Pork Butt Finesse...Is it just me


 
Jon K

Jon K

TVWBB Super Fan
or is it everyone that smokes a butt until probe tender.....but there's about 20% of the butt that is still a little tough so you end up chopping that part instead of pulling it? My concern is if I keep it on the tender part will overcook, so essentially I sacrifice the 20% (it's still completely edible/great tasting, just not as tender). What do you say?
 
Well you have a pretty wide window before you overcook a butt past tender. I cook mine till everything is tender and then pull them, never had a problem with overcooked meat.

Are you cooking bone in or boneless? If your doing boneless just tie it up so that it is a uniform thickness.
 
With pork butts, there are several different muscles in there, so they are going to have a different "feel" to them, so even when everything is tender, there may be some textural differences due to the length of the muscle fibers. I've also not had any problems with overcooking when the entire butt has been tender all the way through.
 
Agree with Bob and Mike. Never had a problem with overcooking butts. Only problem I've had is not allowing enough time to finish cooking plus rest/hold time, especially when weather conditions can slow down the process.
 
Good question Jon. I've been wondering the same thing. I've always been afraid of overcooking a butt even though I've seen videos of folks like Chris Lilly applying slight pressure to a cooked butt and having it fall completely apart. Never had that happen when I cook one. Maybe next time.
 
The wide window is completely right. It's pretty tough to overcook a butt. If it's tough it's probably not done.
Also, as noted above, there are many different muscle fibres in a butt going every which way. Try and separate the "money muscle" before you pull the butt (you can Google it). This is like a tenderloin that can be sliced and is crazy tender.
 
OK guys/gals what am I doing wrong???? Put 2 8 pound bone in sholders on last night at 8pm. Cooking temps have been between 180-260 and I'm still at about 150 degrees? What should i do? Looking to have them at halftime tonight.
 
Thanks all. I and everyone else have always been pleased with my P.P. but I wanted to see if there was anything I could do for that one bit that would be slightly tougher. Thanks again and can't wait to smoke my next one.
 
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