Pulled pork: Texas Crutch or Texas Must?

[JPGators17]

I"m a wrapper. Not in the linguistic, musical sense, but in the juicy pork butt sense. However, last night I decided to do a naked overnight cook on the Traeger, mainly because I didn't want to wake up at 3am to wrap, but also to see what the results would be like on the pellet cooker.

The results were similar to unwrapped cooks I've tried on other smokers: great bark, but too dry. So I ask: is the Texas Crutch merely a crutch, or is it actually essential to churn out great pulled pork? I know that Meathead recommends not wrapping if time permits, but I've yet to have one turn out nearly as good as wrapped. Has anyone found a way to capture the best of both worlds?

[DeusDingo]

i almost never wrap my pulled pork and my stuff almost always comes out juicy and flavorful. i don't consider it essential. it likely depends on the cooking environment and the cut of meat.

of course i also found that keeping the drippings and drizzling them back on the meat after i pulled it increases the moisture of the meat and adds a good amount of flavor. to me THAT part is essential

[CandySueQ]

If pork is pumped (i.e. Smithfield extra tender or Hormel or inject it yourself), it will naturally hold more moisture even if cooked unwrapped. But -- I prefer wrapping pork butts and I tend to do it about 160 or when the color is good on the bark. I don't add extra moisture at this time, the juices that are in the butt will come out and steam the meat to pulling perfection. It's really easy to wrap if you place one butt in a half pan and foil the top. About an hour before turn in, I'll drain the juice and slap some sauce over the top of the butt. Set the sauce in the cooker for about 30 minutes. This firms up the bark.

This photo is from last weekend's contest. Cooked with above method. 3rd place in Langley, Oklahoma.

[Baker Dan]

That is a great presentation box

[Gunsmokers]

In the good-One Open Range smoker we do not wrap or use a water pan. It comes out with fantastic bark and tender, juicy internal. an 8 lbs butt takes about 10 hours @ 235°f average to 203°f internal.

[JPGators17]

Looks like a success from here!

[Spinaker]

Oh, hell yeah!

[LA Pork Butt]

On my BGE I only wrap if I am in a time crunch. I sometimes use a water pan on the theory that more moisture helps collect more smoke on the meat. I don't really see any difference other than soft bark.

However, I do wrap after the cook and put in the Faux Cambro for a couple of hours before serving which softens the bark some. I think there is a big difference in the end result when you go straight from the smoker to the table. When time has forced me into that I have always been disappointed.

[vandy]

I have done a few on my Traeger without wrapping, some of them turn out moist and tender and some get a little dry, I just chalk it up to the difference in the cut of meat. The butts that were moist may have had more fat and connective tissue than the ones that were dry. I have also wrapped several on the Traeger and never had one dry out when I did that but the bark was not as good. In my opinion pellet grills have a dry cooking environment which could also tend to dry the meat out some. I have experimented with adding a water pan when smoking a butt in the pellet smoker and that did seam to add some moisture to help keep the meat from drying out, you may want to try that to find out if that will work. I have done 2 pork butts straight from the freezer without wrapping on the pellet grill and one of them was very moist and tender and the other one turned out a little dry, both were cooked exactly the same way but the one that was dry stalled for about 6 or 7 hours while the one that was moist only stalled for about 2 hours.

[JPGators17]

Perhaps my definition of "juicy" is on the extreme side, but I'll clarify that my naked butts (he..he) don't turn out bone dry, just considerably drier than wrapped. From these responses I already see that I can try a couple of things to pump up the juiciness: 1) inject 2) capture all drippings and add back after the pull. Which leads me to a follow up question: how much does smoking the butt in an aluminum pan impact the smoke results? I always assumed that pan would be a significant barrier between the meat and the smoke.

[Baltassar]

DeusDingo - Do you also use a water pan? I cook on a gas grill, so I was thinking yes to water pan; but I'm not sure there's enough real estate down there for two of them (water plus drip).

[DeusDingo]

Baltassar I do use a water pan, and i also put some water in my drippings pan to keep it from scorching. i have a gas smoker that has 4 racks and a built in water pan so i have room for it.

[Baltassar]

I'm going to try that. It may be a slightly sight fit, but really you don't direct heat on the meat anyway. Thanks.

[Brisket Syndicate]

I've had great success cooking butts unwrapped in my drum. The environment is really moist in there, so it turns out great. Not so much in my offset. Pretty bark, but it's about the same consistency as bark on an oak tree.

[IrondeQuer]

I always foil in an aluminum pan after 3-4 hours on the smoker. Then, off to the oven.

I learned from the Cook's Illustrated BBQ book and they suggested that technique to cut a few hours off the cook time.

I do keep the drippings and add it back in before serving. It turns out quite good.

Given the long weekend coming up though, maybe it's time to mix it up.

[Spinaker]

I don't wrap anymore, unless I am in a huge hurry. I don't think you HAVE to wrap in order to get great pulled pork. The shoulder has a ton of inter-muscular fat. This is part of the reason why shoulders are so forgiving and are perfect for new BBQ cooks.

I love the bark that develops when you take the shoulder the whole way, unwrapped. One thing you do lose by not wrapping, is the au jus in the foil. That is a special treat, but I still prefer to go unwrapped.

[Spinaker]

Gotta love that bark. 6th Borough BBQ

[clkq4]

I typically don't wrap, but pan and foil instead. I like putting the butts in aluminum pans about 5 hours into the cook. I then wrap the tops with foil. Like Spinaker said, you lose the au jus when not wrapping. I have cooked all the way with no foil. I just prefer to have the au jus. I then de-fat it and work it back in, especially if I'm freezing any.

[progenitive]

I have always wrapped, mainly in interest of getting a pork butt done in one day, without even getting up early [yecch!].

JPGators17 ..., I'm wondering, is it possible the butt was just left on too long? Maybe it would have been awesome with a probe-test (how I tell it's done) at 5:00 am or something? What do you all think?

[JPGators17]

I pulled it at 203, but i did not probe before that, so you could have a point.

[mhalbrook]

I tend to do a salt rub, smoke em for an hour or so, chill and vacuum seal them. When I'm ready to have one, Sous Vide at 170 for 12-18 hrs. Then I pull it, dry it off, rub it and on the grill for about 2 hrs or so, until it hits the target.

[Huskee]

I'm in the wrap camp. I've done several unwrapped, usually once or twice a year just to keep up appearances, but I never like them as well. I too find the bark too hard for my preferences and I hate the 16hr time stamp when I can do it in 11 or 12 and save 4 or 5 hours' fuel. When I do go unwrapped it's usually plenty done by 193-195. If you let it ride until 200+ that could further aid in the dry bark IMO.

[progenitive]

I tend to do a salt rub, smoke em for an hour or so, chill and vacuum seal them. When I'm ready to have one, Sous Vide at 170 for 12-18 hrs. Then I pull it, dry it off, rub it and on the grill for about 2 hrs or so, until it hits the target.

mhalbrook I'm a total convert to SV for brisket. See my recent report from last weekend's cook, post #14, on the beef forum.

I haven't tried a pork butt yet. Definitely going to.