I'm at the five hour mark with my 2 three pound Butts. This is my first attempt for pulled pork and everything is going fine. The internal meat temp is at 165 right now and the lid has been steady at 250 for 3.5 hours. The WSM is freaking me out, I keep going to check the temp and it's always the same. This was not the case with my chargriller offset I tried to use for two years. I had to screw with that thing every 30 minutes at least. I was considering getting a Klose offset but now I can save my money.
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Boston butt
- Thread starter Cleatus H
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Tom Ferguson
Banned
It only gets better... /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
I did a 6 pound pork (picnic) shoulder last week and was pretty pleased with it. However, I was surprised that it was a little on the dry side (not too bad ... I just expected it to be more juicy). The WSM was pretty consistent at 250 degrees for the first 4 hours. Then 5 more hours about that same temp ... never more than 265 degrees.
When I put the thermometer in at the 4 hour mark I was surprised that the shoulder was already at 170 degrees. I cooked it for another 5 hours until it reached about 205 degrees.
While the flavor was great, i would have liked it to have been more juicy. Any recommendations as to what I can do to maintain a juicier result?
When I put the thermometer in at the 4 hour mark I was surprised that the shoulder was already at 170 degrees. I cooked it for another 5 hours until it reached about 205 degrees.
While the flavor was great, i would have liked it to have been more juicy. Any recommendations as to what I can do to maintain a juicier result?
Well, at the 6.5 hour mark the internal temp was at 175. I got a little impatient and wrapped the butts in foil. The temp went to 190 in about an hour. The results were good but not quite as juicy and tender as I expected. I think I should have not wrapped them and just waited it out. I figure it may have taken another couple hours to get to 190 without the foil. Could this have been the difference??
Hmmmm, I am glad you mentioned that you wrapped yours. I had thought that maybe I should have tried wrapping mine at some point to maintain some of the moisture. Now you have me mystified. I hope that someone sees our posts and can make a suggestion. Nonetheless, I'm sure we're both still enjoying our smoking experience (along with our food guests)! ;-)
Phil D - I had a similiar experience with a picinic shoulder as opposed to my multitude of experiences with the butts. The meat seemed slightly, not a lot, drier. It certainly was still very good, but I could discern a slight difference in moisture.
Cleat64 - I think you have pointed out a very good example of the benefits of the long temp plateaus in rendering the fat and breaking down the connective tissue in the long, slow cook. As others have said about temp, it's the journey not the destination that's important. In other words, it's not just getting to 205, but how and how long it takes to get there. Dome temp needs to be in the 250 range and there is really no way to speed up the total process without diminishing, to some degree, the final product. All said, however, there are some times you simply have to speed up. It's still good but not quite as good.
Paul
Cleat64 - I think you have pointed out a very good example of the benefits of the long temp plateaus in rendering the fat and breaking down the connective tissue in the long, slow cook. As others have said about temp, it's the journey not the destination that's important. In other words, it's not just getting to 205, but how and how long it takes to get there. Dome temp needs to be in the 250 range and there is really no way to speed up the total process without diminishing, to some degree, the final product. All said, however, there are some times you simply have to speed up. It's still good but not quite as good.
Paul
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Phil D:
[qb] I did a 6 pound pork (picnic) shoulder last week and was pretty pleased with it. However, I was surprised that it was a little on the dry side (not too bad ... I just expected it to be more juicy). The WSM was pretty consistent at 250 degrees for the first 4 hours. Then 5 more hours about that same temp ... never more than 265 degrees.
When I put the thermometer in at the 4 hour mark I was surprised that the shoulder was already at 170 degrees. I cooked it for another 5 hours until it reached about 205 degrees.
While the flavor was great, i would have liked it to have been more juicy. Any recommendations as to what I can do to maintain a juicier result? [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Phil D,
You may want to try wrapping in saran wrap AND foil. Be sure to use the original "Saran Wrap" brand.
At about 165 internal meat temp, wrap in saran and foil. Return meat to pit and bring to 200 internal meat temp.
I can assure you it will be very moist! It will pass the "watermelon" test. If you drop it on the floor it will bust like a watermelon!
/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gifisclaimer:
Although above described procedure will produce a higher moisture content and reduce cooking times, it reduces the "bark" like exterior that many prefer. Individual results may vary!!! /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
Jim
[qb] I did a 6 pound pork (picnic) shoulder last week and was pretty pleased with it. However, I was surprised that it was a little on the dry side (not too bad ... I just expected it to be more juicy). The WSM was pretty consistent at 250 degrees for the first 4 hours. Then 5 more hours about that same temp ... never more than 265 degrees.
When I put the thermometer in at the 4 hour mark I was surprised that the shoulder was already at 170 degrees. I cooked it for another 5 hours until it reached about 205 degrees.
While the flavor was great, i would have liked it to have been more juicy. Any recommendations as to what I can do to maintain a juicier result? [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Phil D,
You may want to try wrapping in saran wrap AND foil. Be sure to use the original "Saran Wrap" brand.
At about 165 internal meat temp, wrap in saran and foil. Return meat to pit and bring to 200 internal meat temp.
I can assure you it will be very moist! It will pass the "watermelon" test. If you drop it on the floor it will bust like a watermelon!
/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gifisclaimer:
Although above described procedure will produce a higher moisture content and reduce cooking times, it reduces the "bark" like exterior that many prefer. Individual results may vary!!! /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
Jim
G
Guest
Guest
I've also noticed that the picnics don't contain as much fat as the butts. Not a tremendous amount of difference, but noticeble
Phil-D. I think you may have cooked your picnic too a little too much. I never go by the temp, but I always leave a probe in the meat to give me a guidline to where I am at. I only cooked one to 205 (I did that just to see how it would turn out) and it was the dryest picnic I ever did. I just wait until the the themometer reads about 190 and then I start checking for doneness about every half hour or so. Wiggle the bone, when it feels like you could just easily pull it out, it's done. I find mine are usually done between 193 and 197 but I always check it to make sure.
I forgot. Do your picnics rest before pulling? That may help. I usually put the picnic in a roasting pan when I pull it, tent it with foil and let it rest for an hour to two hours. I find if I pull my butts or picinics to soon a lot of the moisture evaporates or runs off into the pan. Might try that anyway.
Dale Perry
TVWBB Guru
Brian, I will jump in on this one. You can start tearing the meat apart as soon as you want, if you are careful. I prefer to let mine rest until I can touch it without burning myself. I use my hands, and the meat reheats so well, there arent any problems. All this talk about butts has me hankerin' for some Q.
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