Pork Butt on the MES 40

gavin16 · Feb 21, 2016

I got an itching to try a long cook in my new smoker, and what better way than some pulled pork? Rubbed down with Jeff's rub and wrapped up overnight.

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gavin16
Feb 21, 2016

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gavin16
Feb 21, 2016

Pulled out of the fridge around 8:30 a.m. Started warming up the MES and unwrapped this 9# beauty. Excited to try my new rib rack/roast holder from Walmart. It will easily allow smoke to get all around my pork while still being able to keep my smoker clean with it in the foil pan.

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gavin16
Feb 21, 2016

Set the pork in around 9:05 a.m. AMNPS is lit and filled with pit master's choice at first to get a good fire, then pecan and cherry for the rest of the way. I'll try placing it on the very bottom where that small foil pan is upside down. Can't see it very will but my igrill2 ambient probe is set on the left handle of that roast rack.

If I get a bit more motivated I'll attempt Chef Jimmy's finishing sauce again. Last time I tried it did not turn out so well.. I think I will try spritzing with a cranapple/cider vinegar mix.

More to come!

SmokinAl · Feb 21, 2016

Looks good so far!

What happened with the finishing sauce last time?

Al

tumbleweed1 · Feb 21, 2016

Right on!

I just put a small one on about an hour ago.

TW

gavin16 · Feb 21, 2016

SmokinAl said:
Looks good so far!

What happened with the finishing sauce last time?

Al

Well I think I've tried it a few times now.. The first time was for a tailgate butt a year and a half ago. My buddy and I decided we didn't like that much vinegar. So the 2nd time I tried it over the summer (5th of July Butt I have here on the forums) and I reduced the vinegar, added more worcestershire sauce and apple juice I think.. as well as some Jack Daniels. Turned out Stellar!! The third time I did this fall with some ribs.. I think I tried to get creative again and might've just added too much of something or another.. and it turned out bland.. So this time I'll try what I did back in July, with some rum or pendelton whiskey instead of Jack. Hopefully I have good results. Plan to vac seal most all of this.

Tumbleweed1 said:
Right on!

I just put a small one on about an hour ago.

TW

It's certainly a nice day for it! I think going to be around 50-60 degrees here in northwest Kansas today. Yesterday I did some bacon wrapped chicken breasts and sliced up to put in chicken alfredo.

tumbleweed1 · Feb 21, 2016

Gavin16 said:
It's certainly a nice day for it! I think going to be around 50-60 degrees here in northwest Kansas today. Yesterday I did some bacon wrapped chicken breasts and sliced up to put in chicken alfredo.

Well here in Chicagoland we're going to be about 10-15 degrees cooler than you, but not having smoked anything now since late last fall, today was a perfect opportunity.

I tried my hand at bacon wrapped breasts last year & loved it. I also like doing shrimp, ribs, wings & CSRs.

Smoke on.

TW

gavin16 · Feb 21, 2016

Tumbleweed1 said:
Well here in Chicagoland we're going to be about 10-15 degrees cooler than you, but not having smoked anything now since late last fall, today was a perfect opportunity.

I tried my hand at bacon wrapped breasts last year & loved it. I also like doing shrimp, ribs, wings & CSRs.

Smoke on.

TW

When I first moved out to northwest Kansas and got in busy season with my job and I was trying to find a place to live... I don't think I could describe the withdrawals I was having from not touching my smoker for what must've been 3 months.... I don't think I could survive through the entire winter! Terribly sorry to hear that my friend!

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gavin16
Feb 21, 2016

On a much brighter note... I got anxious and decided to pull at 164 - that seemed to be it's stalling temp for a while. Had a "bear scare" for a moment as I was in the process of foiling. Trying to foil on my narrow grill at one point the weight of the butt shifted the pan in a manor to which it attempted to abide by gravity and take a nose dive onto the concrete porch. Fortunately with my ninja like reflexes and grill basket below I managed to only lose the few drippings and apple juice i had in the pan down my leg.. Small price to pay for such a beautiful butt!! Crisis averted!!

gavin16 · Feb 21, 2016

So I foiled this butt 3 hours ago at 164 temp... It's sitting at a whopping 170 right now. I know that there is generally a stall time but can it be that long? Should I be checking my foil wrap, or try to move my internal probe?

gavin16 · Feb 21, 2016

Well it's getting late and I finally went out and tried to just move the internal probe around in the meat, still getting similar readings at 170. It seemed like the pork pulled gently when I was moving it. I guess I won't take a chance and will just let it set in the MES overnight. I added some moisture to the pan to keep from drying too much. I know that my igrill2 is calibrated properly. Definitely the longest cook I've had for a pork butt. Little disappointed as I have a lot to get done the next couple days and trying to fiddle with the pork in the process just adds to my mess.. I'll try to get up around 5am or so to pull it and let it set in the oven or something for a while. Hopefully I get a chance to sneak home from work and put it in the fridge to pull later.

On the upside, I did have a successful run making my own version of JJ's sauce. This time I think I gave it a bit more kick than I liked.. must've gotten carried away with the pepper or cayenne. It does have a great bold flavor though and I'm looking forward to trying it on the pork.

gavin16 · Feb 22, 2016

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gavin16
Feb 22, 2016

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gavin16
Feb 22, 2016

20 hours later we might finally be getting somewhere... Pulled around 5:15 MST. I decided to transfer the pork to a smaller foil pan, where it fell apart off the bone as I did. I wrapped it up in foil and put it in the oven. I'll let it cool in there for several hours and hopefully around lunch i can catch a break and flee the office. I'll likely just let it cool down enough I can put it in the fridge, and will have to pull it later when I get home from work.

Enjoy!

smokingearl · Feb 22, 2016

it will be a lot harder to pull once its totally cooled down.

SmokinAl · Feb 22, 2016

Going to be tough to pull cold. You may have to heat it back up. Never tried to pull a cold butt. Did I just say that?

I think you should have pulled it hot, then let it cool down. OH well, next time.

Al

gavin16 · Feb 22, 2016

Sorry fellas it just wasn't in the cards for me to do that this time, unless I pulled it out of the smoker at 170 and tried to pull. I set it in the oven at 5am to rest and came home around noon to put it in the fridge. I'm pretty jammed packed at work preparing for an important meeting tomorrow, so my butt picked a great time to make a 20 hour smoke out of it all hehe. Lesson learned not to mess with the butt!

I will try warming it up this evening and pulling. I'll vacuum seal half of it with the sauce and half without. Will post pics later.

Gavin

gavin16 · Feb 22, 2016

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gavin16
Feb 22, 2016

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gavin16
Feb 22, 2016

Well alas, after putting it in the oven at 350 for 30-45 minutes it got plenty warm enough to pull. I sealed one bag without the sauce because I was afraid it might be too spicy..... However after doing a thorough application to the rest of the meat it wasn't as spicy at all. Actually some of that boldness and pop seemed to slip away after the sauce cooled in the fridge for a day. I think after the pork marinates in the vacuum seal it will regain much of that. It still tastes absolutely incredible! After bagging it all up that 9# butt sure seemed to be more like 5 or 6#... or less.. After bagging it I came to realize those few bags sealed that are going to friends back at college have much more pork in them than the little bags I left for myself! Not sure how I managed to do that switch-a-roo. Haha. I could see another butt or two being smoked in the near future... Lots of labor and work put in but it is definitely worth it!

Enjoy!

foamheart · Feb 22, 2016

I never put it in the reefer but I near always let my butt get to ambient temperature before pulling... I mean I wait nearly a whole day while it cooks to perfection, why burn my hands now, right? Give as many juices as possible their last second chance to find some meat to latch on to.

I always figure a 35 to 45% loss. That is just good pork getting better with all that super concentration of goodness!

Hard to beat pulled pork... Matter a fact I am thinking of making some tomorrow instead of more sausages.

If they don't have pulled pork sammies and ice cold long necks in heaven, you ain't in the right place!

bauchjw · Feb 22, 2016

Great job on the smoke, points for endurance and balancing work with final outcome!

I'm with Foam for ideal pull at room temp. I hate burning my fingers!!! However, last week I was in same predicament as you doing 5 butts for work and one stalled on me. Had to let it cool then pulled after reheating and it was driest of the 5. You don't think reheating dried it out before pulling?

gavin16 · Feb 23, 2016

Foamheart said:
I never put it in the reefer but I near always let my butt get to ambient temperature before pulling... I mean I wait nearly a whole day while it cooks to perfection, why burn my hands now, right? Give as many juices as possible their last second chance to find some meat to latch on to.

I always figure a 35 to 45% loss. That is just good pork getting better with all that super concentration of goodness!

Hard to beat pulled pork... Matter a fact I am thinking of making some tomorrow instead of more sausages.

If they don't have pulled pork sammies and ice cold long necks in heaven, you ain't in the right place!

Well I was at the 20 hour mark when I took it from the smoker to let rest and by the time I did end up pulling it was 33 or so hours altogether. That's part of the reason I didn't pull that morning. 200 degrees on my fingertips was a bit of a wakeup call at 5am hahaha! The only thing I did was transfer it off my rib roast rack/large foil pan into a smaller foil pan that I could more easily wrap - and I had room to place that smaller pan in the fridge versus the large one. That shrink figure sounds pretty solid, and I usually don't like to think that much into it... My mind is on the beginning.. and end. The goods of the final product and effort hehe. Out of the 7-8 pulled porks I've done though this one by far took the cake on the longest.. and it's not even close.

bauchjw said:
Great job on the smoke, points for endurance and balancing work with final outcome!

I'm with Foam for ideal pull at room temp. I hate burning my fingers!!! However, last week I was in same predicament as you doing 5 butts for work and one stalled on me. Had to let it cool then pulled after reheating and it was driest of the 5. You don't think reheating dried it out before pulling?

Thanks a bunch Bauchjw!! I was glad I had the chance to come home at noon to put it in the fridge before risking it cool down too much to be unsafe! That was my major concern. The dryness issue actually came to mind before I even gave the final decision on leaving it sit all night long in the smoker. I made sure to unwrap and spritz a little more the night it smoked. Before I put the pork in the oven to reheat I poured a little bit of apple juice on either end of the foil pan as well to counter this. Had absolutely no issues after reheating the pork on moisture! It was plenty moist and only really hot on the bottom side - even before I poured my finishing sauce all over it!

I personally think smoked food tastes even better as leftovers. Just because that smoke really has time to set in on the meat over a longer period of time when you cool it down in the fridge. I don't seem to get that initial smoke taste as much fresh off the cooker. That could also be because the whole place smells like smoke anyways. The food could also just be hot and juices not properly settled in even for your senses to grab onto that smokey flavor over everything else going on.

GaryHibbert · Feb 23, 2016

Hey Gavin

Great job on a stubborn butt. Like they say--the meat is done when the meat wants to be done.

I usually just pull enough right away for supper and let the rest cool down a bit. I've never tried pulling it when its cold.

Gary

tumbleweed1 · Feb 23, 2016

Sure glad it didn't get away from you.

TW

gavin16 · Feb 23, 2016

GaryHibbert said:
Hey Gavin

Great job on a stubborn butt. Like they say--the meat is done when the meat wants to be done.

I usually just pull enough right away for supper and let the rest cool down a bit. I've never tried pulling it when its cold.

Gary

Thanks Gary!! That's exactly true and I learned that firsthand on this butt haha. I stuck a couple forks into it when it was cold and didn't even bother. Heated it up in the oven for 30 minutes or so with some liquid in the pan was the ticket. Not too hot but definitely warm enough to pull without burning the fingers.

Tumbleweed1 said:
Sure glad it didn't get away from you.

TW

Thanks TW !! I was a bit concerned for a while when it had to go overnight. But I guess it wouldn't be a whole lot different than leaving a beef roast in a crock pot on low all day or overnight.

whistech · Feb 24, 2016

That is a fine looking pork butt.

Pork Butt on the MES 40

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