or 280. That might help.

Good luck!
 
Not in a pan. No spritzing. Not wrapped. No offence taken as those are excellent questions. Have not had this problem with butts before and have done quite a few of them with no issues. Always smoked at 225 before. Was just thinking about going to 275 also. Sometimes something just doesn't go quite right. Will go to 275 now. Thanks and any other thoughts are very welcome.
 
Bob Ivey said:
Not in a pan. No spritzing. Not wrapped. No offence taken as those are excellent questions. Have not had this problem with butts before and have done quite a few of them with no issues. Always smoked at 225 before. Was just thinking about going to 275 also. Sometimes something just doesn't go quite right. Will go to 275 now. Thanks and any other thoughts are very welcome.
Click to expand...

I had that problem Memorial weekend. What worked for me was turning up the temp from 225 to 275 and spritzing with Honey water. Took an extra hour vs normal to get the bark a I expect. Good luck!!
 
I think you just have to roll with it. Go ahead and wrap if that's what you are doing or just try not wrapping. Is the bark scraping off with a thumbnail?
 
Thanks Tyson. Just checked after an hour at 280 and it is starting to set now. Would be afraid to spritz because it could possible soften the bark. I think I will give it another half hour check again and maybe half hour after that. Once the bark is fully set I will wrap and wait for 195 then probe for tender. Thanks for the advice. I think I will ask Harry Soo about this problem when I am at his class in two weeks since the recipe I used is from his website. If it finishes by 1pm I will be very happy. That will give me just enough time for the spares. Hope that goes according to plan as these will be the first spares I have ever done. Plenty of brisket and butts but never ribs of any kind. Thats why I told family when they were invited that the will be my guinea pigs for the spares.
 
Dustin, it is starting to harden. Figure at least another half hour plus. After that I will foil so I can be done on time. Thanks
 
Bob, i did my last butt at ~265 and got my best crust to date. The 225 seemed to never REALLY give me a great black crust. Glad it all worked out.

nice work
rb
 
Thanks all. The high heat did the trick and the butts were a hit with the extended family that was here. I won't go into the problem with the spares, but in spite of all the problems everyone liked them to. Overall, the day turned out good and have leftovers to last a while. The foodsaver will get a workout this afternoon. Thanks again all.
 
Glad it all turned out ok in the end, but dual "failures" in the same cook? I'd check your thermometers for accuracy.
 
I have settled on 275 degrees when doing butts and ribs. The bark sets better/quicker and, frankly, it takes considerably less time. I am extremely happy with the tenderness, moisture, and all over satisfaction with the product. I use a Maverick remote and run grate temperature. I ignore the lid temperature. If the temp gets a bit hot, I don't worry about it. Anything below 300 degrees seems to work just fine.

FWIW
Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Bob Ivey said:
Thanks all. The high heat did the trick and the butts were a hit with the extended family that was here. I won't go into the problem with the spares, but in spite of all the problems everyone liked them to. Overall, the day turned out good and have leftovers to last a while. The foodsaver will get a workout this afternoon. Thanks again all.
Click to expand...

We are our own worst critic for the most part. Most of the time the cooks come out "DECENT" by our standards with all sorts of issues, but the crowd almost always LOVE it. I am thinking most people dont put as much effort into bbq, so when someone DOES put in the efforts its definitely enjoyed by the masses :).

Good work Bob.

rb
 
I agree with Rusty, we tend to be very hard on ourselves as grill men (and women) about finished excellence. I have a very appreciative family and they are rarely vocal about what I feel are "shortfalls" in cook quality.
Let's be honest, we always feel like we can "do it better"!
If the room is happy, accept the praise and be humble. They will never know which hot dog fell on the ground!
 
Andrew F said:
Glad it all turned out ok in the end, but dual "failures" in the same cook? I'd check your thermometers for accuracy.
Click to expand...

Andrew, the pork butt cook was not a thermometer problem but a recipe I had not previously used. The pp turned out great and everyone loved it.
The rib cook is a different story. I had to replenish the coals and in the process a hot coal fell onto my controller fan that also has the probes attached and wound up damaging my controller. Am in the process of ordering the replacement parts now. Due to this problem the temps were all over the place before I realized what was happening. Needless to say, had to scramble to save the day. Ultimately the ribs were good except the bone side was heavily charred if not burned but everyone was happy.
It was just one of those days that we don't expect. And it was my first attempt at ribs. I am normally a butt and brisket guy. The butts had been in the freezer for a year (in cryovac) so they needed to be cooked and I really wanted to try ribs after I had some great ribs at a local BBQ place a month ago. Once my controller is repaired, I am going to try ribs again since my wife and I really enjoyed them as leftovers last night and I will only do ribs for that cook.

Overall, a great learning experience. This is the first time I have had a major problem in five years. I think others are right in that we all tend to be super critical of our cooks and in this case I probably tried to do to much in one cook given that I had never done ribs before. Of course at the end of the meal all our guests were extremely complimentary about everything including the ribs and made it clear that anytime I cook they will be here. I guess ultimately that makes it a success and also a learning experience.
Thanks all.
 
Bob Ivey said:
...The rib cook is a different story. I had to replenish the coals and in the process a hot coal fell onto my controller fan that also has the probes attached and wound up damaging my controller. Am in the process of ordering the replacement parts now. Due to this problem the temps were all over the place before I realized what was happening...
Click to expand...
Yeah, that sucks. I've had something similar happen to me. I have ended up placing a homemade "coal" shield over the fan port.
 
A coal shield is probably a good idea Andrew. It wouldn't be a big deal to make one and it could also act as a shield from rain or other weather problems. Will have to look into this. Great idea, Thanks

Andrew F said:
Yeah, that sucks. I've had something similar happen to me. I have ended up placing a homemade "coal" shield over the fan port.
Click to expand...
 
Glad it worked out and was a hit with the family. More sugar in the rub may the help bark. Different sugars will burn at different temps. I believe white sugar burns the easiest.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top