Mark B (azmark)
TVWBB Member
What is another way of serving pork butts other than pulling it?
Other Than Pulling Pork
- Thread starter Mark B (azmark)
- Start date
JSMcdowell
TVWBB All-Star
Chopped. Just slide out the bone and you are good to go.
I prefer to pull as when you pull pork, you go through the entire butt and can pull anything out you don't want in there.
A lot of restaurants serve chopped and I won't even order it. Too much fat gets chopped in. Pulling takes more time, and I figure if a restaurant cares then they will pull.
You can also slice, but I do not care for that.
I prefer to pull as when you pull pork, you go through the entire butt and can pull anything out you don't want in there.
A lot of restaurants serve chopped and I won't even order it. Too much fat gets chopped in. Pulling takes more time, and I figure if a restaurant cares then they will pull.
You can also slice, but I do not care for that.
Mark B (azmark)
TVWBB Member
I love pulled but I even love the burnt chunks. I'm assuming slicing and pulling can be done on the same butt?
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 Mark B (azmark):
I'm assuming slicing and pulling can be done on the same butt? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Not really since the slices will fall apart.
Ray Lampe recommends in his book to cook the butt at 275* and let rest for an hour wrapped in foil....after pulling off the smoker at an IT of 175*.
As a comparison, If I was only going to rest one in foil for an hour, cooking at 275*, it would probably be almost or at 200* before I'd consider it tender enough for pulled pork. However, I go by tenderness, as in probe resistance and whether the bone has let go. Cooking the way I prefer to cook butts, around 235-250* at the dome vent and resting longer, the finished temp is usually lower, or aboout 190*.
I'm assuming slicing and pulling can be done on the same butt? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Not really since the slices will fall apart.
Ray Lampe recommends in his book to cook the butt at 275* and let rest for an hour wrapped in foil....after pulling off the smoker at an IT of 175*.
As a comparison, If I was only going to rest one in foil for an hour, cooking at 275*, it would probably be almost or at 200* before I'd consider it tender enough for pulled pork. However, I go by tenderness, as in probe resistance and whether the bone has let go. Cooking the way I prefer to cook butts, around 235-250* at the dome vent and resting longer, the finished temp is usually lower, or aboout 190*.
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 JSMcdowell:
Chopped. Just slide out the bone and you are good to go.
I prefer to pull as when you pull pork, you go through the entire butt and can pull anything out you don't want in there.
A lot of restaurants serve chopped and I won't even order it. Too much fat gets chopped in. Pulling takes more time, and I figure if a restaurant cares then they will pull. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Josh, just speculating here, but I think it's more tradition than anything...chopped pork usually is in or near areas accustomed to whole hog where lean cuts dry out before the shoulder gets truly tender.
Cooked truly low-n-slow long enough, pulling is much easier than chopping. The best joints don't equate "pulled" with "shredded". The pork almost falls apart after resting, and there's usually nothing hardly left other than meat.... besides the bone, fat cap, and a piece of gristle. The key is keeping the temp down in the stall from what I hear, and I guess that's why so many folks in "pulled pork" country mention smoking at 225* so much. I don't try to measure temp at the grate in my 18.5", but I'd guess that an actual cooking temp of 225* might be a pretty good average for these butt cooks on the wsm that take 14 hrs+. Cooking at 235-275* is fine too, but the faster you take the meat through the stall, the more stuff to pick out if you want it pulled "clean".
Chopped. Just slide out the bone and you are good to go.
I prefer to pull as when you pull pork, you go through the entire butt and can pull anything out you don't want in there.
A lot of restaurants serve chopped and I won't even order it. Too much fat gets chopped in. Pulling takes more time, and I figure if a restaurant cares then they will pull. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Josh, just speculating here, but I think it's more tradition than anything...chopped pork usually is in or near areas accustomed to whole hog where lean cuts dry out before the shoulder gets truly tender.
Cooked truly low-n-slow long enough, pulling is much easier than chopping. The best joints don't equate "pulled" with "shredded". The pork almost falls apart after resting, and there's usually nothing hardly left other than meat.... besides the bone, fat cap, and a piece of gristle. The key is keeping the temp down in the stall from what I hear, and I guess that's why so many folks in "pulled pork" country mention smoking at 225* so much. I don't try to measure temp at the grate in my 18.5", but I'd guess that an actual cooking temp of 225* might be a pretty good average for these butt cooks on the wsm that take 14 hrs+. Cooking at 235-275* is fine too, but the faster you take the meat through the stall, the more stuff to pick out if you want it pulled "clean".
I heard of a couple counties in Carolina or maybe Kentucky that slice the meat off of the butt before it is cooked and almost grill it. If I remember correctly they do it over oak coals. I would think it would be too tough since it is cooked for a matter of minutes compared to hours, but they swear it is tender, and you gotta go with the locals.
Chris Bjork
TVWBB Fan
I think its time to organize a TVWBB fantasy BBQ trip.