Pulled pork problems

[stembot]

I tried smoking a 5-pound bone-in pork butt today for the first time on a Primo XL 400 Oval. In summary, I cooked it for 8 hours between 225-250 and the meat was still not reaching anywhere near the desired temperature (195-200). I never saw a reading higher than 160 on the meat thermometer. I thought maybe the thermometer (https://www.grillgrate.com/maverick-...e-thermometer/) wasn't reading properly, but after taking the meat off the grill and letting it rest for an hour, the meat was mostly not tender and pullable. Some of the meat around the edges was very good. The bone did not easily remove itself.

I very closely followed these steps:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMS-kDS5WxE

I did have a problem with high heat from the get-go, but it never got over 265.

I'm thinking the root cause is one of:

1. Early high heat
2. Cooked too long
3. Somehow not cooked enough

The 8-hour cook time seems more than enough, since it was only a 5-pound roast. So maybe it was cooked too long? Or maybe the early high heat was detrimental.

Apologies if this is the wrong spot for this post - thanks!

[Jerod Broussard]

NO way it was cooked too long if it didn't pull. I've cooked butts the whole cook at 350-375 without any problems. Unless you get a really skinny butt that looks like a beef chuck roast, even a 5 pounder will take 10+ hours due to the thick cylindrical shape. Thickness is the main determining factor for cooking time.

Welcome to The Pit!!!

[DWCowles]

Sounds like to me it was still in the stall stembot and welcome to the Pit.

[LA Pork Butt]

I'll second that.

[Abom]

and third. Just be patient, it will get there.

[Lost in China]

I hear ya buddy. I have mysterious things go wrong with my cooks all the time. I'm doing two pork butts for a party next weekend so it'll be my first pulled pork cook. I hope you can figure out what happened, maybe the knowledge will help me avoid the same fate. Hang in there!

[DWCowles]

What are you planning on cooking yours on Lost in China

[shush]

Start sooner than you think. When the stall hits, take a nap. Then Faux Cambro! I did 3 for a party, I tried to time things out to the minute. I got to the party on time, ! If I had started an hour or two earlier, I would not have been stressed and the pork would still had been just as good!

[Lost in China]

The 22" Weber kettle with the slow'n'sear that I lugged over in my baggage. It's nice to finally have the good equipment that everyone else uses, so if I screw up at least I know it was me.

[Nate]

Welcome to the pit from Indiana.

I agree with Jerod Broussard and DWCowles and would say that the combination of their two answers is probably closest to the best explanation.

1. Pork Butt is extremely forgiving and can handle higher temps over the duration of the cook with little to no detriment to the quality of the end product.

2. The thickness of the cut of meat, as opposed to the weight, has more to do with how long it will take to cook. Here is an exert from the Thermodynamics of BBQ article on the main AR website. I highly recommend reading the whole article.

"The temperature of your food moves slowly upward during cooking, but the thickness of the meat is a major factor in how long it takes to get the center to the desired temperature. A thin steak cooks faster than a thick steak. And a 5" thick prime rib that weighs 8 pounds will be done in the same time as a 5" thick prime rib that weighs 12 pounds. So any recipe that says "cook your steak for three minutes per side" without specifying the thickness of the steak, is seriously flawed. Likewise any recipe that says "cook your roast 30 minutes per pound" is suspect."

3. The dreaded Stall is probably what was going on when you pulled it and the reason it was just hanging out at that temp not moving for a real long time. I recommend checking out the entire article on this as well.

4. You can somewhat power through the stall with higher pit temps and by using The Texas Crutch if timing is becoming an issue.

5. Don't give up. Give yourself a lot more time to complete the cook next time. It is always best to over estimate how long it will take. If it gets done a lot earlier then you can hold the cooked pork butt in a faux cambro until you are ready to shred and serve it.

Best of luck on the next one... It doesn't matter how many of these you do you will still have the occasional headache and the stubborn piece of meat that just wants to take longer. Patience will win in the end.

[scottranda]

Yeah, 5 pounds will take me 10 hours or more. My first pulled pork, I made the same mistake of cooking 8 hours and assuming it was done. It didn't pull, but it sliced. Well, it didn't cook long enough (needs to be 195+, more like 200-203 internal temp in order for it to pull).

Like others have said, you can cook pulled pork anywhere from 225-300 (and even higher), and it will still taste great. But, you need to get you internal temp to ~200.

[Butterman]

What everyone has said. I also watched that video and the two things that just aren't accurate are that the stall is simply 1 or 2 hours and the rule of thumb of a pound an hour. The reality is that it can be much longer for both depending on the cut and conditions.

The articles noted above are the ones to read to understand the why behind this.

I know for me it's great to understand why things happen.

Bottom line, be patient next time and just let it cook.

[Chas Martel]

"Bottom line, be patient next time and just let it cook"

That right there says it all.

[Henrik]

Yes, you need more time. Wait for the meat to tell you when it's done.

[fuzzydaddy]

stembot You've gotten some good advice above. We'd love to get an intro from you over in the Introduce Yourself channel when you get a minute.

[RonB]

What did you do with the the butt? It's not too late. You've had eight hours with smoke, so put it in the oven at a higher temp until the bone does pull out. You might want to crutch it to help retain moisture.

[CaptainMike]

Good Morning stembot, I got up at 4:30 this morning to put a 5lb butt on the smoker and I'm hoping it will be done by suppertime. The cat loved it that I was up and around, but the wife, not so much. Both are now back aslumber. The life of a Smoker can be a lonely one.

[Dale Case]

HAHAHA !! My smoking life closely resembles yours Captain, except it's the wife and lil dog passed out while I'm sneakin about with headlamp on..

[Steve B]

I agree with everyone else. It sounds like you were definitely in the (stall). The last butt I did 8lb my stall didn't happen until about 11hrs into the cook. Be prepared for that dreaded (stall) and plan on more time next go round. Good luck

[kingdarb]

Sounds like you pulled the meat while it was in the stall. I've had them run as long as 14-16 hours before they are ready to pull. If you really need to speed it up, just wait for a good bark to develop then wrap it in foil nice and tight and it will go faster. The bark will be a bit softer but it makes it easier to meet timings.

[smokinfatties]

+1 to this ^ let the bark form and then wrap with a little bit of liquid (I use stubbs pork marinade and brown sugar)

[AZRedneck]

Plenty of good advice above I agree with. It simply was not finished cooking. I cooked 2 pork butts last weekend, each 8 pounds. They were on the Daniel Boone pellet grill for 18 hours. I pulled them with an internal temperature of 196F because they were probe tender, NOT because my thermometer told me to. The stall for those pieces ran from about 160 to 175 and lasted for about 7 hours. Sometimes the "stall" can be more like a "creep" where the meat is still warming, just not nearly as quickly. Although your pork was cooked to a safe temperature, you have to let them get hotter to let the fats break down and turn that chunk of pig into a tender, flaky, yummy thing of greatness.

[stembot]

Awesome feedback, folks.

I will take note of the suggested Thermodynamics article -- I'm pretty sure my 5-pound cut was still very thick. It's kind of silly that everything else I read on the internet suggested that you cook the butt based on its weight! So, it's pretty obvious I didn't let it cook long enough.

Thanks!

[CaptainMike]

Mine's been on for almost 7 hrs now and is sitting at 170. I'm now wondering if it's too early to start drinking wine.

[HorseDoctor]

Good grief no! Never too early to start drinking wine. The "sun is over the yardarm" somewhere. Enjoy!

[Huskee]

Thus separating Meathead's well-written scientific articles vs the rest of the Interwebs!