Big porking mistake


 
F

Frank Licata

TVWBB Fan
I smoked a 10.5lb pork butt on Saturday. Wanted to try something different so I wrapped in foil after 6 hours with a splash of Apple cider vinegar. Another 3 hours it was at 195 and very tender. I have a 18.5 smoker and keep temps at 275. Let it rest for an hour. When I was ready to pull I added all the juices from the foil back into the finished product. Big mistake. The pork turned very fatty and mushy with all those juices in there. I was terribly disappointed. I read that Soo does this with his pork butt so I wanted to try it. I will never do it again. My family was not a fan of it either. I wound up throwing it away this morning. I know. I know. I cried a little myself. Just thought I would share my experience. I'm by no means a very experienced smoker but I usually turn out some pretty good bbq.
 
I'm right there with you Frank. I have tried wrapping ribs, only to get rib soup. This wrapping must be an art form, one that I have yet to learn.
 
I think you ran into two issues there. First was it seems you went a little to long and the butt became mushy. As for adding back the drippings I would seperate out the fat so that you just have the juice from the butt. Combine that into your finishing sauce and it will not be as fatty.
 
I use one of these,it works very well! It's an OXO fat seperate my wife got for me at Bed,Bath and Beyond.



After I seperate the fat I drizzle little of the juice on the PP ,and freeze the rest for reheating.
 
Frank Licata said:
The pork turned very fatty and mushy with all those juices in there. I was terribly disappointed. {snip} I wound up throwing it away this morning
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I assume you wrapped in foil? Should you try wrapping again, try using parchment paper or butcher paper. Another thing you can do to avoid tossing out undesirable PBR is to fry it in a frying pan (in cast iron on you BBQ) that make for a good save, sure beats tossing it out
 
Try plain apple juice next time. The vinegar (acid) will over tenderize the meat. If you want to use vinegar, cut the amount of time you leave the meat in the foil.
 
I use Harry Soo's technique as stated in his PDF on this forum. However, I monitor the butt by probing after it is wrapped. When it is tender, I remove, let set until it cools enough to pull. I carefully save the liquid, use a fat separator (as mentioned above) then, and ONLY then, use just enough of the juice with the pulled pork to our taste. We then, use a vacuum sealer to portion the remains. Never had a fail using this method.

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Robert McGee said:
I use Harry Soo's technique as stated in his PDF on this forum. However, I monitor the butt by probing after it is wrapped. When it is tender, I remove, let set until it cools enough to pull. I carefully save the liquid, use a fat separator (as mentioned above) then, and ONLY then, use just enough of the juice with the pulled pork to our taste. We then, use a vacuum sealer to portion the remains. Never had a fail using this method.

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
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I agree totally. Without defatting the liquid in he pan you eat all the rendered fat. Nothing to do with mushy meat, IMO. Mushy meat depends on overcooking.
 
I "tried" something new last time I did a pork butt too. OK so I didn't so much as try it as much as it just happened.

I did an overnight smoke about 2 weeks ago now and when I got up to probe for tenderness, I somehow managed to move the but enough that the cooking grate tipped over and dumped by butt into the water bowl! Fortunately it had been smoking for 8 or 9 hours at that point (I didn't wrap with foil and stopped trying to regulate the smoker temp in favor of a few more minutes of sleep), so the water level in the bowl was low enough that it didn't splash out into the coals. Also the bark had set up by then so none of the crucial seasonings got washed off. We ate the finished product and no one complained, but I do have a mildly amusing story to share now!

For the record, I chalk this one up to lack of sleep due to the newborn in the house.
 
Greg B. said:
I use one of these,it works very well! It's an OXO fat seperate my wife got for me at Bed,Bath and Beyond.



After I seperate the fat I drizzle little of the juice on the PP ,and freeze the rest for reheating.
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I have one as well and I love it. Perfect for making gravy, no more ice cubes or refrigerating to skim fat.
 
Definitely strain or cool it down so the fat separates. Then use very little to add to the meat. Ill usually add a shot or two to my sauce as I'm warming it up.
 
Hey guys. Really. Thanks a lot for the input. I definitely now see what I did wrong after a great cook. The fat rendering without separation killed me when I added it all back in. Now I know better. That is what it's all about.
 
You can also spread the pp out on a baking sheet & put in the oven under the broiler. Get it nice & toasty. Turn it 5 times or so. You would be amazed how good it will be. No need to toss the pp in the trash.
 
One of Harry's "secrets" to prevent overcooked mushy pork butt...when the pork butt hits your desired internal temp, remove from the cooker and open the foil somewhat so the meat cools to 170*F, then pull. If you hold it at 195-205*F for too long, the texture will be compromised. An example: Pork Butt - SYD Injection
 
Wrapping ribs

James Lake said:
I'm right there with you Frank. I have tried wrapping ribs, only to get rib soup. This wrapping must be an art form, one that I have yet to learn.
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You have to wrap the ribs really tight in the alum foil. Don't have any air gaps that allow the ribs to steam. Don't add any additional liquid prior to wrapping.
 
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