not as good

[twistertail]

I did a boston butt yesterday for pulled pork and it did not turn out all that great. I have done 2 others that turned out great but this one was tough and dry. I did a few things a little different but not sure exactly what it was that was the problem. I got a small butt, was only 3.3 pounds, and wanted to do it un wrapped the whole time. I'm thinking about 5 hours cooking time. I rubbed it down Saturday night and put it in the fridge. Had it in the smoker about 10:00 Sunday planning on having dinner around 5:00. Well at 3:00 it was only at 154, I had the temp pretty steady between 225-230. I finally decided to wrap it foil and still after another hour was only up to a little over 160. So I got impatient and cranked up the heat to about 300 and in about another 1.5 hours it was up to 199 so I took it out. I only let it set for abot 15 minutes cause we were hungry! The meat was tough, could hardly pull it and it was kinda dry. I know I should not have turned the heat up and that I should have let it rest longer, but what is worse? If I'm in a pinch again am I better to let it cook slower and rest less, or cook faster and rest longer? Really it was still good but not great like the last 2 I did. One other thing, the butt was a little different than the other ones, there was just a tiny sliver of bone on one edge the other 2 had a bigger bone that went down into the meat, not sure if that makes a difference.

 

[bbqlovinpackerbacker]

I think the high heat probably did it. Low and slow is the key. The resting of the meat is a good thing to do, but usually when I pull them off the smoker to let them rest they're already fallin' apart on their own. Did you do any spritzing of the meat with juice, etc?

Rule of thumb with cook time...if you're in a hurry the butt will cook slow, if you got all night, and half of the rest day. It'll be done several hours early, leaving you to hold it in the oven, or in the cooler wrapped in towels for hours.

I have always done the butts with the bone all the way through. Not sure if you got a different cut of pork, or if they jipped you on the bone

.

 

[twistertail]

I did plenty of spritzing with apple juice. Said pork shoulder boston butt on the package but the bone was different from what I've had before. My next one I'll go back to wrapping it at 145.

 

[flagriller]

Yup the high heat killed ya. All meat reaches a plateau and stays there for awhile. Then it rises temp, partience is needed at that point.

 

[abigail4476]

You can't rush perfection. Patience is key.

 

[jpeck]

Did you let it come to room temp before smoking?

 

[jpeck]

Sorry for not adding this one but it sounds like you had a partial but.

 

[twistertail]

I let it sit out for about 15min before it went in the smoker, so it was not to room temp yet. I know I did a lot of things wrong but sounds like turning up the heat was the worst thing.

 

[jpeck]

Sometimes the meat quality is just not as good.

 

[twistertail]

Thats what I told my wife, "its just a bad cut of meat"

That could have been part of it but I know I didnt help things out much.

 

[jpeck]

Do not admit failure if you can blaim it on something else.