Been struggling the last few cooks with my pork butts. It seems like the Non- "money Muscle" side cooks faster and gets hotter than the muscle. if I cook the muscle side to 203, the non muscle side seems like it overcooks and gets dried out. How do I handle this dilemna
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Welcome to The Pit Jstuartk
The bone side is leaner and a bit tougher in my experience. I can cut my money muscle off before I can pull the rest.
You can always cut in half, leaving the bone on one side and go from there. -
I guess I've not appreciated that particular dilema. What are you cooking on and where does the heat come from in your cooker? You looking for pulled pork overall or competition slices?Comment
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Welcome to The Pit. I believe the money muscle is more tender, so I'd cook until the rest of the butt is probe tender, (usually, but not always around 203*). The MM should be fine.Comment
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Welcome from Indiana!
203 is just a guide. Probe tender is the truer test. Also if you faux cambro and hold for a while it may come around... or instead of pulling the MM slice it into chunks almost burnt end like.Comment
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Thanks all!! Some great feedback. I have a rec tec pellet smoker, and the pellet chamber is located under a heat diffuser in the middle of the grill.
I do find that the non muscle side gets probe tender and to the proper temp, while at the same time the muscle will get to about 188 or so and not feel that tender. i have been reluctant to pull them off at that point thinking the muscle will get more tender, but what seems to be happening is it just dries out the tender side as I leave it on the smoker. Perhaps as you say I should just take it off the smoker at that point, and faux cambro for an hour or two.
Just didn't know if this is common, a product of the meat (grocery standard), or something I am not understanding about when it is done.
Thanks again.Comment
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Cook it until it probes like butter (that's usually just above 200).Comment
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This is just me, but I ignore the different muscles and cook the thing until the bone twists free. Then I mix it all up together, so the light and dark meat and bark are all mixed up. Deciding this and that is too complicated, for me, for something that is going to be gone in a couple hours.Comment
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I would never worry about the "money muscle" unless you are doing competition of course, and putting slices of the money muscle in a presentation box. I am with Mosca on this, and cook until the overall butt is probe tender, somewhere between 195F and 203F usually, and I take out my claws and shred the entire thing and mix it all up.
Another thought is to consider wrapping so it doesn't dry out. I usually don't do that myself, but did wrap around 190F on a butt this past weekend for a variety of reasons, and finished it in the oven. The bark didn't suffer from the wrap or an extended cambro.Comment
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I will also suggest a resting period of @ least 2 hrs in a faux cambro once it is probe tender. Resting meat makes a dramatic improvement in tenderness from my experience. I always get started early and plan for a rest with my brisket and pulled pork smokes.Comment
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I cut mine in half so I get more bark. Monitor each chunk and cook them to at least 195 and then start checking for probe tenderness. Into a faux camber for 4 hours if possible, a minimum of 2 hours.Comment
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Great stuff. I will do as you say and consider it done if probe tender in the center, or twists free. I probably also didn't appreciate the importance of a faux cambro with the pork butt, as I do it religiously with Brisket. I will definitely build more time into my next cook.
Haven't thought about cutting them in half before. might try that one.
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