Pork Shoulder took 36 hours to smoke - Why?

[mayor mcpork]

Over the weekend, I smoked a 6.5lb pork butt. It started with a good layer of yellow mustard and the Bone Dust rub. A day later I put the pork shoulder in my smoker at 10pm on Friday night. I went to sleep soon afterward but saw the temp on my remote thermometer. It cooked between 200 and 225 all night. At 6am it was up to an IT of 124 degrees. Seeming a little slow, I pushed the smoker temp into the 250-265 range. By 10am it had hit an IT 154 degrees and then dropped 5 degrees. It stalled for most of the afternoon. By my intended dinner time, it was still only at an IT of 161 degrees. I went to sleep at 11pm Saturday night with an IT of 169. On Sunday morning the IT had only gone up two degrees to 171! At 9:30am the IT was 176 but I pulled the butt, wrapped it, and stuck it in the cooler for two hours. At 11:30am the shoulder looked perfect, pulled apart perfectly, was moist and tender, and had great flavor. 

Why on earth would it take almost 36 hours to smoke a medium pork shoulder, and still not be able to hit a target IT of 200 degrees?

To set the record straight, I verified the IT of the shoulder at 176 degrees with a digital meat thermometer. Throughout the entire smoke, my Maverick thermometer was providing readings with both the meat probe and the thermometer on the grate, next to the shoulder. I test both Maverick probes and my other digital thermometer afterwards with the boiling water test. They all hit 212 as the water boiled.

What else would have led to such a long smoke? None of my other pork shoulders have gone past 13 hours when done at 225-250.

 

[jp61]

Did you have alarms set on your thermo, while sleeping? I've heard of loooong butt smokes, but never that long. I'm assuming you're using an electric or gas smoker?

 

[jp61]

I always take butts to 205°F IT and then into the cooler for a couple 2-3 hours usually. I have zero experience pulling butts around 186°F what yours might have reached in the cooler.  I'm guessing when I say, it wouldn't pull very easily around that IT. 

lol...... is this a test?

 

[daveomak]

Was the exhaust wide open on the smoker ??  Was the butt frozen or partially frozen when you started ??  Were the intakes open on the smoker ??  Sounds as if there is a temperature reading that is incorrect.....  Not saying there is.... just sounds like there is.....   Dave

You say it was cooked perfectly and tasted great...  would you do anything different next time you smoked a butt ?? 

 

[jarjarchef]

I am with Dave on this one.......sounds like you got a false reading somewhere......... I would on your next cook maybe change the placement of the cook chamber probe.......I have gotten crazy temps and then moved mine a few inches and then a very different reading.........

The other thing that raises a flag for me is the final cook temp reading you got......you should not of been able to pull it at 176....... When pork cooks you will go through different tenderness of the meat as it goes through the temp ranges........ 135-145 for a roast moist, tender and slice able...........145-185 tough but sliceable.........185-195 very tender and sliced carefully.........195+ pulled ............ When meat cooks it goes through a reaction to the heat where it will tighten up and get tough, but then when the connective tissue reaches a certain temp it will breakdown and get tender...........I would change the placement of the probe next time.........

Glad to hear you had a great meal...........great job on sticking with it and allowing the meat do its thing........

 

[mayor mcpork]

I did have alarms set. The smoker hit 200 degrees one time during the night, but before I got out of bed, it ticked back up to 210 (it was 25 degrees, windy, and sleeting). Once morning hit and I bumped up the temperature, I increased my low temp alarm to 240 when I was gunning for the 250-265 range.

I'm using a cheap Masterbuilt propane smoker. The pork shoulder came straight from the store on Thursday, wasn't frozen, and sat in my fridge for 24 hours with the mustard/rub on it. For the entire smoke, I left the vent closed the entire time. My smoker doesn't have an intake outside of the air that sneaks in the bottom where the burner resides.

After it came out of the cooler, the bark looked fantastic. It was dark but not burnt. I located the shoulder and pulled it out without even twisting. Not a shred of meat on it. It pulled perfectly and tasted great. I honestly loved the taste, especially the bark. I know this all sounds odd and that's why I'm confused too.

I tested all of my thermometers afterwards so I doubt they were wrong. I'll concede that it's possible that the grate probe may have been induced to give lower readings somehow. It was placed on the top grate, about 3 inches from the back of the smoker and about 3 inches from the pork shoulder.

 

[fpnmf]

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• fpnmf
• Jan 26, 2013

 

[michael ark]

Well at least it did not make you sick . You need to check out 4 /140 guide lines. I agree with everyone else something was up.

 

[jarjarchef]

I am not sure......as I am scratching my head thinking......... I know I open my vent all the way to allow the smoke flow and not get stale...........not sure if that would give you a false positive on your temp readings.......... I know there is a big difference in cook times when cooking at 250 vs 225......;; maybe with being below 225 for a long period of time it effected it even more the other way........... My vote is for you to do it again and see what happens........... I would not cook at 225, I know it is traditional, but I like my time and the assurance I will get it through the TDZ in a timely manor............

The 40 to 140 in under 4hr guideline was mentioned....... Yes I would recommend familiarizing yourself with it. But if I understand your prep method you did not cut or inject the butt.... So in reality the guideline does not apply to intact whole mussels........you should be fine but 9hrs in the TDZ is a bit long in my world


Jeramy

 

[mayor mcpork]

Yup, I'm well aware of the botchalism issue but it was whole muscle and I didn't score the meat, just took off a chunk of the fat cap.

I have gotten into the mode of not opening the vent because I've found that it allows me to maintain TBS longer without burning up my wood - less flame from my propane to maintain ideal temps. I know this whole things sounds weird. That's why I thought I'd post it. I've got another pork shoulder sitting in my old freezer. I'll bring that out in a few weeks and give it another go but will try a few new things. Thanks!

 

[seenred]

 

  Like everyone else, this sounds like false readings to me.  The fact that it pulled so easily and the blade slid right out would seem to indicate a butt that was at or near the optimum 200-205 IT.  I don't think it would be that tender and easy to pull if it was closer to 176-186 IT.   So... if you're sure of your therms, its a mystery. 

   200-225 does seem a little low for a butt cook, but not to the extent of such a large disparity in cook time.  Try the next butt at 250 minimum cooker temp and let us know how it goes.

 

[daveomak]

Yup, I'm well aware of the botchalism issue but it was whole muscle and I didn't score the meat, just took off a chunk of the fat cap.

I have gotten into the mode of not opening the vent because I've found that it allows me to maintain TBS longer without burning up my wood - less flame from my propane to maintain ideal temps. I know this whole things sounds weird. That's why I thought I'd post it. I've got another pork shoulder sitting in my old freezer. I'll bring that out in a few weeks and give it another go but will try a few new things. Thanks!

Mayor, morning.....  Not opening the vent allows for no air flow.... This smoke could have been different from others but, no air flow, there is no heat transfer to the meat......  The zone around the meat is cooled from the meat... Air flow is similar to a convection oven... Moving the heat around and moving the cold air trapped against the meat to a different area of the smoker....    With the vent closed, and no place for moisture to escape.... and in essence you end up steaming the meat.... In My Humble Opinion...      Dave

 

[bbally]

Water activity hysteresis equilibrium stall.

Mallard reaction takes place at all temperatures. Just slower when lower.

Basically the water activity reaches a resonant frequency where energy in equals energy passed through. Evaporation stalls so time rise stalls. Easiest way to change it stab it with a big steel fork in a couple places. Breaks the bark moisture loss will return oscillation will break and temp rise will start again. Although it you get it to do this it will be some damn tender meat it you wait.

 

[mdboatbum]

The other thing that raises a flag for me is the final cook temp reading you got......you should not of been able to pull it at 176.......

After 36 hours in the smoker, I'd think you could pull it apart at 145˚. The thing about connective tissue breaking down is that it's a product of both time and temperature. The more time, the less heat required.

All that being said, get your smoker a little hotter. No need to risk getting sick.

 

[sound1]

I think Dave may be on to something. If you think about it, at normal pressure, water will not get above 212. Hence the water test on our probes. The meat is evaporating moisture as it cooks and as a guy that uses a "swamp" cooler in the summer, I can attest to the cooling effectiveness of evaporation. I am also a strong believer that it also is a major factor in the stall. 

I can see where a lack of air flow could cause a "micro-climate" of cool air enveloping the meat.

Combined with Dave, I think you're up to $.04 in the kitty. 

 

[daveomak]

Water activity hysteresis equilibrium stall.

Mallard reaction takes place at all temperatures. Just slower when lower.

Basically the water activity reaches a resonant frequency where energy in equals energy passed through. Evaporation stalls so time rise stalls. Easiest way to change it stab it with a big steel fork in a couple places. Breaks the bark moisture loss will return oscillation will break and temp rise will start again. Although it you get it to do this it will be some damn tender meat it you wait.

I think I understand what you said....  http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/activity.html  

I'll have to read and re-read that a few times to get a handle on it...  

Stabbing the meat with a fork, does that help to "skip over" the stall ??

Dave

 

[redneck69]

the outside temp and wind was your issue if you didnt have it sheltered with a wall or something like that, the cold weather was sucking all the heat out of your smoker..on my MES 40 i put a welding blanket over top of it, i keep the exhaust port open of course, for cold weather overnight smokes

 

[cliffcarter]

After 36 hours in the smoker, I'd think you could pull it apart at 145˚. The thing about connective tissue breaking down is that it's a product of both time and temperature. The more time, the less heat required.

All that being said, get your smoker a little hotter. No need to risk getting sick.

I agree, I have had pullable butts as low as 182°, I no longer go by temp but by feel, temp is only a guide line IMHO. 

the outside temp and wind was your issue if you didnt have it sheltered with a wall or something like that, the cold weather was sucking all the heat out of your smoker..on my MES 40 i put a welding blanket over top of it, i keep the exhaust port open of course, for cold weather overnight smokes

The most reasonable answer to your "problem" so far IMHO.

 

[maple sticks]

I took a look at that site Dave, Seems right. If you run your meat through a dehydrator before smoking there is no stall and bacteria growth is inhibited. Sounds yummy.

 

[cliffcarter]

I took a look at that sight Dave, Seems right. If you run your meat through a dehydrator before smoking there is no stall and bacteria growth is inhibited. Sounds yummy.

There is no stall if you cook at 325°-350° also.