6.5# shoulder at 200 after 6.5 hours! Do I have a problem?? Update with QView!

[teebob2000]

Hi all - I'm in a quandry at the moment!!  Need some advice.

I started a 6.5# bone-in shoulder this a.m. on my WSM at 6:30 CT (that's the time it went in).  My heat temps have ranged from about 255 - 280, mostly steady at 270.  It's been 6.5 hours now and the meat thermo reads 199!!  It was in the fridge all night and sat out for maybe an hour max at room temp before I put it in.

The thermo probe goes in and out easily, there's little resistance.  The bone is exposed almost an inch as the meat has pulled away and the bone is fairly loose.  I can press my gloved hand into the meat and it starts to break apart.  I don't think I should be there for another couple of hours, right??

Do I take it off now and stick it in the cooler??

First reply gets a taste (if you can get to the Chicago burbs in the next couple of hours)!!  

Thanks!!!

 

[dnvrdv]

Seems a bit soon to me too.  Poked it anywhere else?  Then again if the meat is falling apart the cooler might be in order,

 

[rivet]

At that cooking temp range, your meat is done, brother! Given your descriptions, get ready to chow down! And congratulations too, sounds delicious.

 

[teebob2000]

At that cooking temp range, your meat is done, brother! Given your descriptions, get ready to chow down! And congratulations too, sounds delicious.

Yeah it's gotta be.  I used a 2nd probe on the same 732 unit and it came up the same, and used my old unit and got the same thing.  I'm gonna take it off, it's totally freaking tender, flakes with a fork on all sides, and has a nice bark.

Qview coming in a while!!! 
 

 

[forluvofsmoke]

270* may push it to 200* I/T at a rate of 1hr/lb, depending on the convective efficiency of the smoker and chamber humidity...never smoked 'em that hot...well, I smoked an 8lbr pretty hot (~300*, if I recall) during a test...it was tough pulling.

Anyway, IMHO, if the bone is loose and you're seeing alot of shinkage it's ready to foil and rest, regardless of wether you trust the thermomoeter or the time/temps in the smoker.

Eric

 

[teebob2000]

Yep, just did it, 4luv.  I'm pretty sure of the cooker and meat temps, and it was tender as heck.  Hoping I just got a quick piggy and not a dud!!!!

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Yep, just did it, 4luv.  I'm pretty sure of the cooker and meat temps, and it was tender as heck.  Hoping I just got a quick piggy and not a dud!!!!

I think it's going to come out fine. Just be sure you give it at least 4 hours to rest and slowly cool back down...sometimes this step can be the breaking-point, especially if a faster than normal finish temp was reached.

With the high-temp test/trial butt I smoked a while back, I seem to recall not only pushing smoker temps, but also cut the resting time short as well. The bone had a bit of connective tissue still attached after a shorter resting, and upon finding this, I pretty much knew I was in for some tough pulling.

Ah, I knew if looked far enough back I'd find that thread: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...p-smoke-cold-smoked-pinto-beans-q-view-recipe

The longer resting should help to avoid that with yours, and you weren't deliberatley trying to push it hot and fast like I was.

I read something from a link to another site which was posted on a thread here about chamber humidit yplaying a huge role in stalls and overall cooking time. It referenced lower humidity being beneficial to reducing/eliminating stalls and promoting faster cooking due to the internal moisture being able to escape the meat more readily. It also referenced a 250* (or higher) chamber temp, instead of 225*, which seemed to aid in releasing the meat's internal moisture faster through evaporation. Anyway, it all made sense to me when I read it...be darned if I can remember what that thread was called now, and I didn't subscribe to it (me = dumb-a$$).....hmm.

Let 'er rest...should be pretty decent PP.

Eric

 

[flash]

Big deal. If it is done, it is done. Pull it, wrap it for an hour, then pull the meat and see. As long as the therms are correct, it's done.

I have wrapped butts at 170º, then cranked up the temp to the high 290º and found no problem with the finished product. Rested for an hour, then pulled the meat.

 

[dnvrdv]

And the Q is?  I always seem to find when the smoke didn't go as planned, the meat seems to turn out better!

Yeah it's gotta be.  I used a 2nd probe on the same 732 unit and it came up the same, and used my old unit and got the same thing.  I'm gonna take it off, it's totally freaking tender, flakes with a fork on all sides, and has a nice bark.

Qview coming in a while!!!  

 

[teebob2000]

And the Q is?  I always seem to find when the smoke didn't go as planned, the meat seems to turn out better!

Patience, patience!!  

So let it rest for about 2.5 hours and it pulled easier than I've ever had!!!  (Used my new bear claws for the first time, loved 'em!)  This is phenomenally good stuff.  Juicy, smoky (nice ring!), little barky, outstanding.

Used a modified version of Jeff's rub, added some oregano (tho not as much as I use for brisket).  Full firebox, a couple chunks of hickory and couple of apple.  Pulled off the WSM, double-foiled, into a metal baking pan, into towels, into the cooler to rest.  Pulled after the rest and the meat quite literally fell off the bone.  (Shot below was after I started ripping at the underside, almost forgot to take pix I was so excited it turned out!!)

 

Mixed in a roughly double batch of SoFlaQuer's finishing sauce and it's AWESOME!!!!

Have a houseful of post-homecoming dance teens coming over shortly for sammiches, will let you know how it passes the test. 

 

[tom c]

Looks Great.

 

[eman]

Fantastic looking PIG. At the temps you cooked at ,6.5 hrs is great cooking time. If you read most of the post that say 1.5 hrs per lb the smoking is done between 210 - 230 .  99% of the time if the bone pulls out easily and clean it's done.

 

[ellymae]

Looks great - you sure your thermos are accurate??

 

[gators2000]

Looks great!!!!!!  Congrats! 

 

[forluvofsmoke]

NICELY DONE PP!!!

Another example of how difficult it is to mess up a shoulder cut of pork...even when you thought it may have been botched, you walked away with your dignity intact, and some very fine PP to take pride in.

I enjoy seeing a success like this. Keep up whatever you did on this smoke, and eventually you'll settle into a great routine that you know won't fail.

Smoke on, brother!!!

Eric

 

[teeznuts]

Awesome job!

 

[jc1947]

Awesome job!

X2

 

 

[SmokinAl]

The PP looks delicious!

Great job!

 

[teebob2000]

Thanks all!!!  The fussy teens who usually eat hardly anything all had seconds, including 1 girl who my daughter says she's never seen eat an entire plateful of food!  I figured I could make it edible for civilized people, but high-schoolers is a pleasant surprise!!

Thanks for the help and advice, this site is THEEE Q resource to end ALL Q resources!!!   

 

[teebob2000]

Looks great - you sure your thermos are accurate??

As sure as I can be I guess?!  The WSM thermo registered about 5 degrees hotter than the Q sensors consistently throughout, and I used 2 of those and they matched exactly.  The food probe thermos also matched up nearly exactly.  I always use a boil test on my food units pre-Q-ing, and checked these post-Q and they all were spot on.