I did two pork butts (boneless from Costco) on my wsm 22.5 yesterday for a fundraising comp. I didn't place great, and I did notice the meat was a little dry (at least drier than the last cook I did at home.) The butts ran for 12-14 hours. I pulled the first one at 192 and the second one at 186. The 2nd one seems to be a little more moist than the first. I mopped 2 times, both after the the meats reached 170. I used a clay pot instead of water. I did not use a finishing sauce. How can I improve? Thanks!
Dry pulled pork- any thoughts?
- Thread starter MarkG-ATL
- Start date
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
What temp was your cooker during the last 30 min of cooking?
What made you pull them at those temps?
How long did they rest and were they well wrapped?
At pulling ,did the meat fall apart, pull apart very easily or...?
As for future cooks, I would suggest not buying butts at Costco, or any other place that only sells them boneless. They hack the meat like first-week novices. Inconsistent size/thickness means inconsistent cooking unless you tie correctly first. Why bother? Get better butts elsewhere - bone in.
Mopping is unnecessary. Save yourself the trouble.
I am not a clay fan myself but it can work just fine. Clay instead of water - or nothing instead of water - can sometimes push the finish of the exterior portions of meats toward dry if the temps are on the higher side and/or the meat doesn't get flipped/rotated.
Finishing sauce (I prefer this one) can even texture, moisture and flavor between the various muscles a butt comprises when it is pulled/chopped, thus mitigating overcooking problems were any to have occurred, but it is a good idea to do whatever you can to avoid undercooking or overcooking from the get-go.
What made you pull them at those temps?
How long did they rest and were they well wrapped?
At pulling ,did the meat fall apart, pull apart very easily or...?
As for future cooks, I would suggest not buying butts at Costco, or any other place that only sells them boneless. They hack the meat like first-week novices. Inconsistent size/thickness means inconsistent cooking unless you tie correctly first. Why bother? Get better butts elsewhere - bone in.
Mopping is unnecessary. Save yourself the trouble.
I am not a clay fan myself but it can work just fine. Clay instead of water - or nothing instead of water - can sometimes push the finish of the exterior portions of meats toward dry if the temps are on the higher side and/or the meat doesn't get flipped/rotated.
Finishing sauce (I prefer this one) can even texture, moisture and flavor between the various muscles a butt comprises when it is pulled/chopped, thus mitigating overcooking problems were any to have occurred, but it is a good idea to do whatever you can to avoid undercooking or overcooking from the get-go.
I pulled the one at 192 as I have had results getting just past 190 in the past. I needed to pull the one at 186 due to timing. They both were wrapped in foil, and placed in a cooler, and then covered with a towel for roughly 2 hours. The meat came apart from the roast pretty easy and pulling wasnt necessarily an issue. The meat was placed in a 2" foil pan and covered. One issue was that the comp last for 2 hours. Once the meat got in the pan, it would sit there for up to 45 minutes until it was mostly gone. The folks that got to the meat first had some really good meat. Folks that came 15 minutes later got dry meat.
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
It seems like the meat overcooked a bit, either prior to coming off the cooker or during the long rest.
A finishing sauce would have helped in this case.
Butts are not tender at one particular temp or another. Internal temp does not cause tenderness. When the meat is tender it will feel so. Wrapping tightly and holding can lead to over cooking, especially with boneless butts. If a butt cooks till tender, rest 10 simply tented, then wrap if you need to hold.
I would still suggest butts that are bone-in.
A finishing sauce would have helped in this case.
Butts are not tender at one particular temp or another. Internal temp does not cause tenderness. When the meat is tender it will feel so. Wrapping tightly and holding can lead to over cooking, especially with boneless butts. If a butt cooks till tender, rest 10 simply tented, then wrap if you need to hold.
I would still suggest butts that are bone-in.
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Few competitors that I have helped use them or bother to bone. (Those that do bone better than the hackers at Costco.) Regardless, most inject with all manner of additions, which may include phosphates, flavor enhancers, etc. Unless one wishes to go through those motions, using a bone-in butt and equalizing moisture and texture via a finishing sauce would likely result in better, more consistent finishes than not.
Dave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
I am not a clay fan myself but it can work just fine. Clay instead of water - or nothing instead of water - can sometimes push the finish of the exterior portions of meats toward dry if the temps are on the higher side and/or the meat doesn't get flipped/rotated. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
AMEN.
I used to cook butts with perfect bark and evenness of cooking in only 8-10 hours in my old drum smoker, but I flipped 'em two or three times during the cook, cooking direct and high over the coals. On the wsm, though, if I'm foiling the pan and cooking dry, then I'm gonna be foiling the meat as well.
I am not a clay fan myself but it can work just fine. Clay instead of water - or nothing instead of water - can sometimes push the finish of the exterior portions of meats toward dry if the temps are on the higher side and/or the meat doesn't get flipped/rotated. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
AMEN.
I used to cook butts with perfect bark and evenness of cooking in only 8-10 hours in my old drum smoker, but I flipped 'em two or three times during the cook, cooking direct and high over the coals. On the wsm, though, if I'm foiling the pan and cooking dry, then I'm gonna be foiling the meat as well.