Were my butts cooked?


 
JeffB

JeffB

TVWBB Pro
Follow up to my last post:

I pulled my 4 butts at 190 degrees and held them for an hour and a half in a cooler. Foil/towels.

When I pulled them, the bones came out clean and fairly easily (the meat was soft and a probe went in easily, but not falling apart soft), but pulling apart the meat took some effort--more effort that I recall from my last cook. These were about 7 lbs each. I "pulled" the meat apart with a large knife and a fork, cutting the meat into small pieces as I went.

So my question is -- how much effort should it take to pull apart a properly cooked butt? If it cannot be done with a large fork and requires some cutting with a knife, are they undercooked even with a clean bone?

Thoughts?

Thanks for looking.
 
Jeff,

I had a similar experience once and believe that I hadn't totally defrosted the butts before cooking. The outer portions, which were defrosted, pull easily, but the inner-most part of the butt was tough to pull.

Any chance this is what happened with your butts?

Jim
 
I want to say no because I bought them thawed at Sam's on Saturday and cooked them on Sunday, so to my knowledge they were never frozen. At least I didn't buy them frozen or freeze them after buying them.
 
It's possible that the meat was frozen for shipping. My "fresh" Thanksgiving turkey still needed to be defrosted.
 
You just pulled them a little early. It is possible to have some parts not be cooked even with the clean pull of the bone. Lots of variables involved in doneness, was the butt uniform in width? Was the bone on the outer part of the grate and the uncooked portion near the centre? My butts are usually in the 200 range and fall apart when I try to take them off the grate.
 
I think you are correct. I put them on at 9:00am (3 hours after I wanted to put them on) and pulled them at 6:30pm at 190 degrees. It was getting late on a Sunday night and I didn't have a chance to wait longer for a variety of reasons. I think they needed more time.

If I put them back on the heat or in a low heat oven for a bit, will they just dry out or will they tenderize?
 
Your cook time reads like your WSM was running close to 300°. Thats how I do most of my butts, and that 1 1/2 hrs foiled in a cooler don't seem like much for a low or moderate cook, but on a higher heat cook I notice that the extra carryover heat will take a probe tender butt and cause it to toughen up on the inside.

And yes, just add them to a pan foiled with a little stock,juice and some butter or leftover drippings.I'd go at least 300-325 for an hour or more stirring occasionally and they should be tender.

Tim
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">(the meat was soft and a probe went in easily, but not falling apart soft) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
If the meat wasn't 'falling apart soft' and you removed anyway then found the butts not as pullable as you like then that was the problem. Skip cooking to some notion of done according to internal temp. Cook till the butts feel the way you want, i.e., apparently, 'falling apart soft'.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> If I put them back on the heat or in a low heat oven for a bit, will they just dry out or will they tenderize? </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Apparently they are already tender or the probe would not have gone in easily nor would the bones have come out easily. Drying out means overcooked. If the butts have not cooked as long as you'd have liked you can cook them further. Tent with foil to prevent excessive surface moisture evaporation and check frequently once they warm.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> I notice that the extra carryover heat will take a probe tender butt and cause it to toughen up on the inside. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
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Carryover heat will cook the meat further. If cooked too much it will get dry and stringy.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> It's possible that the meat was frozen for shipping. My "fresh" Thanksgiving turkey still needed to be defrosted. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Fresh meat/poultry means it was packed then cooled to and shipped at 26-28?. That's the standard temp range for fresh meats and poultry. It will feel quite firm to the touch. It's not, however, the rock hard feel of frozen meat/poultry, which requires 0? or less. As long as the meat/poultry was not taken to < 26? at ny point in its processing, packing or shipping it is fresh and may be called such legally.
 
firstly, they were cooked. but not to a "easily pulled" state. thats about where i pull them if i want to slice them for sammies, and such. to pull i take them to near 200 deg or so. but really, if they where like that then just chop them like so many q places do anyway.
 
Bones getting loose before the whole butt was done is why I've quit leaving them pointing toward the outside of the grate for the entire cook (with two to a grate.) Also, cooking slower with water in the pan will result in more even cooking if you're inclined to just forget about them til they're done. That's just my experience. I almost need three hands to remove a big butt off the grate when it's done to my likeness, but yes they can get dry and stringy when overcooked as Kevin so adequately already addressed.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave Russell:
they can get dry and stringy when overcooked as Kevin so adequately already addressed. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I chopped all 4 butts with a big knife and a big fork. They are bagged and ready for freezing. What I was hoping to do is to further cook the chopped butt before serving in the hopes that it will soften further. I did not mean to suggest that I would cook them further in their pre-chopped condition.

Will cooking the chopped meat further make it dry?

Live and learn...

At least butts are cheap!
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Don't cook it anymore. Just reheat under foil so it doesn't further dry out. Plenty of subpar (under or overcooked) "pulled pork" has been served and gobbled up without complaints if chopped adequately. Add a finishing sauce of some sort as well. It'll be ok. Learning's what makes it fun.
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