Pulled Pork - Help!

[realtorterry]

Don't forget to calibrate your therm. too! That's for BOTH the gauge on the smoker & the probe!

Don't give up it will be worth it in the end & you'll be making them regular after that

 

[sqwib]

I agree with everyone else, the internal temp is the key.

Here are some notes from a few butts I done.

My apologies for the long post.
[h3]I like Big Butts[/h3]
Pulled Pork Section

USDA ON PORK



When doing a butt just remember...
 



                                                                                           ...is the way to go







Prepping


One thing I have learned over the years is to be prepared and organized.
So before I went into my first cook on he RF, I made sure I had everything, Wood splits, Propane, Thermometers, Gloves etc...
Same goes with the Ingredients to a recipe, get everything out before you start, you just may realize your missing an important ingredient that the neighbor most likely will not have.

For a long time now I wanted to try a side by side comparison of an injected Butt vs. a non injected Butt. Went to Sams Club and picked up a few decent Boston Butts, total weight was 13.62lbs., bone in. I figured about a 50 percent yield.



Seasoning

The night before, I prepped the Butts, removing as much fat as possible to promote more bark formation.
One Boston Butt was injected with a marinade mix, equal parts of Apple Cider Vinegar, Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum and Apple Cider.
The other was not injected. The marinade was also used as a mop (sprits). Rubbed both Butts, wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerator.

Smoking

I used Cherry wood splits, because that’s all I had at the time. The Butts were spritsed simultaneously about eight times during cook The Butts were done sooner than I was used to.
At approximately 6.8 lbs each, bone in, it only took about 8 hours (72 minutes per/lb.)

I was surprised at how quickly they cooked, I was worried that since this was my first cook with the RF and the fact that I was a newbie at fire management on a stick burner, that I might have ruined the Butts.

The Butt temps were about 195° but I was leery removing them so soon, because it had only been eight hours…I never had a Butt cook this quick, I kept moving the probe all over and kept thinking to myself, "what’s this Butt all fat", then I remembered a quote I had read from a blog or forum, can’t remember which, “To check for doneness insert a probe, it should slide in very easily like butter”, well this was definitely like butter.
So with that in mind and the thermometer reading 195° internal, I figured it was safe to remove them from the smoker.

[color= rgb(102, 51, 0)]Resting[/color]

The Butts came off the RF about a half hour apart, wrapped them tightly in foil and towels then placed them in the cooler to rest for about 90 minutes or so.






Pulling

After the rest I handed my wife two forks and one of the Butts in the pan and smiled. The Butts pulled beautifully and yes the bone was clean The Bark formation and smoke ring was perfect and the bark was not burnt.







Tasting

I was a bit skeptical so I had 6 family members pick at each one, getting input from each person. Everyone liked the pork 5 out of 6 preferred the non injected Butt and out of the 6 one like the bark on the injected one better, as far as the bark I think that was a fluke I can’t see how injecting could change the flavor of the bark.
The 5 out of the 6 said although they preferred the non injected Butt better, couldn’t really explain why.





I did not try any of the pork until everyone was done, I didn’t want to my tasting to interfere with the test.

The Bark formation and smoke ring was perfect, just a hint of smoke and the bark was not burnt but was nice and chewy, not hard and crusty.

The next day my wife tried both and said this one seems mushy…BINGO, that’s what I was looking for, it seems the injected one was a bit mushier probably due to the vinegar breaking down the meat, however, both were just as flavorful as each other and I believe the reason everyone preferred the non injected Butt was due to the texture not the flavor.

Ok, so now its day 3 of eating pulled pork and it’s still moist.



Conclusion

My conclusion is that if I were to inject again, which I doubt, it would only be with apple cider/Juice.

I can honestly say, without any doubt in my mind, that this was my best Pulled pork to date, I don’t know if that is because of the RF or maybe the temperatures were slightly higher, maybe a better choice of meat, but make no mistake… there will be much more testing.

[color= rgb(0, 0, 0)]I believe that there is a fair amount of convection going on, because of "Franks" diameter being 20 inches... just as long as its not too much.[/color]

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[color= rgb(102, 0, 0)]Pork Butts 10/24/10[/color]

Nothing special here,

• Trimmed fat and false cap for more bark, rubbed buts 36 hours before the cook with my Rub, no mustard.

• Spritzed with equal parts Captain, Apple Cider Vinegar and apple cider after internal temp was above 140°.

• Smoked at 240° - 250°for about 8 hours with cherry wood, until an internal temp of 205° took about 1 hour 20 minutes per /LB.

• Foiled toweled and placed into cooler for half an hour, would have kept it in longer but wanted one for dinner.

One was done about 10 minutes sooner than the other.  The other one rested about 2 hours, both were fine

 

[tommerr]

I am thinking about breaking in my MES this weekend and doing my first smoke, a pulled pork. I see that some people set the meat on a rack and some people use a pan. May I have some pro's and con's?

 

[roller]

The first one that I did took 16 hrs. that sucker took a stall and I thought it was never coming out of it...I smoke mine as AK1 described...perfect...You will always remember your first one its kinda like one of your other first .

 

[sqwib]

I am thinking about breaking in my MES this weekend and doing my first smoke, a pulled pork. I see that some people set the meat on a rack and some people use a pan. May I have some pro's and con's?

Sorry I didn't catch this sooner,

I usually place a pan underneath the rack directly on the reverse flow plate for my Offset.

I have also placed them directly in a pan , for example when I did my Italian style pulled pork, but would suggest a rack to keep it out of the liquid.

 

[dalton]

I would have to agree with the other posts.  not a high enough IT.  I have only done pulled pork about 6 times but followed the cook to 165 IT then douple wrap in foil with some of whatever you are moping or spaying it with and cook to 205 IT.  wrap in a towel for at least 45 min (longer is better) and pull it!!  they have all turned out great. 

I am actually in the middle of doing two this afternoon.  i like to experiment a little with what I spray them with.  I have tried variations of many different things.  it sort of depends what I have handy around the kithchen.  things like apple juce, grape soda, olive oil, varoius rum flavors, coke or pepsi, I even used some snow cone syrup once to give it a sweet flavor.  I try different rubs as well.  some poeple like mustard although I am not a fan. 

my point is that these things are good to experiment with but the internal temp is really not!!   an internal temp prob is really a must!!  you don't have to spend lots on one of the remote ones, (although I love mine) you can use one if the cheep ones from fredmeyers or safeway.  a few months ago i had two butts that I did at the same time that were almost the same weight and they got to the right internal temp almost 2 hours apart.  same smoker, same temps, same rub same everthing but 2 hours different.  I really can't stress enough that a internal therm is a must if you want a good result. 

keep trying and you will get it right.  the result will be worth the effort.  since I live in anchorage alaska there is no where here to buy pulled pork that is really any good.  I had had it a few times when I was on vacation but never when I was at home.  now it is one of my families favorites and a real hit at any BBQ or party!!