HELP- Pork Butt good but color too dark.

[mlaff0842]

We decided to put on some pork butts the other day to cook for a friend.  9 butts (cut in 1/2 to speed cooking) went on my cousin's RFS, with no preparation other than some rub.  They were smoked with hickory splits with a 250 degree temp maintained the entire cooking time.  The meat was pulled from the cooker at 190 IT some 8-1/2 hours into the cook.  

The meat was tender, juicy and very flavorable.  Without foiling the meat, it had a medium bark on it.  Everyone really enjoyed the meal. Our issue was with the color of bark.  It was coal black.  Didn't taste bad, but didn't look pretty.

Can anyone steer us in the right direction for better appearance?  Should we strive for a lower but longer cook time?  Should we change our wood ( we're in NC where hickory is king)?  My thought is that if we cook at a lower temp by choking the air inlet, then less smoke will enter the chamber and the color won't be so dark, but I may not be thinking right.  We were getting TBS for the majority of the cook, except when we put fresh wood on the fire. That's when we got some white smoke for a short period of time during each add.

Wish we had Q-view to go along, but did not take any pics.  Thanks for the help.

Martin

 

[diggingdogfarm]

What ingredients were in the rub?
Were the hickory splits seasoned?

~Martin

 

[mlaff0842]

Used Jeff's rub. I misspoke about the wood, it was equal parts hickory andcherry that had been split and seasoned for at least a year.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I'm not familiar with all the ingredients in Jeff's rub, but sugars can contribute to the blackening. Also how was the smoke? Super heavy smoke (white)? Or did you have TBS (True Blue Smoke)? If the smoke was heavy that could be the culprit too. At 250* the temp shouldn't have been an issue.

 

[geerock]

Cherry wood will definitely darken up meats, but black? Don't know.

 

[mlaff0842]

Jeff's rub certainly has a good bit of brown sugar in it. That, combined with the higher cooking Temps could certainly contribute to the black color. Can it do that without giving the product a bad taste? I feel sure lower temps can curethat. As I mentioned earlier, we only had heavy smoke when we added fresh splits to the fire for a short period of time. Is there any way to prevent that on a wood burner?

 

[hambone1950]

You know what , man. If the meat tasted good and not burnt or unpleasant in any way , I'd put it down to burnt sugar in the rub. If it was bad wood , you would taste creosote or something acrid or funky.
My big brother always tells me that your meat takes on enough smoke in a few hours , so you can go ahead and foil your shoulder to keep a nice color and keep in the juices(and speed up the finish)
But if it didn't spoil your enjoyment and no one got sick , I would just roll with it.:grilling_smilie:

 

[mlaff0842]

Thanks, guys, I appreciate the input.

 

[mlaff0842]

Geerock:
Yep, used all cherry on chicken before and got a beautiful mahogany color. Just never on peek, but expected the same results.

 

[mlaff0842]

That wad suppose to be pork, not peek. Love the auto-spellers.

 

[pgsmoker64]

Sounds like everyone has you covered and I'm a little late but I will confirm that Jeff's rub will burn, or at least the brown sugar will, above 250 - even 250 is a little high for me with that rub.  To combat that you can substitute turbinado sugar for the brown sugar.

Here is a tip for you though...if you make a spelling error and want to correct it just go back to your post and click on the little pencil in the bottom left corner of the post next to the red flag.  This will allow you to edit your post.

Bill

 

[mlaff0842]

Thanks, Bill. The turbinado sounds like a good idea.

Martin

 

[boykjo]

If the meat was tender, juicy and very favorable.  Without foiling the meat, and had a medium bark on it and Everyone really enjoyed the meal I would say you had a successful smoke so I don't see a problem.............. A little bit of billowing smoke shouldn't make that big of a difference.. It happens to all of us
 

 

[mountainhawg]

My wife uses the semi-blackened ends and pieces to flavor the gravy she makes for our sliced pork and mashed potatoes. Really adds a nice flavor but a little goes a long ways. Personally I

would not worry about the blackening, As was said Jeff's rub has a lot of brown sugar and I like brown sugar better than raw. Perhaps spritzing the pork once an hour will help knock some of that black back. I spritz the butt once an hour with a mixture of apple juice, apple cider vinegar and water.  

 

[mlaff0842]

Tnx, MtnHawg. Your wife has a great idea. I have used apple juice/water before for a mop, but never thought to add acv. I'll have to try that. In the meantime, hold down the fort in the hills. Love US 64!

 

[panthermountian]

I know I am late on this , but info is info right ? if you dont make your own rub you have no control over what kind of sugar was used as sugar will burn, What to do? Use turbano sugar as it is larger grained and melts slower, Now addressing your mahogany color on the chicken using cherry, A very good wood choice, my personal go to, but you mentioned hickory as well! first you must think of smoke woods as salt and pepper as they are the choices you make for your desired flavor, Example , cherry = mild , sweet, fruity, hickory = nutty , smokey , semi strong, using them both together should be done with caution as you have already experienced the results, both hickory and cherry togeather will darken meat to a coffee brown to espressso dark roast, Cherry will darken your meat if to much is used as well as hickory can over power your meat, My suggestion is the way I use any smoke wood is to use 3 inch chunks @ a ratio of 1 chunk per 2 lbs of meat, for a 10lb shoulder that would be 5 chunks, Also meat will only absorb smoke for the first 2 1/2 to 3 hours of the cook because it builds a bark and seals the surface, the rest of the time is heat. I know some may disagree on this because they see folks featured on  t.v with continuous smoke, but if you smoke your product for the entire time , it will be black, and bitter, just look at the build up on your smoke outlet as proof to that,there then come's a time in the cook process when you should pan or foil your product for the finish!  Next time try this out and use a little wood of one species and see if you dont get better results in color and flavor, and please let me know your thoughts, Also, Only apply your finish sauch to your product the last 20 to 35 minutes of the cook, as you only want a glaze and dont want to burn the sugars in the sauce as that can also add to a dark color. Tony/ Panther Mountain Competition bbq cooker, North Little Rock, Arkansas