Pulled Pork Temp question


 
S

S Sherrod

New member
I cooked my first Boston Butt yesterday on my WSM. Everything I had read said to cook it until it reached 190. I'm pretty sure the thermometer I used was junk and is being replaced but when I checked it it read 170 but the probe had no resistance going in at all. The bone slipped right out as well. Since it was falling apart on the grate I brought it in and it pulled great, not dry or overdone but definitely not underdone either. Is this a case of a bad thermometer or just having to play it by feel because this one really felt right? Oh by the way the WSM is unreal, it dialed in to temp and was still holding it the last time I checked it, 11 hours after it started.
 
If it was done and your thermometer only said 170, I would guess it was bad. Going by feel is the way to go. Congrats on your first Butt cook!
 
I would agree with Robert. Probe tender is the correct way to tell if it is done. It sounds like you had a bad thermometer.
 
You should checkout the thread in the Trading Section...Thermapen is having an open box sale. $69 for one is around $20 less than normal. Great thermometer.
 
You could always check it in boiling water but if it was falling apart at 170 then its not accurate. I normally start checking for tender at around 195 and go from there. Glad you caught it before it was too late.
 
The thermometer is off. To my way of thinking, it's not useful when cooking until tender unless using it as a probe to poke for tender. Thermometers are good when cooking to temp for say a steak, lean roast (pork loin), or chicken.
 
"Probe tender" isn't really an adequate test for truly tender pulled pork. You want it "fork tender", as in being able to stick the fork in and turn it. First thing to watch for, of course is the shoulder letting lose of the bone. While tracking a pork butt's IT* with a probe is helpful if you haven't established much in way of temp/times, finished IT*'s don't mean too much to me, since they vary depending on cooking temp and method. That said, I find they can vary from 180-something to in excess of 200*, again, depending on cooking temp and whether foiling or not.
 
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