Last Saturday, (while trying to fight off the flue & I really was not feeling up to the project, but I had made the commitment...sooo...) I smoked over Mystique, a deboned 9* fresh Picnic …the flavors were great but the meat was tough & rubbery. I spritzed with beer about every 1½ hrs during the first 3hrs then switched to my usual mixture of Apple Juice, Rum & EVOO.
My usual rig is a Charbroil H2O Bullet Smoker…heated with a propane burner, that has a pan placed on top containing pieces of lump charcoal then wood chunks on top. Then above that, there is the water pan.
I was having temperature issues in the smoker most of the time…running somewhere between 230* – 260* (sometimes up to 280* briefly).
About halfway through the cook ….during a period of what I guess was insanity (hopefully only temporarily, lol) I removed the water pan from the smoker & continued cooking without it.
The intention was to take the pork to a slicing temp. of about 170* (but it did not seem to be getting any more tender. Because I was running out of time. I pulled the meat at 185* but it was still tough. I wrapped it in foil & towels, placed it in a cooler, hoping that it would soften up some during the ½ hr drive to the event…alas, no such luck.
Where did I go wrong….I suspect my cooking temperatures were too high….In the past Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve tried to maintain teps. Between 215* – 230*
Is the water pan that critical? Were my temps too high? where did I go wrong?
Thanks for your help.
My usual rig is a Charbroil H2O Bullet Smoker…heated with a propane burner, that has a pan placed on top containing pieces of lump charcoal then wood chunks on top. Then above that, there is the water pan.
I was having temperature issues in the smoker most of the time…running somewhere between 230* – 260* (sometimes up to 280* briefly).
About halfway through the cook ….during a period of what I guess was insanity (hopefully only temporarily, lol) I removed the water pan from the smoker & continued cooking without it.
The intention was to take the pork to a slicing temp. of about 170* (but it did not seem to be getting any more tender. Because I was running out of time. I pulled the meat at 185* but it was still tough. I wrapped it in foil & towels, placed it in a cooler, hoping that it would soften up some during the ½ hr drive to the event…alas, no such luck.
Where did I go wrong….I suspect my cooking temperatures were too high….In the past Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve tried to maintain teps. Between 215* – 230*
Is the water pan that critical? Were my temps too high? where did I go wrong?
Thanks for your help.