Pork Butts - Never hit temp yesterday - should I toss in oven today?

[oldironhead]

Put two 9+ lb butts on the BGE yesterday and they went for 13 hours before I got tired of it and took them off. They were at 225, then 250, then 275 as I tried to get them to hit 203... They hit 180 - 190 depending on which Meater probe you were looking at.

Question is: do I just shred today as is, or do I toss in my oven on racks at 225 to let them hit 203?

(NOTE TO SELF: Two 9+ lb butts was too ambitious! Stick to the 5 pounders!)

Thanks for any input!!
(Long time lurker/member; Occasional poster here)

 

[Up_In_Smoke]

Although the temp they reached does make them safe to eat, I think I would go with tossing them back in the oven to reach 203. I would think this would make sure they are nice and tender.

 

[BigW.]

So did they go in the fridge overnight?

 

[oldironhead]

So did they go in the fridge overnight?

Yep - very loosely wrapped in butcher paper and foil after they cooled down a smidge

 

[Fueling Around]

Yep go ahead and put them in the oven until they get to the +200° range when the bone pulls free.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Put two 9+ lb butts on the BGE yesterday and they went for 13 hours before I got tired of it and took them off. They were at 225, then 250, then 275 as I tried to get them to hit 203... They hit 180 - 190 depending on which Meater probe you were looking at.

Question is: do I just shred today as is, or do I toss in my oven on racks at 225 to let them hit 203?

(NOTE TO SELF: Two 9+ lb butts was too ambitious! Stick to the 5 pounders!)

Thanks for any input!!
(Long time lurker/member; Occasional poster here)

Personally, I would not try to heat them back up to 200+. Doing this will likely yield dry pulled pork. The juices have already moved and reconstituted in the cool down, if you go for 200+ now the juices will simply bleed away and there really isn’t enough collagen in PB to make the meat moist now after being close to 190 IT.

I would heat them wrapped low 200-225 until IT of 150ish then try to pull, if they won’t pull they will make chopped pork. Lots of locations prefer chopped over pulled pork. But the meat should still be juicy there.

 

[oldironhead]

Personally, I would not try to heat them back up to 200+. Doing this will likely yield dry pulled pork. The juices have already moved and reconstituted in the cool down, if you go for 200+ now the juices will simply bleed away and there really isn’t enough collagen in PB to make the meat moist now after being close to 190 IT.

I would heat them wrapped low 200-225 until IT of 150ish then try to pull, if they won’t pull they will make chopped pork. Lots of locations prefer chopped over pulled pork. But the meat should still be juicy there.

Drying them out is definitely a concern...

It occurs to me that one option would be to heat one and not the other and then shred/mix them...

 

[SmokinEdge]

Drying them out is definitely a concern...

It occurs to me that one option would be to heat one and not the other and then shred/mix them...

Personally, I’ve had better luck warming PP in chunks or whole but chunks are faster. Then pull or chop. I would most likely chunk them up then heat slow to a serving temp then pull or chop, but that’s just me. Also a finishing sauce is very beneficial here after reheat and process.

 

[oldironhead]

Thanks everyone! I think having 20lbs of BBQ to deal with is a good problem to have! :)

Happy New Year!

(it's probably time to change my signature, after ten years)

 

[schlotz]

The BGE should be able to run hotter. Pork butts don't care what temp they are smoked at so you might want to experiment running at 275-300º which saves a whole bunch of time without affecting the end result. The 2 hour rest afterwards is the key. No mention of how long they were at each of the temps mentioned but suspect a significant time at the lower temps might have contributed. Agree with SmokinEdge , bringing them back up to 200º runs the risk of drying the meat out.

 

[oldironhead]

The BGE should be able to run hotter. Pork butts don't care what temp they are smoked at so you might want to experiment running at 275-300º which saves a whole bunch of time without affecting the end result. The 2 hour rest afterwards is the key. No mention of how long they were at each of the temps mentioned but suspect a significant time at the lower temps might have contributed. Agree with SmokinEdge , bringing them back up to 200º runs the risk of drying the meat out.

Yeah, ideally I keep BGE under 250 on butts, but then again I don't normally smoke two 9 pounders. Running at 225 seems to be the standard "expert" recommendation, but I'll give the 275-300 range a shot right off the bat next time. (Normally, I like to have extra time to tinker with the Egg and drink beer...)

Appreciate the feedback and congrats to your Hoosiers! What a game that was!

 

[chopsaw]

They hit 180 - 190 depending on which Meater probe you were looking at.

Perfect slicing temp for pork roast . Doesn't answer your question , but maybe
an option .



Personally , I wouldn't be worried about wrapping and reheating in the oven .

 

[oldironhead]

View attachment 729499

Hey, feel free to bring me some of those sides!

 

[gmc2003]

Don't reheat, like they mentioned above your going to risk the pork being dry. Did you save any of the juices. Personally, I'd try and pull it(even though I don't think you'll be able to), and if that fails then I'd go for chopped like Edge said. Once chopped mix in some more rub and the liquid gold that was collected in the drip pan.

Chris

 

[BigW.]

A food processor makes quick work if you want chopped. Just pay attention to how long you push the button.