Pulled Pork Drying Out


 
T

Tom Hubbard

New member
Ran a 7lb butt for 9.25 hrs yesterday until the internal temp was 195 throughout. Cooked at 225-260 (225 pre-, 260 post re-stock).

This butt, and the last one I smoked, both came out a bit dry. I injected it with an apple juice mix, but wasn't looking for anything magical there.

Curious is anyone else had problems with dryer (not super dry, just dryer than you want) butts? I want to chalk this up to the meat, but it looked well marbled and 2 butts in a row makes me wonder if I am off in my technique.
 
How long are you letting it sit between the time you take off the smoker and pulling? I know sometimes if the juices don't have time to distribute then the meat dry out once pulled.

I usually double wrap the butt in heavy duty tinfoil and let sit for atleast an hour.
 
If I had to guess my guess would be she wasn't done. I've had butts that were not done until 205. Temperature is a good guide but touch is a better one. How did she feel coming off? If she was bone-in could you wiggle the bone easily. I've also used a fork to twist to see if she's pull-able. My .02
 
I agree with Jamie and Larry. Did you have any fat left in the butt, sometimes like Larry said temp is not everything.

If no fat was left in the butt it has to be a poor quality piece. If there was fat left it wasn't through cooking.

Had this happen to me a couple weeks ago.

I have also started cooking mine in a alum pan cap down, flipping after 6-8 hrs and foiling for the rest of the cook at 210.

mmmmm mmmmmmmmmm
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">If no fat was left in the butt it has to be a poor quality piece. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Highly unlikely. There is very little difference among commercial pork carcasses. If there was no fat left in the butt it was overcooked.
 
Thanks everyone.

Typically in determining "done-ness", I look for a couple things: Temp 195+, I can wiggle the blade, I can put a 2 pronged bbq fork through without any effort, and if I lean the fork one way or the other the meat starts to pull apart very easily.

Curious about how you tell it is done?
 
Your on track. I use my thermo and stick it all over and through(same result as ur meat fork).

Usually if you bring it to 190+ slowly it's gonna be done/perfect, all in all I think the bone wiggle test is the tell tell.
 
You didn't say if you foiled or not. If not try it and foil about 165 to 170. Bring 200ish and let rest for at least an hour. The longer the better. After that I will sometimes take the juice and chill, scrap off the fat and add seasoning back into the juice. I will add some back to the pork and freeze some in ice cube trays and when I vac and freeze I will add a cube or to the package.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Gary R Miller:
You didn't say if you foiled or not. If not try it and foil about 165 to 170. Bring 200ish and let rest for at least an hour. The longer the better. After that I will sometimes take the juice and chill, scrap off the fat and add seasoning back into the juice. I will add some back to the pork and freeze some in ice cube trays and when I vac and freeze I will add a cube or to the package. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I never foil butts when cooking them low and slow, only foil them once they are done. I then foil, for the rest period only. Now I will foil butts when doing them High Heat, usually at about 170º ish, but still cook till they are just tender. Cooking to just tender is key no matter which way you are cooking them. Meat is not done at X internal temperature. Yes I use a finishing sauce when pulling, but that's more for keeping the meat moist for holding and serving. The meat is very moist as it's pulled, but not everybody eats the meat right away, so that's where the finishing sauce comes into play. HTH
 
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