Pork butt kind of dry - over cooked?


 
B

Bart P

New member
Did my first pork butt on the grill yesterday. It was a boneless cut from CostCo, and when opening it it separated into two almost equally sized pieces so I trimmed them, tied them up, and prepped/cooked them separately. I covered them in rub, let them sit foil covered in the fridge overnight and then topped off the rub for cooking.

Another variable is that my WSM is new (3rd use), and even with water in the pan and the bottom vents closed it ran hot (250-275 at the grate). Grate temp never dropped below about 244 while I was able to monitor it, hood temp stayed between 225 and 250.

Forecast when I started prepping the meat on Sunday was for Monday to be dry but cloudy. Forecast when I started the cook was for intermittent light rain throughout the day. When the rain started really coming down hard, I learned that my patio umbrella really isn't water tight when used with that much rainfall (need to seal it). Things got bad enough that I had to close the top vent (to help keep water out) and pulled my Maverick off to keep it from getting soaked. Actual conditions near the end of the cook (when I wanted to check on the meat) was a deluge that made getting to the WSM impossible and water in the streets was over the curbs. When I finally got a chance to get back outside to check on things, the meat was at 190-195 so I pulled it off, wrapped it in foil and put it in a cooler for about 40 minutes. The end result really wasn't 'fall apart' soft. It separated easily (using forks) and tastes good, it is just dryer than I expected.

I am guessing that it was a combination of slightly higher temps and cooking for a little too long. Does that sound about right, or is there something else that might be the culprit? Just want to know what to look out for next time.
 
Bart: Did your rub contain a lot of salt? If so, salt draws the moisture from the meat. I use salt in my rubs but do not let the meat sit overnight. I take the butts out of the fridge, rub them, wrap them in plastic wrap and let them sit for about an hour while I prep the WSM. Leaving salt-based rubs on overnight (IMHO) does more harm than good for butts. BTW, if you removed the butts from the smoker at 190-195 degrees, they were not overcooked. IMHO, that's the perfect temp to remove them, foil them and put them in a cooler for 1-2 hours.

A suggestion to add back some moisture: Lay the pulled pork in a large glass baking dish, sprinkle with apple juice(or a mixture of apple cider and dark brown sugar), seal the dish with foil and re-heat at 185-200 degrees for a couple hours.
 
I think it may have something to do with the butts themselves. Like Ron said you took them off at just the right time. Only variable would be if it was hotter than 195 and was cooled to that point? I don't know how long you had to wait to get to the smoker so I may be way off, but if you had to wait long enough that the smoker was cooler than the meat it may have been hotter than when you took it off. Most likely though the pieces of meat may have been the part of the butt I refer to as the "white meat". An entire butt contains a few different textured meats. I had my dad pick up the meat for a cook once and he got a 4.5 lb boneless butt that just didn't pull right. While it was good it didn't have any of the softer meat, or money muscle to get all of the fat rendered down and make the moist pulled pork I am used to. We sliced it and enjoyed it but I won't do a partial or even boneless butt again. I can usually find 6 to 8lb bone in butts that once cooked down yield 3 to 6 lbs of pulled pork. I can polish that off by myself in a couple days!!
 
I did a butt( bone in) myself yesterday for the first time also and it came out surprisingly dry. From what I read, I thought it was going to be foolproof. Aside from some usual issues of trying to get my heat consistent, my biggest question mark was with the thermometer readings. Throughout the meat I was getting 5 degree temperature variations depending on where I probed. I could also feel that the meat seemed more tender in some areas than others. I waited until my lowest temp reading was 190 before I removed and foiled for resting. It pulled fine but some areas where much dryer than I would have liked. I'm thinking next time I use and average temp rather than the temp of the coolest reading. The bark was fine but I prefer my meat fattier. Thinking I'll leave the fat cap in tact rather than trim it next time.
 
Make sure you keep a log of all relevant points: outside temps, was it windy/calm, hourly recording of interior temps, weight before/after the smoke, etc

It may help the next time you do another butt to refer to previous cooks as to what happened under the noted conditions.
 
Ron A said:
Bart: Did your rub contain a lot of salt? If so, salt draws the moisture from the meat. I use salt in my rubs but do not let the meat sit overnight.
Click to expand...

I used the "Mr Brown" rub, not a lot of salt in it and instructions were to put on 8-12 hours before cooking and I was probably closer to 14-15 hours since I got started later than planned. Next time I will do it right before (or at least closer to) cooking and see if that helps.

1/4 cup ground black pepper
1/4 cup paprika
1/4 cup Turbinado sugar
2 Tablespoons table salt
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

It may have been due at least in part to the cut of meat (luck of the draw with CostCo Cryovac) as JR Parn suggested.

On the plus side, it is good (wife said she likes it better than the local BBQ places). Just had a sandwich - reheated the meat for 30 seconds in the microwave with a good spritzing of apple juice and then mixed in some hot BBQ sauce. The apple juice did help to moisten it up. It definitely is not going to go to waste.
 
At 195 degrees, I start checking my butts for "pull apart." Only once did I pull my butt off at 195 degrees, that was a 80 degree day and I couldn't keep my cooker < 250 and for a good while, it was 275+

I've been tempted to cook at 275 again, but I mostly aim for 250 and haven't felt brave to try another 275 cook

The secret for my butts is a 2 hour rest after cooking, wrapped in foil and towels and put in a small ice chest that had warm water in in prior to putting the butt in it. It's the rest that puts the moisture back in the butt
 
I cook all of my butts at 275 degrees simply to shorten the cooking time. I only do "bone-in" butts. They generally run 8.0-9.0 lbs. I see NO difference in quality at the higher temps but sure do appreciate the shortened cooking time. I do check my internal temps (have a Maverick 732) but remove from the smoker when I can easily twist a fork in the roast (indicating it's ready to pull).

After the bark is set (as per Harry Soo), generally 160-165 degrees internal, I foil until finished.

I use Harry's recipe including injecting the butts. I have two butts in the refrigerator, now, and will do them this coming weekend (two at a time in the 14.5 smoker- one on each grate).

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
From what I am hearing I think the butt may not have been ready. Could you shred the pork or did you have to chop? I recommend buying bone in butts, its a natural temperature gauge, once it wiggles clean your done.
 
I cook my butts to 203 internal. Last one I cooked I wrapped with a 1/4 cup apple juice once I felt bark had set and I needed to speed up the cook. I sometimes don't wrap at all. I leave the fat cap on and always buy bone-in. I cook between 225-250. I can't get my 22.5 WSM to stay at 225 so if the temp rides up a little I don't worry. The only one I've cooked that was bad was one that had been deboned. I didn't tie it up which was part of the problem but I also don't think there was enough fat to keep it moist.
 
Bart P said:
The end result really wasn't 'fall apart' soft. It separated easily (using forks) and tastes good, it is just dryer than I expected.

I am guessing that it was a combination of slightly higher temps and cooking for a little too long. Does that sound about right, or is there something else that might be the culprit? Just want to know what to look out for next time.
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My $.02, it wasn't cooked long enough especially if you wrapped and let it rest. I start checking for probe-tender at 190 degrees, and half the time 190-195 is spot on. Other times, I've needed 200-210 internal temps for THAT hunk of meat to be done. As weird as it may seem, cooking longer produces jucier tender meat. (to a point lol)

Add me to the list of prefers to cook in the 260-275 range for butts.
 
For pork shoulder, boston butts, pork ribs, etc...
dry & solid = undercooked.
mushy & falls apart = overcooked.

For beef brisket...
dry & solid = undercooked.
dry & falls apart = overcooked.
 
Temp was fine and actually probably where I prefer mine cooked it was probably the meat but I inject mine with butter I think it helps !
 
I read an interesting article lately that our pigs we breed in the U.S. are being bred to be leaner and leaner as well. I rub one hour before (any amount of salt draws moisture out) and started using foil on my butts at around 165ish give or take and puling off at 200. At least one hour in the cooler and never have a dry one anymore. I know some guys are against foil but I think it helps retain moisture. I'd rather have good eating meat with a softer bark than good bark with dry meat. My Father in Law started injecting his butts but I haven't gone there yet, Ken
 
Not quite enough info to be for sure. Possibly lean pork AND/or a little undercooked. How much fat was left?

I've rubbed up to 12 hrs ahead of a cook and never thought it pulled out too much moisture, but Ray Lampe, aka Dr. BBQ, said in his first cook not to rub any sooner than 12 hrs. before a cook.

I've had very moist pork cooked with water pan in the wsm at 225-250, and I've also had great pork cooked at around 275*. Regarding "resting", if the pork is completely DONE, all you have to do is let the meat lose it's steam before pulling, and if it's wrapped in foil while it's still hot, it's not resting. It's still cooking. Not to say you can't have great BBQ that's sat in foil for 6 hrs, though. The bark might've lost it's crispness, but we've all had to do it and had good results, especially if it was really good pork and pulled off the smoker a little "al dente"...or not COMPLETELY DONE AND DONE THROUGHOUT. ;) I've had mushy, dry pork from holding long in foil, though. Anyhow, best suggestion I can make is to control your variables in a cook as much as you can. I also wouldn't be cutting any butts in half or using boneless unless I planned on foiling during the cook. I seem to end up with the best pork using avg. 9 lb bone-in pork butts.
 
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Yeah, I'm wondering if it was a shoulder cut or not. Butts really are pretty bulletproof unless you go way outside the lines. With regards to temp, start with very little hot. Like 6 coals. Set bottom vents at 50%. Big problem is overshoots with the WSM so better to work your way up and it will chug away at temp forever.
 
Dave Russell said:
Not quite enough info to be for sure. Possibly lean pork AND/or a little undercooked. How much fat was left?

...

I also wouldn't be cutting any butts in half or using boneless unless I planned on foiling during the cook. I seem to end up with the best pork using avg. 9 lb bone-in pork butts.
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There wasn't any fat left to speak of.

The cut came boneless and was either in two pieces in the package or the two pieces were only held together by fatty tissue and naturally separated on their own (I didn't cut it). Local CostCo only carries boneless and typically has better cuts of meat than the grocery stores for less $/lb. I found bone-in at Kroger for ~.60 more per lb, and the other cuts of meat I have gotten there were inferior to CostCo. Quality of meat around here seems to be:
Best = meat market that is a good 20+ minutes away.
Next best = CostCo.
Worst = Grocery store.
 
Bart P said:
There wasn't any fat left to speak of.

The cut came boneless and was either in two pieces in the package or the two pieces were only held together by fatty tissue and naturally separated on their own (I didn't cut it). Local CostCo only carries boneless and typically has better cuts of meat than the grocery stores for less $/lb. I found bone-in at Kroger for ~.60 more per lb, and the other cuts of meat I have gotten there were inferior to CostCo. Quality of meat around here seems to be:
Best = meat market that is a good 20+ minutes away.
Next best = CostCo.
Worst = Grocery store.
Click to expand...

Then assuming it had fat to begin with, probably overcooked.....but I've never smoked a boneless butt. I know they get more bark since there's more surface area....more likely to dry out, as well.

Anyhow, maybe someone else can chime in, but at least with bone in butts, there's no fat left in the ones that end up completely falling apart, dry and mushy. Lots of fat left if undercooked, and some fat left if done right.
 
Don't forget the role Collagen plays in the tenderness and moistness of meats.
It is the main reason for cooking muscles of locomotion low and slow.
If you lose the Collagen from within and around the muscles through overcooking,
the remaining meat will fall apart and have poor texture. If you cook the meat to tenderness, and have not
over cooked it, will have good texture as wells as good moisture (think liquid gelatine, not water).
Fat is primarily involved with the flavor of the meat. If overcooked, you have lost the meat's fat content and
the meat will be somewhat tasteless.
 
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