Pork Shoulder, Fail?

[wes w]

Ok, I understand.   In my smoker I've never tried to get a butt through the stall.  I always wrap, so I don't have info on how long it would take.  I can be at 160IT in 6hrs and foil.  Another 4-5 and I'm done, pigs resting nice in the cooler. 

With my smoker there are major disadvantages.   I have to stay with it.  I've ran it long enough that I can get away for 30-40min. at a time.   If I'm running full,  I have to rotate.  I usually do this when I wrap.  There is no way to keep it the same temp all the way up. I've tried a lot of different things and it just doesn't happen.  I usually set my remote therm on the 3rd rack.    I start at 250 for butts.   If running full no matter how big a fire it will not come up to temp until the cold mass warms up.   Usually 30-45 min. in my water pan is near boil.  The flames are hitting the bottom of it.    Of course the longer it  goes the less flame you need.  Toward the end, its one stick at a time.  If I start running hot, simply open the doors and cool it down.   Love my smoker, it does produce unmatched flavor, but I can't "set it, and forget it"  

Hope everyone has a good day

 

[deedee]

I am smoking ribs for the family Sat and have done it twice but they were not tender. Can you help?

 

[wes w]

Dee, what method do you go by?   The 3-2-1 works best for me.  3 hours in the smoker at 225.  2 hours foiled.  1 hour uncovered just to give them a nice outside.  In the last hour you can baste them with anything you like.  I use Jeffs rub so I  never feel the need to baste.      To me, foiling is key to tender pork.  It lets it cook in its own juice without drying it out.  Foil it loose.  I'm the worlds worst at poking holes in the foil.  The juice is super hot!  Trust me....

Oh, and beer.  Beer makes and average smoke awesome!  :-)

 

[hambone1950]

I am smoking ribs for the family Sat and have done it twice but they were not tender. Can you help?

My first thought is that if the ribs weren't tender they needed to cook longer....were they moist tough or dry and tough?
Wes is giving you good advice about the 3-2-1 method also. That is a good guide. But ultimately you have to test for tender as you go.

 

[dd mau]

hi d , I have had pretty successful butts with Myron Mixon's strategy. I inject it with a mix of apple juice and Blues Hog Tennesee red sauce.I pour the remainder of the Red Sauce over the Butt and put it into a large Ziploc bag and marinate for 8-12 hrs. Room temp when your ready to smoke it , dump out the marinade and place the Butt in a large aluminum pan,smoke it 3hrs with enough water and apple juice to cover the bottom of the pan, depending on the size of the meat, I then cover the Butt with foil and cook an additional 2-3 hrs covered,temp @ 250 -275 degrees.The internal temp reaches 190-195 I remove the foil cover and mop it heavily with whatever I've got at the time, these procedures have worked for me and the great thing about the pan is very little cleanup!!!!

                                                           Hope you try it !!

                                                                   DD Mau

 

[rage]

I've smoked quite a bit since the last time I posted, I actually try to get in 2-3 smokes a week and have been averaging about that this summer. So I've been smoking Pork Butts, Oven Roast, Meat Logs, Country Styled and Short Ribs, etc.....

I always adhere to the thought that if your looking you ain't cooking.........and I use a side burner smoker modified

What I have found out about the stall is that of course as others have said the stall is going to be different for each piece of meat, there are so many variables that determine the stall, the initial weight of the meat, the moisture content, the ambient temp of the smoker, the humidity inside the smoker, the outside ambient temp (in my case), the temp fluctuations and the list goes on. Affect any one of the variables and you affect the stall.

I my case I usually start with charcoal and continue to use it until I get to the stall, which I determine by time vrs temp......as an example if I hit 153 degrees and am there for longer than 30 minutes then I'm at stall. I usually cook at 237 which of course is the median temp between 225 and 250. Once I hit stall I change from charcoal to lump (because it burns hotter) and move the temp up to 275 until I start to get movement in the internal temp of the meat. Since the prevailing theory is that there is a moisture bubble around the meat causing it to sweat and keeping the meat at stall, as the internal temp rises then it should indicate that the moisture content is either reduced or simply can not maintain the stall.

As the temp rises, for every degree the internal temp rises I reduce the smoker by 5 degrees. Now I realize that this must seem a bit exacting but I haven't had a stall last me more than 45 minutes after realizing it was in an stall so about an hour and 15 minutes max. This has pretty much worked for me for everything from a 3 pound roast to an 8 pound pork shoulder and for me it comes down to how quickly I have to adjust the smoker temp.

I'm sure everyone has a different method and of course different smoker to have to fiddle with, but so far I'm very pleased with the results and I don't spend needless hours on the smoker when I could be eating the results.

Just my 2 cents..................