Pulled Pork a little dry - overcooked?

[abk]

I tried my first pulled pork the other week. It was fine overall, but some parts were dry and didn't fall apart so easily. I'm wondering if anyone has ideas on what I should have done differently. This cut was a shoulder without the bone, but with skin. I first cut off the skin, but left most of the fat.

I cooked it on a gas grill with some wood chips at about 275 the whole time except for a dip in the middle when the gas tank ran out. Then I wrapped it in tin foil after 6 hours with the internal temperature around 192 degrees. At 8.5 hours I took it off the heat when the temp was 207-210. When probing it with the thermometer it felt tender for the first couple inches, but not so much in the middle.

I'm a bit confused as to whether or not I over cooked it. At various places online it seems like people say 210 is already a high internal temperature, but I'm wondering if I should have ignored the temperature and kept going since it didn't feel tender all the way through. Also wondering if I should have trimmed more fat off the top because there wasn't much area for bark to form. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

And thanks to T Turboconman for letting me know where to find pork butt out here!

 

[slavikborisov]

My large pork butts aren't always the same as far as tenderness level because of all the different varieties of muscle groups within all the layer of intermuscular fat. Once it finely shredded and i added it to all the juices that have collected in the foil ive never had any complaints. if it probing tender around 203-210 in most areas i pull it. every cut of pig is different

 

[thirdeye]

At 8.5 hours I took it off the heat when the temp was 207-210. When probing it with the thermometer it felt tender for the first couple inches, but not so much in the middle.

Here is a cross section of a pork butt showing all the various muscle groups. At the top, the money muscle muscle and the tubes are very tender muscles. And at the bottom, the horn muscles around the blade bone will also become very tender. The large center muscle is the least desirable because it's leaner, lighter in color and takes the longest to get tender. It can remain tight when other muscles are probe tender. Instead of forcing the "pull" on that portion, many folks will opt to thinly slice this meat.

To help with moistness, injection is always an option, as is resting in an insulated cooler for several hours. Keeping your pulled meat in larger pieces will help with moistness too, as will adding some of the foil juices back to the meat. And if you plan on leftovers or cooking ahead and reheating the next day, keep the meat in chunks.

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

Definitely try a bone in next time. I also always pull mine at 203-205*, wrap them in foil (if I haven’t already for the stall) then wrap in towels and let them rest in a cooler for about 2 hours!

 

[SmokinEdge]

A wrapped rest is always a must. That said if pork butt is cooked and is a bit dry most usually it is undercooked. Over cooked pork will most always have a mushy texture. Over cooked brisket will not slice but just fall apart as pull meat. Dry BBQ meat is often thought to be over cooked but most often it’s actually under cooked.

I only watch IT as a guide to when we are getting close, usually around 200* but after that it’s probe only and the temp is just a reference for my information. When it probes tender all over then it’s done regardless of the IT. Don’t be shocked if sometimes that probe tender IT is around 215*, it usually doesn’t need to go that high but it can. Also not every piece of meat will always be perfect. Some animals are just ornery and never get truly tender.

 

[912smoker]

As mentioned, the rest is very important too.
Did you allow any extra time for it to nap?
Very important for the juices to redistribute back into the meat as it cools down.

Keith

 

[Old'N'Slow]

"Then I wrapped it in tin foil after 6 hours with the internal temperature around 192 degrees."

My Guess, you wrapped too late and too high of temperature and lost a lot of moisture.

Like I said, my guess. I don't shoot for pulled pork having a bark, so I could see why you personally wouldn't want too much moisture.

But on mine I would have used Therm to get it to 150ish, pulled it out and wrapped it with Aluminum Foil, put the therm away and waited until the butt was nice and jiggly soft, checked to see as close to 205°, pulled and rested it for 30 minutes then pulled it apart as I plated.

But that's just me. As others have said, different strokes for different folks, not every protien and smoker are the same

 

[smokngun]

What thermometers are you using? Have you checked their accuracy? I have had some that were 25 to 30 degrees off.

 

[tallbm]

I tried my first pulled pork the other week. It was fine overall, but some parts were dry and didn't fall apart so easily. I'm wondering if anyone has ideas on what I should have done differently. This cut was a shoulder without the bone, but with skin. I first cut off the skin, but left most of the fat.
View attachment 704846View attachment 704849View attachment 704848
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I cooked it on a gas grill with some wood chips at about 275 the whole time except for a dip in the middle when the gas tank ran out. Then I wrapped it in tin foil after 6 hours with the internal temperature around 192 degrees. At 8.5 hours I took it off the heat when the temp was 207-210. When probing it with the thermometer it felt tender for the first couple inches, but not so much in the middle.
View attachment 704842View attachment 704850View attachment 704845View attachment 704847View attachment 704843

I'm a bit confused as to whether or not I over cooked it. At various places online it seems like people say 210 is already a high internal temperature, but I'm wondering if I should have ignored the temperature and kept going since it didn't feel tender all the way through. Also wondering if I should have trimmed more fat off the top because there wasn't much area for bark to form. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

And thanks to T Turboconman for letting me know where to find pork butt out here!

Hi there and welcome!

What you describe is UNDERcooked. I would bet money on it.

Pork Butts are a cut that are never done by time or temp, they are only done when tender.
They are tender when you can stab them ALL OVER with something like a wooden kabob skewer and it goes in with like no resistance.

Now, I'm quite positive I can explain what you encountered with your thermometer temps.
It is difficult to nail the perfect spot for a thermometer on a Pork Butt, same goes with a Brisket. If you have 3 thermometers aim for the thickest centermost spot with each of them but from different angles and watch how much they differ. This is why tenderness tests are key.

If you still have some big tough chunks that don't want to shred you can continue to cook them in the oven wrapped in foil and they will tender up. Or just cook it all in that foil pan covered with foil and a little liquid and let it go for a while :D

In short, yeah ignore the internal temp and go until it feels tender all over AND when you find a tough spot, move your temp probe to that spot and I bet you money the temp is WAY lower in that spot then the tender areas :D

 

[Hockeydudde]

A wrapped rest is always a must. That said if pork butt is cooked and is a bit dry most usually it is undercooked. Over cooked pork will most always have a mushy texture. Over cooked brisket will not slice but just fall apart as pull meat. Dry BBQ meat is often thought to be over cooked but most often it’s actually under cooked.

I only watch IT as a guide to when we are getting close, usually around 200* but after that it’s probe only and the temp is just a reference for my information. When it probes tender all over then it’s done regardless of the IT. Don’t be shocked if sometimes that probe tender IT is around 215*, it usually doesn’t need to go that high but it can. Also not every piece of meat will always be perfect. Some animals are just ornery and never get truly tender.

Thanks for the description of over done on PP and brisket. Very sustinctly (no clue how to spell that one, lol) put. I've always wanted this described.

 

[gmc2003]

If you've saved the juices from the shoulder then you can always add some back into the pull meat for a little moisture.

Chris

 

[schlotz]

Shoulders w/out a bone can be done and come out moist. Personally I always go for a bone-in butt. Regardless, my normal process is to bine the butt overnight for approx 15 hrs, then pat dry, apply rub and into the smoker set to 245º. In all these years I've NEVER had a dry butt.

So you want to try smoking your first Pork Butt

There are many ways, and all of them can give great results. One of the reasons is that pork butts are very forgiving. Here is the recipe I usually pass on to those first starting with a smoker. The results are both predictable and repeatable. This recipe has never failed to delight who ever...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[JCAP]

Plenty of great advice here already. Lately, I've been taking them to the stall and then putting them in a dutch oven with some liquid to finish in the kitchen oven. Works like a charm.

Unlike most here, though, I never rest the butt very long. It's never dry and always delicious (except that little pesky oval piece of meat next to the bone sometimes).

 

[mike243]

It's a rare thing for me to wrap a butt or rest it, I prefer to cook pull/shred and then serve, the less time between pulling and serving the better it is as far as moistness goes. got a Halloween party coming up in a few weeks and might do 2-3 butts on the Weber clone, not pressed for work now and can produce better tasting easier on a charcoal smoker, I would bet on under cooked on yours, I prefer over cooked vs under cooked if I had to choose, fall apart render is rarely dryed out unless it went hours past done.

 

[zwiller]

I spent one spring smoking butts for daughters grad party. Ran one about each weekend and did 10 IIRC. Family and I tasted and tweaked each run. Learned TONS. First, a butt simply rubbed and smoked did not cut it for us. Yeah, sorta dry/blah. An injection ended being needed but you can get sorta close adding drippings back, adding finish sauce, apple juice + a little rub, etc. Point being you MUST tweak a bit with liquid/etc. Not really a write up but my current method.
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/butt-halved-success.298552/

 

[abk]

Thanks for the tips everyone, I'm going to try again this weekend!

 

[Coreymacc]

Thirdeye nailed it, if this hasn't been said already. Too lazy to read the whole thread . Pork shoulder has lots of different density and fat content. Some gets super tender, the odd area gets tough.

Corey

 

[chopsaw]

Thanks for the tips everyone, I'm going to try again this weekend!

So are you in Switzerland ? Herbal pork , sounds interesting . I can't see the rest of the label to see what cut it is exactly , but might not be a " butt " like we have here . Website shows different butchering techniques . I'd be all over some of those cuts .
" Piece of chop with rind " is calling me .

Kräuterschwein - Lucarna Macana

Wir sind ein innovativer Fleischhandelsbetrieb im Zürcher Oberland und bieten Ihnen erstklassige Fleischprodukte und einen kundenspezifischen Service.

www.lucarna-macana.ch

Good luck . If you can update with what the label says I would be interested .

 

[normanaj]

" Piece of chop with rind " is calling me .

I was thinking "breast with rind"!

 

[chopsaw]

I was thinking "breast with rind"!

Lol . Oh yeah . I knew you were . Reminded me of the lamb breast you do . It all looks great .