<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Rita Y:
Chris Lampson on another thread piqued my curiosity by mentioning mushy pulled pork and I don't recall seeing a discussion about this. What causes this? Not probing soon enough? Too much resting time in a cooler?
Rita </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
You got it, Rita.
By overcooking on the pit or by holding too hot for too long in a cooler you'll get mushy AND dry bbq.
It sounds like rather subjective judgements, but on the other hand, maybe not. For instance, let's say you keep a pork butt hot for four hours after cooking on the pit to pulled pork tenderness. I mean truly cooked long enough on the pit where the fat cap mostly stays on the rack and you almost need three hands to remove the butt. Well, if you open the foil after "resting" and there is a lot of drippings in the foil, what does that tell you? Also, if when pulling you find very little in the terms of fat and connective tissue left to pull out, to me that would be another sign that the butt ended up overcooked, and this also could have happened from holding too long in the foil, not necessarily from overcooking on the pit. Gary Wiviott makes great suggestions in his book like cooking one for supper and the other for 45 minutes more to compare the difference. Hope this helps.