Dry and Flavorless Pork Shoulder

[Derek Cheng]

Hi. I am brand new at smoking. Just bought myself an electric smoker to get my feet wet. Today i tried smoking a pork shoulder that was just bland and dry. I bought a bone in pork shoulder that was roughly 8 pounds. I prepped it by putting it in apple cider brine overnight. Then worcestershire + mustard + dry rub, plastic wrap overnight.
I smoked it for about 10 hours at 250 F. The meat did not pull apart but was similar to pork loin out of the oven.

Was my temp too high? I followed a recipe online to do this.

Thanks

 

[chilerelleno]

More than likely it was under cooked.
Not enough time for the temp to render the fats/collagens into moisture and flavor.

What was the Internal Temp of the pork when you pulled it off?
Did you probe it for tenderness?
Never rely on timed cooks at specific temps, go by IT and probe tender.

Did you go by the factory thermometer on the smoker?
They're generally notoriously inaccurate.
Get yourself a decent dual probe thermometer for the smoker and also a handheld digital instant read.

 

[Derek Cheng]

No i didnt. for some reason my meat thermometer was not displaying the internal temp so i just ran with it. what would be the ideal internal temp for tenderness?

 

[TomKnollRFV]

With pork butt that is bone in, there is a very easy test; if you jiggle the bone and the sucker is sliding out, she's done. It was as Chile said undercooked. Even with a probe and all, 205f is definitely a guideline, not a rule. I've had pork butts go over 205f to get to pulling stage.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

No i didnt. for some reason my meat thermometer was not displaying the internal temp so i just ran with it. what would be the ideal internal temp for tenderness?

Weird, your post popped up before mine..but on my browser..after I posted... it's 205f for Pork Butt. But that's a guideline, you really go by the bone wiggle test IMO.

 

[chilerelleno]

No i didnt. for some reason my meat thermometer was not displaying the internal temp so i just ran with it. what would be the ideal internal temp for tenderness?

There is no ideal, it can range anywhere from 195°-210°.

That is why it is recommended to probe for tenderness.
A probe is any slim, sharp object that can be inserted into the meat, it should slide in like a knife into warm butter, e.g. therm probe, shishkabob, ice pick.

The bone test is pretty good too.
It should pull right out of the butt/shoulder when done.

 

[chef jimmyj]

The temp was likely off as most therms that come with the unit are. Even if it was 250, you are looking at 1.5 hours per pound, minimum. That's 12 hour or as much as 16 depending on the temp swing as the unit cycles. So, your meat was not cooked long enough. BTW...If you find the recipe anywhere but here. The instructions can be way off and not going to work. Look around here for anything you want to try. And if you want to try Betty Lou's Famous Q, from the web. Post it here for review...JJ