Can I save the pork butt?

[Munson]

Decided to sous vide my first pork but.
Vacuum sealed it.
Double sealed it on both ends.
Sous vide set at 165.
Covered the container.
Checked on it 10 hours later and the top of the bag looked like a balloon. There was about a quarter inch of butt sticking out of the water but the container was covered. So, the air above the bag was still going to be hot to some degree.
The kicker is that the water in the container is still crystal clear.
There seems to be a lot of liquid in the bag but this is my first sous vide pork butt so I don’t know if it’s normal or not.

I’m gonna transfer it to another bag and keep the cook going for now.
Is it safe to continue?
Is the liquid in the bag from just the butt since the water in the container is still clear?

Thanks,
Munson

 

[SmokinAl]

I think I would just turn the bag over so the end that is exposed gets on the bottom. The liquid in the bag is from the butt. Put a weight of some kind on the bag to keep the whole butt under the water.
Al

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Get you something like this and never look back

 

[Munson]

I had a weight that looks like chain mail on it but it slid off when it popped to the surface—lol.

I’m guessing air pockets in the butt—compared to say chicken breast— were present and when heated caused the air volume to expand.

 

[chopsaw]

I had a chuck that got an air bubble in the bag . The end that was in air was a bit dried out . I do what Al suggested . Flip it over . Get the air out of the bag if you can .

 

[zwiller]

I am not sure of what is exactly really going on but this happens now and then. Yeah freaked out the first time too and thought ruined but not so. +1 to SmokinAl Flip and weigh it down and normal amount of liquid. I simply use a plate. Some guys will vac seal SS or ceramic weights in there or use contraptions like BrianGSDTexoma posted. On long runs I peak every few hours and check it. One time I did a loin and was pretty bad and a LOT of air and had to released and resealed. I think garlic has something to do with it.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Was watching the " Sous Vide Everything " Guy on YouTube and seem to remember him saying that Pork Always floats and has to be weighted.
For your meat to put out that much liquid, it definitely got hot enough to kill bacteria, no Safety issue here...JJ

 

[Munson]

Thanks for the tips.
It didn’t make sense that there would be a leak in the bag since the water in the container is clear.
Also didn’t make sense that there is a large air bubble in the bag either.
Will chalk it up to pork floats ( chef jimmyj ) and try to remember that in the future.

I’ll post some pics of the final product this evening.

 

[Inscrutable]

... Pork Always floats ...

Think that was the early working title for that awful Harry Connick Jr / Sandra Bullock movie that seemed to take as long as a butt smoke, but they shortened it to Hope Floats hoping the movie would

 

[Bearcarver]

I had that happen with some Veggies, but I solved that problem.
I have a rack for bags in my Sous Vide Supreme, but that floated too.
So I looked around, and found that the wire Rotisserie basket that came with my "Showtime Rotisserie" is exactly a tight fit in my Sous Vide Supreme. So I can squeeze it a bit to get it down the sides far enough to get to the bags, and there's no way that will move.

Bear

 

[Munson]

Ended up turning out great!
Cheese grits, grilled asparagus, garlic biscuits for sides.
Thanks for the help!

 

[SmokinAl]

Glad to hear it turned out good!
The PP sure looks delicious!
Al

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks Great, Munson!!!
Enjoy!!
Like.

Bear