why so many internal temps. for boston butt?

[smokersouth]

I have a boston butt in my smoker right now. I have my own internal temp. preference for it being done which i won't reveal now but i will later.

What i want to know is at what internal temp. do YOU pull your smoked boston butt?

I see guys saying they take it out from anywhere from 180 - 225. That"s a pretty wide spread, too wide if you ask me.

So at what temp. do you take your butt out of your smoker and why tat particular temp.?

 

[smokingearl]

pork is done at 165. I pull it at 195 if I'm gonna Be letting it rest in towels in a cooler longer than an hour, otherwise I take it out of the smoker at 203 and let it rest for 30 minutes to an hour. I find butts pull better at 203.

 

[chef jimmyj]

I take it out when the Therm Probe penetrates with no effort. This has been anywhere from 195 to 210°F, depending on size and other factors. I find 205 is the most common temp I reach my goal at. I also only rest 30 minutes because when probe tender , it's ready to eat and no need to rest longer in a cooler for tenderness...JJ

 

[tropics]

 
I have a boston butt in my smoker right now. I have my own internal temp. preference for it being done which i won't reveal now but i will later.

What i want to know is at what internal temp. do YOU pull your smoked boston butt?

I see guys saying they take it out from anywhere from 180 - 225. That"s a pretty wide spread, too wide if you ask me.

So at what temp. do you take your butt out of your smoker and why tat particular temp.?

The lower temps could be for slicing,higher temps are for pulling.So depends on what you are doing

Richie

 

[smokersouth]

 
The lower temps could be for slicing,higher temps are for pulling.So depends on what you are doing

Richie

This is for pulling. It had a nice long stall at 166 but it's moving again. 176 right now. 

And i do a combination of checks to see if it's ready . At 190  start to check it with an ice pick every 5 deg. or so.

When the pick slides in with little or no resitance, it's done.

 

[tropics]

 
This is for pulling. It had a nice long stall at 166 but it's moving again. 176 right now. 

And i do a combination of checks to see if it's ready . At 190  start to check it with an ice pick every 5 deg. or so.

When the pick slides in with little or no resitance, it's done.

I prefer a tooth pick to test with for pulled then I pull it out 200 to 205 

Richie

 

[smokersouth]

 
I prefer a tooth pick to test with for pulled then I pull it out 200 to 205 

Richie

Is a toothpick long enough or strong enough to test with?

It seems to me that a toothpick wouldn't penetrate a butt nearly deep enough to test for overall tenderness.

And, penetration aside, toothpicks aren't very strong. They break pretty easily. Have you ever broken a toothpick in a butt or shoulder?  It would suck to be eating a pulled pork sandwich and have a piece of a toothpick go through the roof of your mouth.

The rest of you guys can do what you want, but I'd steer clear of shoving  toothpicks in a butt to test for doneness.

 

[tropics]

 
Is a toothpick long enough or strong enough to test with?

It seems to me that a toothpick wouldn't penetrate a butt nearly enough to test for "deep" tenderness.

And, penetration aside, toothpicks aren't very strong. They break pretty easily. Have you ever broken a toothpick in a butt or shoulder?  It would suck to be eating a pulled pork sandwich and have a piece of a toothpick go through the roof of your mouth.

The rest of you guys can do what you want, but I'd steer clear of shoving  toothpicks in a butt to test for doneness.

I have never broken a toothpick,and if I did I would have enough sense to pick the piece out. You do not have to use my way.

Richie

 

[smokersouth]

:biggrin:

 

[hamrhead1971]

First off, smokersouth and Thomas phillips you fellows need to learn to keep a civil tongue in your head on here. We try to keep a respectful forum here and not go off on childish tirades just because we don't like what someone says. Take that crap to facebook, we don't want it here. If you can't keep it civil, hopefully a mod or admin will see this and boot you.
Now as far as toothpicks, if you think using toothpicks is dangerous and don't want to use them then that is your choice. Thousands of smokers use them regularly to check meat. I use them to check tenderness and also use 10-20 to hold a bacon weave around fatties and pork loins. I have never left a splinter in a piece of meat.
Now yall "gentlemen" have a nice day.

 

[bmaddox]

First off, smokersouth and Thomas phillips you fellows need to learn to keep a civil tongue in your head on here. We try to keep a respectful forum here and not go off on childish tirades just because we don't like what someone says. Take that crap to facebook, we don't want it here. If you can't keep it civil, hopefully a mod or admin will see this and boot you.

Now yall "gentlemen" have a nice day.

 

[bmaddox]

When do you find the time to smoke anything, or more to the point, have you ever smoked anything?

Come one now! Seriously! If that is how you are going to treat members that have helped countless people then your not going to get much cooperation on this site. 

Please take a minute to learn the system around here. If you paid attention you would see that @tropics  posts numerous threads of the food he smokes and he has 551 points given to him by other members for his positive contributions to the site.  

 

[smokersouth]

First off, smokersouth and Thomas phillips you fellows need to learn to keep a civil tongue in your head on here. We try to keep a respectful forum here and not go off on childish tirades just because we don't like what someone says. Take that crap to facebook, we don't want it here. If you can't keep it civil, hopefully a mod or admin will see this and boot you.
Now as far as toothpicks, if you think using toothpicks is dangerous and don't want to use them then that is your choice. Thousands of smokers use them regularly to check meat. I use them to check tenderness and also use 10-20 to hold a bacon weave around fatties and pork loins. I have never left a splinter in a piece of meat.
Now yall "gentlemen" have a nice day.

hamrhead,

Toothpicks aside, I was entirely civil until Mr. Phillips told me to "STFU," called me a dumbass and more. I somewhat regret responding to his insults in kind, but not entirely.

As far as I'm concerned, he reaped what he sewed.

 

[smokersouth]

 
Come one now! Seriously! If that is how you are going to treat members that have helped countless people then your not going to get much cooperation on this site. 

Please take a minute to learn the system around here. If you paid attention you would see that @tropics  posts numerous threads of the food he smokes and he has 551 points given to him by other members for his positive contributions to the site.  

You're right. I should not have been so snide with tropics. I guess, after Thomas Philips uncalled for tirade, I was feeling a little defensive.

My apologies to tropics.

But Thomas Phillips can go screw himself ... with a toothpick.

 

[hamrhead1971]

Thank you for the apology, smoker. I am sure it will be accepted.......as soon as we quit laughing. :laugh1:

 

[tropics]

 
You're right. I should not have been so snide with tropics. I guess, after Thomas Philips uncalled for tirade, I was feeling a little defensive.

My apologies to tropics.

But Thomas Phillips can go screw himself ... with a toothpick.

smokersouth no problem I took in to consideration,after reading the other post,that may have caused a raise in blood pressure.Also 5 A.M is not always a persons best.Now as for cooking today I have already made a nice pot of Turkey Gravy for pot pies and a Turkey Soup.

Maybe see ya online tomorrow morning hope the rest of your day is much better.

Richie

 

[joe black]

Personally, I like the 185* range for slicing. As for pulling, I take a butt to 195-205* depending on how it feels to the touch. If you're going to probe, keep a record for 10-12 cooks of your probe feel and the IT of where your probe feels good. You may be surprised at the difference.

By the way, this site is full of really great folks who will help you whenever they can. I have been here almost a year and have received some wonderful assistance and made some great friends. I have pizzed some folks off (mostly about electric cookers---sorry folks) but we all still remain civil. Ritchie will always give you a sincere answer and some awesome advice. I hope you learned something about butt finished temps and also about etiquette.

 

[dave mathews]

Dumb question, but why does meat stall and how do I get past it if it does?

 

[lemans]

This is how I do it: smoke 250 till IT Is 160 wrap in foil until it hits 200 .,pull off the grill wrap in towels and put in cooler for two hours. Then pour off the juice and pull the meat. Put juice in fridge till fat rises to the top. Take it off and put the au jus in microwave 1 min mix with pulled pork and enjoy
[emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[joe black]

I really don't know why a stall happens, I just know it does. I'm not a scientific guy or any kind of trained chef, but I do have an opinion. I think when a butt reaches about 160-165*, the heat is absorbed by the breaking down of the connective tissue and collagens. When that process is completed, the heat returns to the meat. I think that's what I've read. I don't have any way of being knowledgable other than that. If someone can give a better explanation, I'm ready to read some more.

I hope this gives you some help, Dave. Good smokin', Joe