Why Did This Happen?

[robertwhite]

Pretty new to smoking and I've done a bunch of baby back ribs and had great success, so I set about smoking a 4lb pork butt the other day to try pulled pork and after 6 hrs of smoking at 225*, I wound up with a pork butt that had to be sliced. Flavor was outstanding, meat sliced perfectly, great smoke ring, etc., but I obviously did something wrong. What gives?

This was on a CG w/sfb if that matters. Misted with water several times and the last 2 hrs the butt was placed on foil and coated a few times with butter.

 

[kcphilaflyer]

im guessing you didn't smoke it for long enough.  what was the internal temp when you pulled it?  needs to be around 200 to pull nicely.

 

[robertwhite]

Sorry, forgot to state the IT. For whatever reason, I couldn't get it past 155-160
 

 

[whtplainssmoker]

6 hours for a 4lb butt, probably wasnt cooked long enough.  What temp was the meat when you took it off the smoker?  Generally for pulled pork it has to get up to 205* to be fall off the bone.  Most (not all) foil the meat at 165* and then keep cooking until it gets to 205*.  My guess is it needed more time.   Do a search for pulled pork or check out the e-course which details the process in greater detail.

Lots of pork butts and shoulders "stall" at 155-160 for a long time. If you check out my post on the prime rib and small pork butt   I did a few weeks ago, you will the see the chart i did keeping track of the meat temps.  The pork butt stalled at around 150*-160* for almost 2 hours before I put it in the oven to finish at a higher temp for an hour and a half. If I left it in the pit, it would have probably taken another 3+ hours. 

 

[fpnmf]

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/57139/basic-pulled-pork-smoke

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/wiki/finishing-sauce-for-pulled-pork-by-soflaquer

 

[scarbelly]

I think you hit the dreaded stall. Pork butts are notorious for going into a stall for a long time and it sounds like that is what happened to you. A 4# butt I would have figured on 8 hours and I bet you would have been close. To be pulled you need to hit 200-205 then wrap in foil and in towels and let it sit for an hour to redistribute the juices. 

 

[boykjo]

 

 

[smokinhusker]

Sounds like you hit the "stall". I give myself lots of time so should I hit the stall, I can ride it out.

 

[jarjarchef]

Sounds like what others have already said "stall time"

The timing of when you foil if you foil can effect how you push through it. I have heard at 140-150 is a prime time. Others say 165...... Me I cook at a bit higher temp and don't see the stall as much if at all.....

 

[whtplainssmoker]

Me I cook at a bit higher temp and don't see the stall as much if at all.....

What temp do you like to cook it at?

 

[biteme7951]

Misted with water several times and the last 2 hrs the butt was placed on foil and coated a few times with butter.

Gotta keep the door shut to maintain good heat in the smoker!  We are all guilty of it..  I also figure 2hrs per lb  which seems to get thru most stalls.  Plan way ahead as you can always wrap and put in a cooler for several hours prior to serving. Butts, next to chicken have got to be one of the most forgiving pieces of meat but they just take a long time to get done.

Barry.

 

[jrod62]

Me I cook at a bit higher temp and don't see the stall as much if at all.....

What temp do you like to cook it at?

I smoke my butts around 300 . I have gone as far as 375 before. Most of the butts I do are around 10 lbs.

 

[jarjarchef]

What temp do you like to cook it at?

Here are a couple of my cooks....

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/128542/shoulders-and-brisket

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/125208/3-shoulder-picnic-ham-smoke-w-q-view

I know that there are a couple different schools of thoughts when it comes to hot smoking meats. One is 225 low and slow for hours till it hits 165 then wrap and several hours more in the foil till the magic number of 205 IT. Then there is the though of hot and fast at 300+ for a few hours then wrapped and finished.

I tend to look for the best of both worlds. I want to keep the meat in the smoke for as long as possible to get a better flavor and color. I also like my sleep. So I will preheat to 300 and then after the temp balances I try to maintain the temp around 250-275. I do not get too stressed over the cook temp, but I do monitor the color of the bark vs. IT....... If I am getting too much color and not very much IT increase, then I either lower the cook temp or I move the meats around. If I am getting no color but a jump in IT, I watch it and will turn up the heat if needed at the end for a bit more color. So a lot of by feel for what I do. I have been documenting all of my big cooks lately for a couple reasons, to share with the forum and so i have a bit of written documentation of how things go. I am in my experimentation/learning phase of my journey. When I try something new I will only change 1 or 2 things at the most. I really like the couple rubs and finishing sauces I have, so i feel I am good with that. So what I have been working on is my fire/temp control techniques. I am building (very slowly) a RF trailer rig and want to have a better understanding of how things will react with little changes before I move to a much bigger smoker then my Char Griller Outlaw.

I know this is kind of vague, but I don't really understand yet why. But I find my cooks to go better at those temp and I just adjust as needed. I am still learning and sharing my journey as I go...

I hope this helps. If I have left anything out please ask me. I will be more than happy to answer what I can..

 

[frosty]

 I agree about the stall, my opork butts have stalled at about the 6 hour mark.  KEEP TRYING!!!

 

[robertwhite]

Thank you all for the help. Looks like I definitely got a stall. I was going to finish in the oven, but it was 6pm already, so I just sliced it up.

As I said, the taste was outstanding. Matter of fact, I had some leftover pork yesterday on a Hawaii roll with some provolone, tomatoe & spicy mustard. Mmmmmmmmmm, man was it good.

 

[vegassmokeout]

Stall big time.  Mine stall around 6 hours and learned the same way.  So what i do is plan on 10 to 11 hrs.  You push thru the stall and when you hit 205ish foil it and throw it in a cooler and it will same warm till dinner.  That way your early and not stressing on time. 

 

[pit 4 brains]

What are you using to monitor the cooking chamber temp? If you are using the thermometer in the lid, your temp may be way off. Most everyone uses some sort of probe thermometer stuck through a piece of wood or a potato at grate level. Most thermos that come on smokers do not read the correct temperature. You can remove yours and carefully put the end in some boiling water to see if it reads 212 degrees. Even if it does, it sits at the top of the smoker and towards the front, not very indicative of the air flowing next to the food.

 

[sound1]

The dreaded stall can be a positive thing if you pace yourself