pork but foiling question

[pandemonium]

ok on my last but i foiled it when it hit 165 so when i pulled it i used alot of the juices back on the meat wich made it juicier but after refrigerating it that juice coagulates and makes the meat pretty gross. is my method correct? using the juice? and the bark and smoke flavor was not as strong as before, i think i will not foil again.

 

[rivet]

SOunds like you you did everything allright, bud. Yep, you shouldn't waste the foiled juices when pulling and serving the stuff. That's where a lot of the flavour lies.

As far refrigerated and looking it the day after: yes what you saw was coagulated juices, that's how they get when they are cold. The juices are a liquid misture that includes a good dosage of fats and proteins which will coagulate. But, don't let that discourage you....Fat Is Flavor.

Regardless of whether you foil or not, you are going to get the juices to coagulate when the leftovers are refrigerated.

 

[pineywoods]

Did you chill the foiled juices and then scrape the fat off the top before heating and putting it on the pulled pork?

 

[scpatterson]

This is a must for me. I always get that white fa off teh top but the juice still turns to jelly but when you heat it it will go right back to where it was.....It good on toast

 

[bman62526]

What he said...

Foiling or not is personal preference, but if you do NOT foil, you should then have a foil pan under the butts with some of that apple juice in there - to catch the drippings.

When the smoke is done - pour the foil pan into a bowl and STIR WELL.

Then refridgerate...after about an hour or so, the fat will have risen to the top of the bowl and formed a white layer. Now scrape off the fat on the top of that liquid and throw it away.

The juice that remains is basically pork "broth" with some apple juice and a bunch of rub mixed in!! That can be used in your finishing sauce, or just mixed in with a little of the pulled pork to add more moisture and flavor. Yumm! Sometimes I add a little more rub to the liquid before making my finishing sauce - just adds more flavor, and since I LOVE my personal rub recipe - it works well for me.

 

[raceyb]

Why are you pulling your shoulder at 165 degrees? The collagen hasn't even begun to break down yet. 160-165 degrees is the meat's plateau point, not it's pull point, unless you do not want tender pork. If your goal is to slice the pork, 165 is fine, but why not get it as tender as you can?

I pull and wrap at 190 degrees. I double wrap with heavy duty foil and place in a dry cooler with a towel. It'll safely hold this way for at least 6 hours. I have never refrigerated a pork shoulder before pulling.

Keep in mind that foiling a shoulder and the placing it whole into the fridge is not a good idea. The center of the meat will be in the danger zone for far too long.

 

[pandemonium]

i didnt pull it at 165 just foiled till it was done and no i did not cool the liquid to scrape the fat off. well my first two buts didnt get any juice and they were good to me hmmm?

 

[mballi3011]

I store the juices in the frig and then with i pull it I scape the fat off and then put it back into the pork and then pull it.

 

[chefrob]

isn't that what is most important?
by foiling you are changing from a dry cooking method to a wet cooking method by steaming the butt in it's own juices. steam is by far the most heat penetrating of all cooking methods and is why the temp rises so fast after foiling..... it is also why things are moist and tender. as long as you like what you are doing...... that is all that matters.

 

[ddave]

You can also use a grease separator if you don't have time to chill the juices before you serve. I have this one and it works pretty well.

http://www.amazon.com/Amco-Swing-S20...7377314&sr=8-4

But the fridge and scrape method works fine too if you have the time.

Dave

 

[pandemonium]

well i guess i am weird, but the meat seemed better dryer, at least it was much easier to reheat without the foil and juices. i just wanted to see if i did it right? thanks for the info.

 

[raceyb]

It's for that reason that I don't foil until it is time to pull the meat from the smoker. My goal is to retain heat, allow collagen to change to gelatin, soften the bark and allow juices to redistribute evenly. I don't want to steam my BQQ.

 

[ronp]

Check out these links for a description of the terms and differences between steaming and braising. When you foil below 212" with liquid you are braising not steaming.

Here is a quote from braising.

Braising relies on heat, time, and moisture to successfully break down tough connective tissue and collagens in meat, making it an ideal way to cook tougher cuts. Many classic braised dishes such as Coq au Vin are highly evolved methods of cooking tough and otherwise unpalatable foods. Pressure cooking and slow cooking (e.g., crockpots) are forms of braising.
/QUOTE]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steaming

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braising

I hope this clears up some misconceptions.

 

[ddave]

You're not weird. If you liked it, you did it right.

I don't Q for judges, I Q for family and friends. Made peanut butter and honey glazed babyback ribs recently because my 8 year old daughter thought it might be yummy,

Don't know how far that glaze would get me on the KCBS comp circuit. Not very far I imagine.

But she liked it so I'm good with that.

I suppose we all want to do the "traditional" style (and there are many types) of ribs, brisket, and such as a baseline. But after you try that, experiment with what you and your family/friends like. As long as they ain't complainin'' you're doing it right.

Dave

 

[pandemonium]

Well i have to say that the night i made it it was really good with the extra juice, but as for decent leftovers no deal, the juice ruined the whole texture.

 

[pignit]

I don't understand this statement?

 

[alx]

Maybe a different take on cold smoking

 

[raceyb]

Check out these links for a description of the terms and differences between steaming and braising. When you foil below 212" with liquid you are braising not steaming.

Here is a quote from braising.
I agree with you 100%. I was quoting Chefrob whom indicated foiling was steaming. I didn't correct him, I just went along with his steam statement though I consider it braising as well. My point was foiling works and has benefits. My statement stands, I don't want steamed BBQ. But thanks for correcting me?

 

[pignit]

I still don't understand this statement and I'm sure it's confusing to a newbie... What exactly do you mean? How is refridgerating a whole shoulder subjecting the meat to the danger zone for too long? Maybe I'm misunderstanding you. Could you clarify what your trying to get across here for me? Thanks!

 

[beer-b-q]

I'm with PignIt, I don't understand what you are trying to say...

Unless a person intends to eat it immediately I see no alternative to refrigerating it...

Most times when we smoke meat, we smoke more than we intend on using and end up freezing for later use.

If you couldn't refrigerate a un-pulled shoulder or Butt or any piece of meat that a person would slice instead of pull, Brisket would be a good example, what would you suggest?