Pork butt tasted like smoked chicken????

[little smokey]

So recently I smoked a pork butt in my Mini using lump and hickory chunks.  It was about 6lbs and took about 10 hours.  Had a wonderful bark but the meat itself had a chicken taste to it and two other people felt the same way about it.  Is it the method or the meat?  What would cause this? The beef ribs that came off the mini earlier in the day had a awesome smoke ring and kick butt taste so this makes me question the meat further, any help would be appreciated.

 

[noboundaries]

I'll guess that both the taste and texture was off.  Common culprit is that the butt may have been warmed a little too long before it was frozen or placed in a cold refrigerator.  Doesn't mean you did it.  Could have happened during distribution, transportation to the grocer, or at the grocer itself.  

When meat is warmed above 40F for any length of time enzymes in the meat are activated, along with bacteria.  Add a low n slow cook to a butt that wasn't kept cold as mentioned above and you could have a butt with a compromised structure at the cellular level that will definitely impact the taste and texture.  Smoking it to an internal temp of 205F will make it generally safe to eat, just not as pleasant an experience as one that was handled properly.

If the liquid on the butt was slimy at all when you opened it to prep for the smoker those degradation processes were well underway.  I'm very careful when I buy both pork and poultry that isn't cryovac'd for just that reason.   

 

[little smokey]

Noboudaries, I think you hit the issue on the nose, thanks

Makes a ton of sense and now that I think about it may have been a tiny bit slimy but not bad enough for me to question the quality of the pork butt.

thanks again, may your smoke be thin and blue and your beer as cold as an ex-wife.