Pulled Pork... Best time to foil? and more importantly WHY??

[eman]

Many have reported that the rate absorbing of smoke greatly goes down at 140-145...I'm just not good with wrapping, whenever I start wrapping, juices go everwhere and get on the exterior of the foil.

 

I wrap at 140-145.  Crockpot takes too long when you could just use the microwave, Just sayin.  Once you use foil, you're no longer smoking.  If you think you're still BBQing, then an oven/crock pot should still be considered BBQing :)

Please show me the post from reputiple sources that say that meat quits takeing on smoke at 140???

 

[bacardi]

Please show me the post from reputiple sources that say that meat quits takeing on smoke at 140???

I have never used the word quits; I said decreases.  I backup my statement with actual real world experience.  I smoked ribs, one rack 3-2-1 and one 6-0-0 at the same time keeping the wood chips going for the whole six hours.  The 3-2-1 had identical smokiness compared to the 6-0-0.  If you google what you said you can find many examples of this a few to take your side of the debate, however, I'll assume you won't deem them as reputable or "reputiple" so I challenge you to produce a source to prove me wrong.  :)

 

[cowgirl]

Here's a beef rib comparison I did while camping one time..

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/fo...ribs-beans-and-jalapeno-cornbread-on-the-fire  

Just thought I"d throw that out there.

 

[shooterrick]

Ok I foil.  I smoke unfoiled to internal of between 150-165 depending on the wood I am using and how much smoke I want.  I then foil the but and take to 200-210.  For some time I have been putting the butt in a foil pan and then covering tight with foil.  At that point I set the pan on a cookie sheet in the smoker to make it a bit easier to handle and avoid tears or sticking on the grate.  At top temp I go to a cooker or insulated box such as a microwave or warmed oven to rest for 45-60 minutes.  During the rest the temp will still rise 10-15 degrees and the moisture will redistribute though the meat to equilibrium throughout the cut.  About the bark:  yes a crustier bark can be had by not foiling.  For me I do not use a prepared finishing sauce but take the natural flavored juice from the pan when pulled and laddel it over the pulled pork and mix in.  If you have a good rub that is all I need for a finishing sauce.  I also inject my butts with applejuice as a carrier mixed with my rub. 

 

[dick foster]

Here here.

 

[erik]

I foil after it hits temp and I'm pulling it off the smoker. I like to keep it foiled and in a cooler for an hour to rest. During the smoke I don't foil pulled pork.

 

[jake628]

WOW .... what an interesting discussion.  I like all the suggestions and makes me want to try doing a shoulder.  But will need some guidance from the group.  

One thing I have noticed when reviewing the posts and other sites is most are cooking with a good size piece of meat like 7 to 10 pounds.  Now I have a 3-1/2 lb shoulder and need to know what kind of adjustments I need to make.  I like the foil method but need a little help from you experts on this subject.

#1-- Yes I will do a rub.  In fact I was given some rub from Famous Dave's to use.

#2 -- Should I inject or marinade?  

        If yes on inject what should I use?

        If yes on the marinade again what do I use and for how long?

#3 --  What is the best cooking temp?

#4 -- What is the estimated time to reach the 160 temp and final product?

#5 -- What type of wood works best with pork?

#6 -- Should I spritz while cooking and how often?  Any particular liquid best?

Thank you in advance for putting up with my questions.  I am really looking forward to doing my first pulled pork and want it to be good.

 

[Bearcarver]

WOW .... what an interesting discussion.  I like all the suggestions and makes me want to try doing a shoulder.  But will need some guidance from the group.  

One thing I have noticed when reviewing the posts and other sites is most are cooking with a good size piece of meat like 7 to 10 pounds.  Now I have a 3-1/2 lb shoulder and need to know what kind of adjustments I need to make.  I like the foil method but need a little help from you experts on this subject.

#1-- Yes I will do a rub.  In fact I was given some rub from Famous Dave's to use.

#2 -- Should I inject or marinade?  

        If yes on inject what should I use?

        If yes on the marinade again what do I use and for how long?

#3 --  What is the best cooking temp?

#4 -- What is the estimated time to reach the 160 temp and final product?

#5 -- What type of wood works best with pork?

#6 -- Should I spritz while cooking and how often?  Any particular liquid best?

Thank you in advance for putting up with my questions.  I am really looking forward to doing my first pulled pork and want it to be good.

Hi Jake,

This would do better if you were to start your own thread on the "Pork" section, but I'll answer some.

These are MY opinions:

#1 -- Good

#2 -- I do not inject ( If you inject, you have to worry about the 4 hour danger zone rule).

#3 -- Between 225˚ and 240˚.

#4 -- I think they say they say 1 1/2 hours per pound, but every piece of meat is different.

#5 -- A bunch of them are good--Apple, Cherry, Hickory, Peach, etc. For Pulled Pork, my favorite is Apple.

#6 -- That's up to you too. If you do, don't spritz before the first 2 hours. When I spritz Pork, I use a mix of 2 oz of any decent BBQ sauce & 4 oz of Apple juice. When I spritz Beef, I do the same thing & same amounts, but I substitute Worcestershire for the BBQ sauce. Put a little of that mix in when you foil it too.

Bear

 

[jstanford]

Wow! I never had a post past two or three responses, Great info on this!! Thanks everyone, BTW..... Q-View photos of my best Pulled Pork to date, Had much success with the propane smoker this weekend, ran out of propane just as she hit 196degrees..... That was a close one

 

[rdknb]

Wow! I never had a post past two or three responses, Great info on this!! Thanks everyone, BTW..... Q-View photos of my best Pulled Pork to date, Had much success with the propane smoker this weekend, ran out of propane just as she hit 196degrees..... That was a close one

that is why I invested in another spare tank lol

 

[jstanford]

PICKING ONE UP THIS WEEKEND.....HAPPENED AROUND MIDNIGHT..... Yuk, I would only cart my fat a$$ out of bed for 2 things.... A house fire or a 200 degree golden brown melt in your mouth and hands bark covered sauce dripping 8 lb pork shoulder! Wahoooooo

 

[bacardi]

Here's a post that shows there's little value to spritzing:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/fo...basting-mopping-and-spritzing-just-cut-it-out

It will soften bark and increase cooking time by you opening the door.  Best advice if you want to spritz, is to do it AFTER the butt is done and off smoker. 

 

[Bearcarver]

I didn't spritz the Chuckie I just did. Instead, I just took what I would have spritzed it with, and added it to the foiled package I put back into my smoker at 165˚.

This worked really great, and will probably be my method going forward.

Here is the one I mean:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/99125/chuckie-step-by-step-with-qview

Bear

 

[dick foster]

#1 It's OK to start using someone else's rub at first but eventually you'll want to make your own rub to be called a real smoker. It's just like baking a cake with a boxed mix or making it from scratch.

#2 No and No. Just rub it and put it in the smoker and leave it there until it's time to take it out.

#3 Anywhere from 225 to 250. I cook at 225. The main theme here is low and slow, that's where the flavor and tenderness comes from.

#4  IMHO The final temp for a shoulder should be no less than 190, even 170 is pretty low. Some go as high as 200 or even a tad more. I say anywhere from 190 to 200 and you're golden.

Plan on a minimum of 1.5 hrs per pound but plan on longer or shorter by a large margin. The idea is to allow yourself plenty of time if you have a specific time to eat and have a cooler standing buy if the piece of meat decides it's done sooner. It's all in the piece of meat and how long it takes to get to the target temp. Something that you just can't predict and never will be able to reliability. Not if you're cooking it correctly anyway.

#5 Hickory. You can use a mix of say Oak or Apple with Hickory but from where I come from (the south were BBQ was invented, specially pulled pork) pork needs at least some hickory smoke to be done right.

#6 NO! Put the meat in the smoker and leave it alone to cook. Keep the lid closed, damn it. If you're looking you ain't cookin. The less you mess with it, the better it will be. Learn to have some patience and keep yer mitts off till it's time to pull it and eat it. If you want something to do, you can always use the time it's smoking to mix up the slaw and a finishing sauce or even better whip up a batch of hush puppies. If you're doing it right it should take almost all day or all night so you have pleaty of time to do the other stuff. If you can't do that then just sit on your hands unless you're adding fuel or wood. Mow the lawn, rake some leaves, watch a game, chase the old lady some or chase the neighbors old lady, change the oil in your car etc. but leave the meat alone to cook.      

 

[jake628]

Wow! I never had a post past two or three responses, Great info on this!! Thanks everyone, BTW..... Q-View photos of my best Pulled Pork to date, Had much success with the propane smoker this weekend, ran out of propane just as she hit 196degrees..... That was a close one

I have been a fan of gas grills since the late 70's.  But when I ran out of propane, twice while cooking, I switched over to natural gas.  I know it cuts down on being portable but I have never run out again.  And when I decided to get a smoker I only considered electric.  No more propane for me.  I know to each their own.

 

[erik]

@jake628

#1-- Cool. Like others said, you'll eventually want to make your own. The fresher the spices/herbs the better.

#2 -- If you're new to it? Nah. For pork shoulder or any other big cut, I don't marinade. Just hit it with dry rub. For smaller meats, to me it's a toss up. In general (and this isn't any hard and fast rule, just my experience) you either marinade or rub. Early on I made the mistake of trying to do too much with the meats. Don't confuse yourself or complicate the cook. The good flavor is already in the meat if you cook it right. Keep it simple.

#3 --  For pork shoulder and other big cuts, I like 240-250. For things like ribs and chicken, I'll stick to 220-225 slavishly.

#4 -- For pulled pork I take it to 195-200 internal. If you want to slice it, I'd take it to 180. You are safe to eat it at 160, but taking it higher will make it tender.

#5 -- Wood: Since I'm from Michigan, I typically incorporate Apple or Cherry wood. Right now I have 3 pork shoulders on the smoker and I'm doing a mix of Hickory and Apple.

#6 -- I would spritz, but make sure you let the meat cook for 5-6 hours before you think about spritzing. I typically spritz whenever I'm cracking the lid, which isn't much. When I'm checking temps or if I'm flipping the meat. But I don't lift the lid solely to spritz. Not a big deal if you skip the spritzing, I just find it adds a touch of flavor. I typically use either apple or orange juice mixed with a bit of apple cider vinegar.

 

[sqwib]

I like bark, I smoke to 200 degrees then foil, towel and place in cooler for at least 2 hours.

The rest in the cooler is one of the most important steps into a good PP I have noticed differences in the meat form a 1 hour rest to a 2+ hour rest, another important step is you need to let it rest outside the cooler.

Once I remove it from the cooler, I will open up the towels and tent the foil, the more steam I get the less open I leave the foil.

So to me, the foiling at 165 or not to foil is not as important as the rest time... for a moist tender easy pull pork anyhow.

Just my 2 cents

 

[jake628]

Many thanks to all who have replied to my post.  I guess the only question that has me confused is from the title of the post ... should I use foil or not?  It sounds like it helps tenderize and keep the meat moist overall.  Please keep in mind my shoulder is only 3-1/2 lbs so not sure if I should use it.  

To SQWIB .... I like your post but would your times hold for my size shoulder?  I don't have a cooler per sa but do have a insulated soft sided bag available.

 

[bbsurfsib22]

As I'm reading all the replies , have two 8lb bone-in butts ready to hit 160, think I'll try one foiled & the other not, well see how they turn out; I'll just keep temp between 220-250; the unfoiled butt, should I just keep spraying it or baste it???, anyhow, well see what happens!

 

[noboundaries]

All right, a resurrected thread! 

BBsurfslB22, the bark on the 160F wrap will be soft.  The bark on the no wrap will be crunchy and oh so satisfying.  Personally I like wrapping at 180F but I smoke hot n fast at 300F.  The bark softens so little it is hard to tell the difference compared to the no wrap.  Plus I still capture some of the gelatin, which is pure flavored protein.  You don't capture as much as you do when you wrap at 160F but you still get a nice amount to add back to the meat.  Just something to think about the next time you do two butts.