General Question about "Probe Test" for Tenderness.


 
JeffB

JeffB

TVWBB Pro
So the last time I cooked I made 2 BB's on my 22" WSM. They went for about 12 hours and I pulled them when they passed the "probe test" to my liking and the internal temps had reached 200*, give or take a few degrees depending on where I inserted my thermapen.

I rested them for 3 hours in a cooler, 2x wrapped in heavy aluminum foil and wrapped in towels. When ready, I pulled them apart using my bear claws and a fork. Most of the meat pulled apart easily, but in each there was one section of the muscle that was tougher than the rest of the meat, and it did not pull apart as easily. I want to describe the shape / appearance of this part as a big "egg shaped" or perhaps even a bit smaller than a baseball. It may have been the same muscle on each BB.

So, a few questions come to mind on this.

1. Is that a common muscle that I found to be tough from BB to BB? Is this a part of the BB that is known to be tougher than other parts? I wonder if others have experienced the same thing.

2. Based on this portion of the BB being a bit tougher than the rest of the BB, is it safe to say that the BB was undercooked as a whole, or is it just more likely that this particular muscle was tougher than the rest of the meat and all BB's are different as I read so often in this forum?

3. When others describe the knife going into the meat like a "hot nail through butter" or some similar description, I'm not sure that I have ever cooked a BB that comes out THAT soft and tender, and I have certainly cooked them long enough to be tender enough to eat. The most tender and moist BB I have ever eaten was at an Amish BBQ in Maryland. It also happened to have the most smoke flavor and was amazing. I have nothing but much respect for the Amish -- they are true artists and excel at most everything they do. But, how did they get their BB that tender, most and smoky, and should the entire BB be THAT "probe tender" when done?

I'm curious what others have experienced in their prior cooks.

Thanks.
 
I've only made pork butts twice, but the last two I made (cooked both together, so just one cook here) came out almost exactly as you describe, except I didn't cook them as long.

I actually kept the lid temp at about 250 the whole time. About four hours in, at an internal temp of about 160, I foiled one of them (just wanted to compare foiled vs. not foiled). That one went for about 3.5 more hours. The unfoiled one went for about two more hours after that.

The first (foiled one) went into towels and a cooler. When I took the second one off the WSM, I foiled it and wrapped it in a towel, and put it into the cooler with the other. They stayed for about another hour. So the first one was in the cooler for about three hours, and the second for about one hour.

At their respective "done times", both were probe tender I'd say. I felt little to no resistance with the probe, and the IT was about 205 on the foiled one, and I think almost 210 on the unfoiled one.

Then when I pulled them (just with two forks), I had almost the same experience as you. Very tender overall, but a spot or two where it wasn't quite as tender as the rest. It also seemed like the meat in these parts was also a little lighter in color than the rest.

If yours was probe tender, the IT was 200, and it was on the WSM for 12 hours, I doubt it was undercooked.
 
I remembet a video from Darryl Mast cooking channel about destructuring a boston butt.
I can remembet over than 20 different muscles or even more!
Look for this video on his cooking channel.
Now from Italy I can't see any more, but probably it is still there.
 
Re pulled pork----there can be a difference between tender and able to pull. If you are using bone in butts. able to pull, IMO, is able to wiggle the bone and have it look like it'll come out clean. You can cook a butt to, say 190, have it plenty tender but good for slicing not pulling. If you are using boneless butts. take two forks and see if the meat pulls apart easily. For pulled pork, you just about have to go to the almost falling apart stage (within reason)
 
NAMP 403 Pork Shoulder
NAMP 403B Pork Shoulder, Outside
NAMP 403C Pork Shoulder, Inside, Boneless
NAMP 404 Pork Shoulder, Skinned
NAMP 405 Pork Shoulder, Picnic
NAMP 405A Pork Shoulder, Picnic, Boneless
NAMP 405B Pork Shoulder, Picnic, Cushion, Boneless
NAMP 405C Pork Shoulder, Pectoral Meat (pectoralis profundis)
NAMP 406 Pork Shoulder, Boston Butt, Bone In
NAMP 406A Pork Shoulder, Boston Butt, Boneless
NAMP 406B Pork Shoulder, Boston Butt, Boneless, Special
NAMP 407 Pork Shoulder Butt, Cellar Trimmed, Boneless

BUT ;) it is generally considered to be NAMP 406
 
I do BB more than anything else and I've had a few like that end up with one section that's not quite tender enough to pull. Depending on how tough it is, I either slice it thin across the grain or (if it's real chewy) freeze it for use in chili or beans later on.
 
Some folks use boneless butts ( I do when on sale) and some divide into quarters for more bark and faster cooking.
And I respectfully disagree that all butts are different ( at least the supermarket ones ) Our cooks are different, it's hard to mirror each one because we're cooking outside with so many variables like wind, weather, fuel, operator error, etc..:)


Tim
 
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