Pork butt issue

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

275

Newbie
Original poster
Jan 13, 2019
15
2
G'day all,

New to smoking and very glad to have found this forum. It's not a real big thing in Australia though it's picking up traction a bit more. I always wanted a charcoal grill but was bought a gas smoker so I'm making do.

So far I've tried a few things, brisket (turned out a but dry also), sausages, ribs, garlic and a few other things which have turned out nice.

I did a pork but on the weekend for the first time. We had some friends over so i was feeling the pressure to churn out something nice!

I went directly to a butcher who brought out a whole front leg and i told him about how much i wanted. So i got from the top of the shoulder blade down to the joint which was about 7.5 lb. I skinned it at home and left a little fat cap on.

I essentially did a rub, smoked it with hickory and cherry at 275 deg spritzing each hour until it hit the stall. Took it out and wrapped it in foil them back in until it hit 198 deg. It ended earlier than expected so probably spent 3 1/2 hours wrapped in foil inside a cooler.

When i went to pull it it was a little on the dry side and just did not want to pull. Was more the consistency of roast pork. The flavour was still good and everyone enjoyed it in a roll with some slaw but I'm a perfectionist when it comes to food and it's been irking me since.

Any ideas on what I've done wrong?

Cheers all
 
Welcome to SMF. I'd say you didn't give it enough time to fully cook the meat, to completely melt the connective tissue in the pork. Most of us smoke at 225f to 250f. I've never taken a pork butt off the smoker before it has cooked for at least 12 hrs. Don't worry about it though, every cook is a learning experience.
 
Welcome to SMF. I'd say you didn't give it enough time to fully cook the meat, to completely melt the connective tissue in the pork. Most of us smoke at 225f to 250f. I've never taken a pork butt off the smoker before it has cooked for at least 12 hrs. Don't worry about it though, every cook is a learning experience.

Thanks for the reply, i had wondered just that. I watched a couple of youtube videos by the bloke howtobbqright and he was running at 275 and turned out a great butt so i was hoping to do the same. Most things I've read have suggested the lower temps though.

I'm heading off on holidays next week but will try again when I'm home. They're about $30-40 for a butt here so I'll only do them from time to time.

Thanks again for the advice mate.
 
Pork butt is pretty forgiving and can take higher temps. I did my first butt a couple weeks ago and ran into the same issues you did. I got some feedback saying to wait until 200+ degrees internal before pulling off the smoker. Like Scott said, this will allow fat and tissue to break down and will give you a little moisture and tenderness to your meat.
 
Welcome to the forum mate.
If you plan on pulling a butt/shoulder you want to cook it until it's probe tender.198* IT is about when you would want to check it with a toothpick,skewer etc.They generally reach probe tender status over 200*,203*- 205*.Whatever you use to probe,it should slide in very easily.
 
Was this hog free range or raised in a pen like most commercial operations here in the U.S.? Reason I ask is that free range hogs can be tougher than pen raised pigs because they walk around a lot more.
 
Thanks guys next time i will take it to a little over 200. I did notice when removing the thermometer it did seem to have some resistance. The bone also didn't come out fully clean.

Regards to the pig I'm not sure, i will ask next time. In point of fact I'm off a farm and my old man buys 4-6 piglets every year which we raise ourselves and butcher. Never had a smoker previously so shoulders ended up as forequarter chops. Next year will be definitely keeping them whole!
 
It doesn't really matter what temp you cook it at, anywhere from 225-375.
Low-n-Slow or Hot-n-Fast methods are pretty much equally good ways to go.
It doesn't matter if you crutch or not, it'll get there and sooner or later and be tender and juicy.
Water pan or no, spritzing or basting, it just doesn't matter.
Neither does a specific IT, does not matter, I've had a Butt ready to pull at 195 and others go to 209/210.

What does matter? Tenderness, and with tenderness usually comes juiciness.
It'll be tender and juicy, it'll pull apart when it's tender, that is to say Probe Tender.
Tender/juicy happens when all the fats/collagens start to dissolve, this happens between 195-205, 200-205 on average.

Cook it any way ya want to, brined and/or injected, rubbed or not, crutched, paper wrapped or nothing at all.
But cook it till about 195 and then start probing for tenderness.
A probe, toothpick, ice pick, temp probe or whatever will slide in like a nice through warm butter, no resistance except from the bark.

What you did was to take it off before it's time, time as Pulled Pork.
You took it off at another time, Sliced Pork or Chopped Pork time.
And nothing wrong with that, I do that for my youngest son sometimes as he prefers sliced pork.
Great eating on sandwiches or plates, delicious.
 
Last edited:
Knee I am guessing. Picnic cut

Nah not quite, on a pig skeleton there's the shoulder blade which connects to another bone which connects to the knee. I had it from the shoulder blade to the first joint.
 

Attachments

  • 20190114_122230.jpg
    20190114_122230.jpg
    82.1 KB · Views: 16
One way to help out a dry butt is to use a finishing sauce. SoFlaQuer's finishing sauce is a big hit here @SMF. I have used it with great results.
SoFlaQuer's Finishing Sauce is a must for my PP now.
Fantastic sauce that you can tweek to your tastes.
Really keeps it moist, especially for reheating.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 275
Nah not quite, on a pig skeleton there's the shoulder blade which connects to another bone which connects to the knee. I had it from the shoulder blade to the first joint.


Got ya now
 
  • Like
Reactions: 275
I agree with what chili said but I didn’t see anyone ask if you’ve check your thermo for accuracy.... this could have a lot to do with how your pork turned out.

Good luck
Scott
 
  • Like
Reactions: 275 and indaswamp
I agree with what chili said but I didn’t see anyone ask if you’ve check your thermo for accuracy.... this could have a lot to do with how your pork turned out.

Good luck
Scott
Good point and no i haven't. I bought a thermopro tp 20 and just assumed it would be accurate.
 
Hank Shaw:
"
Wild hog BBQ is a bit different from your typical pulled pork barbecue, but it’s pretty easy — if you have patience.

Wild, or rather feral, pigs tend to be older than farmed ones, and they’re athletes by comparison.

This results in two things when it comes time to slap a wild hog butt on the BBQ: First, wild pigs will likely have a lot less fat, and almost no marbling within the shoulder meat itself. Second, the connective tissue within the shoulder itself will be much, much fiercer than it would be in a largely sedentary farmed pig.

The fat problem means you need to be careful not to let the wild pork dry out, and the connective tissue problem means you will likely need to wait a lot longer for your wild hog BBQ than you would with a Costco pork butt."
 
  • Like
Reactions: 275
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Hot Threads

Clicky