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Please some advice or answers - ON GREASE


 
R

Richard F

TVWBB Member
I have been smoking pretty successfully for about 6 months now, but this weekend threw me a curve. I smoked butts (4) of about 7 pounds each for 12 hours. After the cook, I let them rest for a while and then began to pull them. Here is the problem, I have never seen so much grease. There were puddles on the plate and if you took a ball of the pork and squeezed, the grease just poured off of the ball.
Did I do something wrong to cause this grease or were these just greasy pigs? Any help or knowledge shared would be great.
 
Richard,

Initially I would say they weren't cooked long enough. I say this because if fully cooked, then most of the grease will render out. From your post, I take it you cooked all 4 at once, correct?
If so, then 12 hours could very well be on the short side unless you were doing a high-heat cook. What temps did you cook at? Read Chris's log of his butts and note the length of each cook. If there's still that much grease in the meat, then it hasn't had sufficient time to render out. How were you serving it; pulled or sliced? Pulled will take longer than sliced. All pigs are greasy; that's what makes them taste so good!

Paul
 
Richard do you have any smoker and or meat temps to post? That might tell the story. Meat that is underdone will have tons of unrendered grease to give back to you.
 
Paul,

I wondered if it was the opposite. I cooked the butts using the MM. The first two hours I worked hard to get the temp down from 300 degrees, but it was close to that temperature for those first two hours. Once I got it settled down, it was right at 250 degrees for the next 10 hours (245-270).

However, I did leave one thing out of the first post. My meat thermometer just never read above 170 degrees. It actually showed that it had gone down the last two hours. Finally, I tried another thermometer and it registered over 200 degrees and I immediately pulled off the butts.

I was actually wondering if I cooked them to too high a temperature and it liquefied all the fats or at least more than normal. I guess the 2nd thermometer could have been off, but I don't know why the first would have shown the temps going down after two hours at 250 degrees. Also, the first thermometer had hurt me once before on a London Broil cook, so I just assumed it was the culprit.

Another possibility I have thought about is that at least one of these butts had a major fat pad on it. But that would be too simple a solution wouldn't it? Haaaaaaaaaa!

Holding out for a good digital thermometer for Christmas. Dropping major hints.
 
When I MM, I put the meat on right after lighting the coals, as it is easier to catch the temps on the way up. Once you've gone past your target temp, it's a little tougher to bring them down. Using the MM, 300 is a pretty high initial temp with 4 butts acting as a heat sink. Are you sure you only lit a few pieces of charcoal? Regardless, there's still the issue of the excess grease. 170 is low, 200 the meat should have been completely cooked and the fat rendered. How were the butts when you pulled them; were they tender?

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> I was actually wondering if I cooked them to too high a temperature and it liquefied all the fats </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Nope, obviously there was still some fat
icon_wink.gif
. If you had over cooked them, they would be dry.

You did just put the butts on the racks and not in a pan, correct? In a pan, the grease would have stayed around the meat and could have possibly soaked back into the meat.
 
I use a full Charcoal Starter thing to get it started. Is that too strong a start?

After we pull them off the grates, we did put them on a large deep serving plate. The grease formed at the bottom of the plate and puddled. When I pulled the pork, it had some pieces that were hard to pull apart. But mostly it was tender, but you got me thinking now.

I just have to break down and get a thermometer I can trust. The first one I used, just never got above 170. He measured 170-175 at the 10th hour and it measured 170 all around at the 12th hour after two hours at 250 degrees.

The second thermometer is a candy thermometer and it measured 200 degrees + very quickly.

So what I am hearing is that maybe the first one was accurate? Because there were some pieces of the pork that were hard to pull apart. But most of it was normal.

It tastes delicious as can be, once we got the grease out of it. I hope it is okay.
 
Robert,

I don't have the temps to post like some do. But it was 300 degrees or so the first two hours. And after closing the lower vents and then slightly opening them, I got the temps down consistently to the 250 degree area until finished.
 
Richard,

A full chimney is too much for MM smoke. See this link for a good how-to. The fact that not all of the butts pulled easily indicates that they should have cooked longer (unless you wanted a sliced butt). Check both of your thermos using boiling water. Take the temp of water that is boiling and note what the thermo reads. If it doesn't read 212, make a note and you can still use the thermo, but keep in mind you'll have to factor in the variance when cooking.

Paul
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Because there were some pieces of the pork that were hard to pull apart. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
This is indicative of undercooking.

170 for 2 hours can simply be because the meat is in a plateau, where fat is melting and connective tissue is rendering. Temps hold or lower during that period.

A specific internal temp can correlate with 'done' but 'done' can be reached without the temp seeming to indicate it. It's often better not to use temp as the sole indicator.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">This is indicative of undercooking.

170 for 2 hours can simply be because the meat is in a plateau, where fat is melting and connective tissue is rendering. Temps hold or lower during that period. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I agree with Kevin. Def sounds like it was in the plateau and was under cooked. Check your thermo in boiling water as mentioned. I'm guessing the 170º thermo was right.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Richard F:
After we pull them off the grates, we did put them on a large deep serving plate. The grease formed at the bottom of the plate and puddled. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Richard, I agree that your butts were probably undercooked but, In the first post you mentioned that you let them rest for "awhile" I was wondering if maybe they could have been left to rest for awhile longer?

Maybe the internal juices didnt have time to fully redistribute and contributed to the gushing of "grease" when you were pulling the butts. Just a thought.

I like to wrap my butts tightly and let them rest for 2 hours (or more) in the microwave or a small cooler. I think they turn out much nicer with a long rest on them.

Brandon
 
Thanks for all of the great replies. It really does make sense what everyone says.

To Brandon A -

I was vague on purpose. I usually let my butts rest for at least 30 minutes. But it was so late and I was losing all of my help, so starting pulling quicker than normal (15 minutes). Nice catch.

I will correct my MM use and I will just have to learn to be more patient at the end.

Thanks to everyone again. I truly thought that I had overcooked. Really surprised by this answer.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
170 for 2 hours can simply be because the meat is in a plateau
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I had to laugh when I read this because it reminds me of the first butt I smoked. "Should be ready for a late dinner," I told my wife. That was around 6 or so. That butt sat at about 170 forever and a day. I fell asleep on the couch waiting for it and finally pulled it off at 1:00 am when it hit 200. It was great pork, and well worth the wait, but that plateau is not something I had ever dealt with before that evening.
 
I like to let my butts rest on an elevated roasting pan (most commonly used for roasting turkey) so the juices can puddle in the pan as opposed to having the meat swim in it.

Also, don't forget the fat cap on butts. I remove the fat cap when I pull it from the smoker.
 
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