Not a good first attempt with pulled pork


 
DavidT and all, the bone DID come out pretty easy and the pork shredded pretty easy but it came out dry. Would DavidT be correct with it being over cooked? The bark was super tough and chewy like jerky it was quite hard to eat.
 
Yes. That's why I asked the questions I did after seeing the pic. The info in the OP suggested undercooked; the pic suggested overcooked.

If that's the case I'd question the accuracy of the therm you used to test the pork, and possibly the one used to temp the cooker.

When butts are done to a point suitable for pulling, a probe inserted into them will go in effortlessly, the meat will be very moist and just at the falling-apart stage when you try to lift or move the butt.
 
And to add to what K.K. said the bone will slip right out. If it's hard to get out ,it's not done.
 
Ignoring the temps.

The butt will look and feel tender when it is done. Internal temps are immaterial. It will be as I described upthread.
 
Joel - that butt is history.

Do it again using the advice that KK and others gave. Go by feel rather than temps. Start your checking for tenderness at about an hour and a half per pound, but at 225*, it'll usually be closer to 2 hrs/lb. I like to cook in the 240 - 270 range. I'm generally done in about an hour and a half a lb and the meat doesn't seem to care.

Pat
 
that's the thing...i'm not too sure what I should be feeling for. because when I tried to probe the butt, one piece of the butt just feel off like i could just flick the thing off with my fingers. so how would I know it was "overcooked"?
 
You don't need to know when the butt is overcooked. You need to know when it's done. It takes some time for butts to overcook.

As, stated above, "[w]hen butts are done to a point suitable for pulling, a probe inserted into them will go in effortlessly, the meat will be very moist and just at the falling-apart stage when you try to lift or move the butt."

You can remove the butt when the probe goes in effortlessly and the meat is moist but not yet falling apart, or wait till the probe goes in effortlessly, the meat is obviously moist starting to fall apart and the bone is loose. Either way.
 
It's done when you can take one of your barbecue skewers or something similar (butter knife, fork, anything) and it pushes through without resistance.

Another way is if when you grab the bone and pull it it is VERY loose and wants to pull out easily.

The skewer method never fails, works the same way with ribs too. You just insert into the meat between the ribs.

BTW I usually cook butts at nothing lower than 250. I've found for the most part that I really need to check after they hit about 180 temp. In truth though you really don't even need to check temp with a therm on these things. I do though out of habit as a checkpoint is all.

Then again long cook like a butt I'm usually using the BBQ Guru. So watching temps anyway.

I'm curious about that temp you were measuring though. 180 degrees. I've never had one "done" at 180.

The picture though says over cooked to me like the others up thread. I want to say you were temping in the wrong spot/s or the therm you were using is off.

Anyway, use the skewer method to check for done. It doesn't lie.
 
I use my thermopen to check the IT. Paid about $100.00 for it and learned from these forums that it's one of the good ones out there so I bought one.
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I would have taken those butts, put them in a pan with a bit of watter, covered them with aluminum, and then finished the cook that way.

Its not "traditional" but you would have ended up with moist meat, that was tender.

jay

Originally posted by Joel Oliva:
This is what it looked like 4 hours before the previous photo on the first page:

1-2.jpg
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If they were done at that point (the pic above), they were done, no further cooking needed as they meat would be moist and tender already. That's what done is.

Once overdone to the point of dry and stringy, steaming or braising in water won't do a thing.
 
Originally posted by K Kruger:
If they were done at that point (the pic above), they were done, no further cooking needed as they meat would be moist and tender already. That's what done is.

Once overdone to the point of dry and stringy, steaming or braising in water won't do a thing.
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Agreed, but I am making the assumption that they weren't done, and that's a way to keep the moist w/o drying out.
 
Originally posted by Joel Oliva:
I use my thermopen to check the IT. Paid about $100.00 for it and learned from these forums that it's one of the good ones out there so I bought one.
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Click to expand...

Got one too, great tool! Assuming you checked temp in more than one location should be OK. I suppose they can go off as well though. So - very interesting if it was actually overdone at 180 for sure. Skewer test!
 
Originally posted by K Kruger:
If they weren't done they would just need to cook longer. No water, no pan needed.
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Again, I don't disagree. But when someone is new to cooking these "crutches" help you get something palatable. Is it perfect, no. But it would do two things:

1. Increase his margin of error.
2. Leave him with something edible.

These crutches are great for beginners, once he knows how his meat is supposed to look he won't need them.
 
I don't agree I'm afraid. The done window for butts is already wide. Putting the butts in pans with water means doing so at some - which? - point. If they're done, they're done; if they're overdone, they're toast; if they're not yet done they only need further cooking. Why braise them? They don't need it, they just need more cooking.

Braising them would finish them if underdone, sure, but so would just leaving them alone and cooking longer. The only way to learn is by doing whatever it is you're doing, in this case smoking butts till tender. Moving them to a braising situation in the oven postpones the point of learning what they should look and feel like when done in the WSM. I'm not following how this is a good thing.
 
Originally posted by Joel Oliva:
I use my thermopen to check the IT. Paid about $100.00 for it and learned from these forums that it's one of the good ones out there so I bought one.
icon_wink.gif
Click to expand...

Joel, I've got one, too, but I use it mainly for grilling. I have a Maverick ET-73 that monitors temps, both the smoker and one meat. I skipped using the probe on an overnighter back in the summer and for some reason the pork butts cooked a little faster than usual. Anyway, the next morning when I finally checked them they were at 200 and ended up being a little dry. Back to your cook, though, by your answers to David T's queastions, yes, there's no doubt in my mind that your bbq was overcooked. I don't doubt your Thermapen's accuracy. It's just uncommon that you get one overcooked at that temp, but I did read on another forum a while back of a guy that had one done at 180, and maybe for LOW-n-slow cooks we should check once we get a 180 IT.

Anyway, since my cook when I was too lazy to leave my probe in it, I always probe one of the ones I think will get done first, usually one on the bottom. Every time you open the lid, Weber claims you add 15-20 minutes to the cook. I haven't overcooked since, but I guess I'll start checking at 180 just to be sure.

Check that Thermapen and the therm you're using to monitor pit temps. I hang my probe in the vent and know that the top grate will be roughly 15 degrees lower.
 
Originally posted by K Kruger:
I don't agree I'm afraid. The done window for butts is already wide. Putting the butts in pans with water means doing so at some - which? - point. If they're done, they're done; if they're overdone, they're toast; if they're not yet done they only need further cooking. Why braise them? They don't need it, they just need more cooking.

Braising them would finish them if underdone, sure, but so would just leaving them alone and cooking longer. The only way to learn is by doing whatever it is you're doing, in this case smoking butts till tender. Moving them to a braising situation in the oven postpones the point of learning what they should look and feel like when done in the WSM. I'm not following how this is a good thing.
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I did all my first cooks this way (butt, ribs, brisket). I don't do them this way now because I know what they are supposed to look like. Terms like "probe tender", bone should fall out like 'butter", meat should "fall apart",mean nothing when you first start out. They do mean something once you have cooked a few. What does matter is that the person ends up with a nice piece of meat that gives them the desire to cook the next thing.

I wouldn't focus on the fact that we are changing cooking method from smoking to braising. I would focus on what is going to get this person to cook another piece of meat.

(As a side note, the braising technique helps you speed up the cook when company is coming, so its still a good tool to have in your arsenal).

I agree with just about everything you write Kevin, but on this we are going to disagree.

Jay
 
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