Red Meat After 8 Hour Smoke

kdogg65

Newbie

Original poster

May 4, 2015

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10

• May 4, 2015

• #1

I searched the forum and didn't see any posts regarding this issue.  I have smoked quite a few pork butts over the past few years and this weekend was the first time I've ever seen one that had bright red (almost raw-looking) meat on one end after smoking the usual 8 hours and getting the meat up to over 190 degrees.  Could this be caused by the meat being freshly cut from a butcher?  Most of the time, I buy the pre-wrapped butts.  This was the first time buying one from a butcher.  They had a good price on shoulders, so I had them cut the shoulder in half so I could smoke the smaller sized butt.  Has anyone ever seen this result before?  I made sure not to pull that part of the meat - just in case.  Any help with this would be appreciated!

 

themule69

Epic Pitmaster

Oct 7, 2012

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live north of fort smith arkansas between alma and

• May 4, 2015

• #2

A pic would help. I see this is your first post. When you get a chance will you drop by roll call so everyone can give you a proper SMF welcome?

Happy smoken.

David

 

kdogg65

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May 4, 2015

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• May 4, 2015

• #3

One additional note - the rest of the meat (other than the one end) was correctly cooked and came off the bone easily.  No red spots or anything else unusual.

 

kdogg65

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May 4, 2015

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• May 4, 2015

• #4

Unfortunately, I pulled the meat last night and discarded the unused parts.  So, I don't have any pics to share.  I'll keep that in mind for next time.  Thanks for the info!

 

daveomak

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Omak,Washington,U.S.A.

• May 4, 2015

• #5

What smoker were you using....

 

kdogg65

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May 4, 2015

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• May 4, 2015

• #6

It was a Char Broil offset smoker.

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• kdogg65
• May 4, 2015

 

daveomak

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Omak,Washington,U.S.A.

• May 4, 2015

• #7

I was thinking there could have been a cool spot in the smoker.... Maybe there's a new air leak and a cold spot... do you normally rotate the meat on the rack... Were the tuning plates moved...
To check for uniform heat inside the Cooking Chamber, break open a pack of biscuits and place them in different areas on the food rack... Check to see how they cook.....

 

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kdogg65

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May 4, 2015

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• May 4, 2015

• #8

I was smoking three butts.  I rotated their positions as I smoked.  1,2,3 - 2,3,1 - 3,1,2, etc.  every hour or two.  I had two "butts" and one "picnic".  It appeared that the two "butts" had red areas and the "picnic" did not.  It was evenly cooked and looked like most others that I have smoked.  That's what led me to think maybe it was something about the cut of meat and it being fresh from the butcher.

 

noboundaries

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Sep 7, 2013

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Roseville, CA, a suburb of Sacramento

• May 4, 2015

• #9

Although pork does not have the grading scale that beef does, it does have a scoring system based upon the meat's color. White is the most sellable and preferred. You can get a whole range of colors in one piece meat, including red, especially the larger cuts. If you see it again, try pulling it. If it pulls like the rest of the meat, no problem.