Scott T (Odirom)
TVWBB Fan
Long post, but much thanks. Thank you to Kevin, Bryan and Craig for talking me into it.
I thought I would write this to help clarify some points for new and old alike. I hope you all find this helpful, or at least find a point or two that might convey something useful. Sometimes things are explained here and it just doesn’t sound right. You read the posts and it just doesn’t translate well. But sometimes are standing at the WSM and you have that one moment of clarity and say to yourself “THAT’S WHAT THEY MEANT!!!” This post retells one of those times. This weekend.
So I have been trying my hand and high heat brisket and this notion that the meat will be tender when it is done. “It’s done when it’s done!”
The statement goes something like this: “When you stick the probe of your thermometer in to the meat it should feel like you are pushing it into room temperature butter.”
I don’t know about any of you, but I was peering suspiciously at this one. Like, “I don’t believe you.” Suspicion. Meat and butter are two totally different products. I can’t see a hunk of beef, or pork ever getting to the consistency of room temp butter. So it was with much squinty eye that I worked on a couple of briskets. And to no avail. I never felt it. And my briskets were less than optimal. BAH. Pork is easier than brisket, so lets get that down first.
This last weekend I did two pork butts on the WSM. Low and slow. 250 at the grate held constant by the DigiQ2. One on the top grate, one on the bottom. 6 ½, 7 pounders. Standard cryovac from Costco. Nothing special. Apple Cherry Hickory for smoke.. BBQ 3000 from Pensy’s with some garlic powder, toasted onion, chile powder, etc….Threw them on, for about 9 or so hours. And then went out to ‘test for doneness’ (like butter my rear!). Top one had a thermometer on it and I was shooting for between 190 and 195 for ‘done’.
Well, it hit the plateau and sat at 176 for some time. But about 10 hours I started poking it with the temp probe. It was very soft. Much softer than any of my briskets have ever felt. But the temp only read 182. Hmmm. Far from the book temp where it says that pulled pork should be to be ‘tender’. I thought to my self, “Heck, it’s pulled pork and it won’t hurt it to sit for another hour at most, I want to see what happens. Besides, we are still headed in the right direction.”
So I waited 25 minutes and came back out. Temp: 183. 1 degree different than last time I checked it. Well, this isn’t going to yield much.
I pushed the temp probe in and nearly put my hand through the meat. WHOA. There was no resistance at all. I repeat. None. It was like I was trying to temp a PB&J on Wonder bread. Smooth peanut butter, not chunky!!!! The probe was sliding through something, but it wasn’t meat. I am sure that a cooked hamburger patty would have more resistance than this pork butt had. Still skeptical, I continued. Surely I hit a seam of fat, or a loose piece of meat, or a vein, or channel, or some other anomaly that would produce this. So I stuck it again. And again. And again.
So I am standing in the dark on my patio, lid off the cooker, alarm wailing for low lid temp and stabbing my Boston butt like pincushion. I mean I’m going at it like Norman Bates with a temp probe! HUH! It was soft all over the place except for one point that was a little tough cause it was thin and sticking out. I was shocked. It really DID go in with almost NO resistance.
I was stunned. The probe went in to the meat, sliding in and out I pulled it at 183 degrees and moved the bottom butt to the top and went inside to roll the top butt in foil. 12 degrees shy of where I was shooting for.
20 minutes later I went out and stuck the probe in the other butt. HOLY MOLEY, it did it again. I tried two other spots and concluded that this pork was done too. I was only 181 degrees! I took it inside for foiling and when I grabbed it with the tongs to move it to the foil it fell into three pieces. It sure was tender! 14 degrees shy of when I was going to start checking it.
It was the best pork I have ever tasted, let alone made. Great stuff.
If I had let it go for another two hours to get to 190 it would have been pulled pork but probably dry and not nearly as good. This is probably the problem with pork I have made in the past.
I am glad I wanted to put the probe tender butter thing to the test.
But there were some conclusions that I have come up with:
Don’t be afraid of heat. Put the spurs to it. (or go low and slow, heat is our friend, not the enemy.)
Start checking for done far short of your done temp. Could be those things just progressed quicker than you thought.
Tender is done. You have to cook through done to tender. Repeat: Tender is done. I think I may stop temping altogether after a certain point.
They are not kidding when they user the butter analogy. I didn’t think it could be true. I didn’t think it could happen. I was a pure skeptic. I was wrong.
I was told that in a lab, collagen renders at 190 to 205 degrees. Apparently my back patio is not a laboratory.
A finishing sauce for pulled pork can really elevate your meal. Try one once.
Thank you again for those of you who have pointed out the butter thing and the temp probe for tender. Thank you for all of those who have contributed to this site.
Thank you one and all for some great Q. The quest continues. I hope this gives someone else what they need to have a “THAT’S WHAT THEY MEANT!” moment.
I thought I would write this to help clarify some points for new and old alike. I hope you all find this helpful, or at least find a point or two that might convey something useful. Sometimes things are explained here and it just doesn’t sound right. You read the posts and it just doesn’t translate well. But sometimes are standing at the WSM and you have that one moment of clarity and say to yourself “THAT’S WHAT THEY MEANT!!!” This post retells one of those times. This weekend.
So I have been trying my hand and high heat brisket and this notion that the meat will be tender when it is done. “It’s done when it’s done!”
The statement goes something like this: “When you stick the probe of your thermometer in to the meat it should feel like you are pushing it into room temperature butter.”
I don’t know about any of you, but I was peering suspiciously at this one. Like, “I don’t believe you.” Suspicion. Meat and butter are two totally different products. I can’t see a hunk of beef, or pork ever getting to the consistency of room temp butter. So it was with much squinty eye that I worked on a couple of briskets. And to no avail. I never felt it. And my briskets were less than optimal. BAH. Pork is easier than brisket, so lets get that down first.
This last weekend I did two pork butts on the WSM. Low and slow. 250 at the grate held constant by the DigiQ2. One on the top grate, one on the bottom. 6 ½, 7 pounders. Standard cryovac from Costco. Nothing special. Apple Cherry Hickory for smoke.. BBQ 3000 from Pensy’s with some garlic powder, toasted onion, chile powder, etc….Threw them on, for about 9 or so hours. And then went out to ‘test for doneness’ (like butter my rear!). Top one had a thermometer on it and I was shooting for between 190 and 195 for ‘done’.
Well, it hit the plateau and sat at 176 for some time. But about 10 hours I started poking it with the temp probe. It was very soft. Much softer than any of my briskets have ever felt. But the temp only read 182. Hmmm. Far from the book temp where it says that pulled pork should be to be ‘tender’. I thought to my self, “Heck, it’s pulled pork and it won’t hurt it to sit for another hour at most, I want to see what happens. Besides, we are still headed in the right direction.”
So I waited 25 minutes and came back out. Temp: 183. 1 degree different than last time I checked it. Well, this isn’t going to yield much.
I pushed the temp probe in and nearly put my hand through the meat. WHOA. There was no resistance at all. I repeat. None. It was like I was trying to temp a PB&J on Wonder bread. Smooth peanut butter, not chunky!!!! The probe was sliding through something, but it wasn’t meat. I am sure that a cooked hamburger patty would have more resistance than this pork butt had. Still skeptical, I continued. Surely I hit a seam of fat, or a loose piece of meat, or a vein, or channel, or some other anomaly that would produce this. So I stuck it again. And again. And again.
So I am standing in the dark on my patio, lid off the cooker, alarm wailing for low lid temp and stabbing my Boston butt like pincushion. I mean I’m going at it like Norman Bates with a temp probe! HUH! It was soft all over the place except for one point that was a little tough cause it was thin and sticking out. I was shocked. It really DID go in with almost NO resistance.
I was stunned. The probe went in to the meat, sliding in and out I pulled it at 183 degrees and moved the bottom butt to the top and went inside to roll the top butt in foil. 12 degrees shy of where I was shooting for.
20 minutes later I went out and stuck the probe in the other butt. HOLY MOLEY, it did it again. I tried two other spots and concluded that this pork was done too. I was only 181 degrees! I took it inside for foiling and when I grabbed it with the tongs to move it to the foil it fell into three pieces. It sure was tender! 14 degrees shy of when I was going to start checking it.
It was the best pork I have ever tasted, let alone made. Great stuff.
If I had let it go for another two hours to get to 190 it would have been pulled pork but probably dry and not nearly as good. This is probably the problem with pork I have made in the past.
I am glad I wanted to put the probe tender butter thing to the test.
But there were some conclusions that I have come up with:
Don’t be afraid of heat. Put the spurs to it. (or go low and slow, heat is our friend, not the enemy.)
Start checking for done far short of your done temp. Could be those things just progressed quicker than you thought.
Tender is done. You have to cook through done to tender. Repeat: Tender is done. I think I may stop temping altogether after a certain point.
They are not kidding when they user the butter analogy. I didn’t think it could be true. I didn’t think it could happen. I was a pure skeptic. I was wrong.
I was told that in a lab, collagen renders at 190 to 205 degrees. Apparently my back patio is not a laboratory.
A finishing sauce for pulled pork can really elevate your meal. Try one once.
Thank you again for those of you who have pointed out the butter thing and the temp probe for tender. Thank you for all of those who have contributed to this site.
Thank you one and all for some great Q. The quest continues. I hope this gives someone else what they need to have a “THAT’S WHAT THEY MEANT!” moment.
