To pan, or not to pan. (The Butt)

[oshawapilot]

I've been following Meowey's cooking method (smoke on grill to 160, place in foil pan and cover until 205) for my butts for a year or so now with generally good results, but I have noticed that panning and foiling the butt at 160 results in very little bark, but does result in perfectly tender meat.

I currently have a butt on the smoker (currently at about hour 5, haven't hit the stall yet) and I'm debating about options for this cook.   I have seen some methods where people don't pan it but just finish completely as-is (sitting on the grates) and the bark looks phenomenal, but knowing how much liquid comes out of the butt between 160 and 205 (when I pan it as usual) I'm a little concerned about the meat getting dry as a result.  

I have heard that the outer layer does get dryer around the bark but the inner bulk of the butt still remains moist.

Thoughts/suggestions/advice?

I'm using a pellet pooper if it makes any difference.

Thanks

 

[b-one]

How about panning it and not covering it. I don't normally wrap and still get tasty pp. another idea is put a rack in your pan to keep the meat out of any juices to keep even more tasty bark. I prefer bark the wife doesn't.

 

[SmokinAl]

I say let it sit on the grate until done.

No pan, no wrap!

It will still be super juicy with some good bark to mix in the PP.

Al

 

[bellaru]

I like it all the ways at different times.
The best thing to do is play around and see what you like best. Worst case you eat a lot of pulled pork, oh no...
I've noticed this,
Unwrapped on grate= usually a great bark
Pan later in the smoke = you'll get juice and a wet bottom some bark up top
Pan later and cover in foil = wet light bark juice in the pan
Foil covered later in smoke= juicier outside, light to no bark
One good thing about panning or catching drippings is if you separate the fat out you have a great sauce to use.
Once chopped with a heavy bark it mixes in nice too.
Can't go wrong it's just different and preference.
Good luck and enjoy

 

[oshawapilot]

Thanks all - I ended up panning once it hit 160 but didn't cover it initially as I sometimes do...this seemed to help a lot with the bark formation (on the top at least).   I did eventually foil it later (as the stall was taking forever  on this particular butt it seemed) and it maintained the bark Ok although it softened it a bit.

Indeed, I shall experiment more.  ;)

 

[SmokinAl]

Glad it turned out well for you!

Al

 

[johnmeyer]

I've only done a few pulled pork smokes, but I found that putting the pan under the pork with the meat on the rack lets me save all the juices. I keep the meat on the rack for as long as I can, but if I get within three hours of meal time, and the meat is still stuck in "the stall," then I put the meat down into the pan and cover it. My preference would be to finish the meat without covering. So, for me, putting the meat into the pan is simply an expedient to get the meal on the table. I've read hundreds of posts about this, and it seems that this is how most people handle this.

 

[noboundaries]

Fun read. 

When I'm making pulled pork for a lot of people, I don't want folks fighting over the bark or picking it out of the pan.  Consequently I pan wrap the butt(s) at the stall.  Doing so maximizes the captured juices you can use either on the pulled pork or for making gravies.

When I'm making pulled pork for family, there are always leftovers, and I know folks like the bark.  When not wrapped, after a night in the fridge, the bark gets softer anyway.  What I do is leave it unwrapped on the smoker until the IT hits 175-180, then I pan wrap it.  I capture a lot of the juices, still get a firm bark, and the next day the bark still tastes like the stuff that was never wrapped.