I recently attended a party that had been catered by a local BBQ restaurant. The host uncovered two butts from a foil pan and with a pair of tongs, squeezed them into tiny pieces in a matter of seconds. I thought they were a little overcooked to be eaten alone but really liked them for sandwich meat. I am planning to cook 3 nice sized butts this coming weekend and am wanting to put on aside for just sandwich meat and was wondering what I might do to get similar results. I usually cook mine to lower 190s and they arent quite that easy to pull. Any suggestions on how to achieve this? Thanks, John
Pork butt question
- Thread starter John S.
- Start date
Lower 190's should be good enough to pull. If cooking multiple butts next time, leave one on til it hits 200, see if you like that better. Ask the host if he injected his butts also.
I pull mine off no higher than 192 and have no problems pulling them. I leave them rest longer than most, 3 to as high as 5 hours, so the temps raise a good 10 degrees during that time.
I pull mine off no higher than 192 and have no problems pulling them. I leave them rest longer than most, 3 to as high as 5 hours, so the temps raise a good 10 degrees during that time.
Craig Castille
TVWBB Wizard
I've had mine easily pull from the low-mid 180's. Sometimes the temp stalls in the 180's, and after a while (if the bone is ready for a clean pull)I'll just yank that thing out anyway.
Ready is ready.
Ready is ready.
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
'Squeezed then into tiny pieces in a matter of seconds' suggests temps ~200 or better--overdone to me but to each his own. If you are cooking to the lower 190s and they aren't easy to pull I'd question the thermometer.
As Craig notes, I sometimes have butts stall again in the 180s. I just let them sit there a while and then remove and rest them and they pull wonderfully. "Ready is ready."
Resting is essential, as Bob points out. Rest after removing; wrap in foil and rest--not less than 1 hour. We're not cooking a med-rare roast, we're cooking a completely well done one. The dynamics are altered; fully rest so that that the meat has a chance to stabilize and absorb moisture/juices. When cooking a med-rare or medium roast like a rib roast or a tenderloin or a pork loin we rest to redistribute juices and to allow residual heat to finish the cooking and that's pretty much it. For Q--where the hunk of meat is cooked completely well done--we want to go longer so that the meat actually cools a little. This allows the roast to absorb juices--not an issue with med-rare or med roasts but definitely a big deal with thoroughly cooked ones.
As Craig notes, I sometimes have butts stall again in the 180s. I just let them sit there a while and then remove and rest them and they pull wonderfully. "Ready is ready."
Resting is essential, as Bob points out. Rest after removing; wrap in foil and rest--not less than 1 hour. We're not cooking a med-rare roast, we're cooking a completely well done one. The dynamics are altered; fully rest so that that the meat has a chance to stabilize and absorb moisture/juices. When cooking a med-rare or medium roast like a rib roast or a tenderloin or a pork loin we rest to redistribute juices and to allow residual heat to finish the cooking and that's pretty much it. For Q--where the hunk of meat is cooked completely well done--we want to go longer so that the meat actually cools a little. This allows the roast to absorb juices--not an issue with med-rare or med roasts but definitely a big deal with thoroughly cooked ones.