Not so pulled pork

[JustinT]

I cooked Meatheads pulled pork yesterday for family and I was expecting it to take around 6 hours so I fired up the smoker at 7:30am and had the meat on for 08:30 cooking at 225F-300F this is the first time I have used the fire box properly and I don’t have much of a gap to clear out the ash so when I was doing this the temperature kept shooting up if I had the lid of the firebox open my cooling chamber temp was dropping like a bowling ball.

I finally took took it off at 18:30 and had only gotten to a temperature of 163F so ended up slicing it instead still really food just disappointed i couldn’t pull it (Take that however you like ) I had two butts on with a combined weight of 7.5Ld any ideas what went wrong ?

It it seemed to stall at 136F for around an hour then slowly rose to 157F and seemed to sit there for a while and then was at 163F for around an hour and a half and then seemed to start reducing it dropped around 3/4 degrees before I took it off even though my grill temperature was still there.

[Huskee]

6hrs? Pulled pork typically takes a minimum of 10 or 12, longer if not wrapped. Next time, plan a 12hr cook if you wrap, 16 if you don't, and take it to 195-210F, then faux cambro for another hour for best foolproof results. It soudns like you took it off in the main stall, the worst temp for eating. 145 is good for pork chops (safe but still juicy) but 195-210 will render the fats and give it a juicy feel as well. 165 is well done but non-rendered fats, so tough & dry most likely.

[droopie69]

Like Huskee said, wrap when you have some bark...not when it first hits the stall. I cook at 225-250 and will wait until it's about 160 and wrap. I usually have good bark. Because of all the fat in a butt, I don't spritz. That seems to help the bark form too.

[JustinT]

Huskee droopie69 thank you for that :-) do either of you put water trays in at all for your pork ?

[Santamarina]

I do a water tray for just about everything. Don’t need to spritz as often - or at all - if you have a water pan.

[pkadare]

I'm not sure that you really did anything wrong but a few things to consider come to mind:
1. I've had 4 or 5# butts that have taken 11 or 12 hours to reach temp. I never cut things that close when I'm smoking a large hunk of meat. I figure out what time I want to serve, then plan on having the meat done 3 hours or so before that so I can wrap and cambro. I'd rather do that for a couple of hours than to miss meal time.
2. Those 2 huge drip pans certainly weren't helping things. Hard to tell from the picture but it looks like you've got an offset smoke. The hot air and smoke needs to be able to move from the fire box across the smoker to the chimney. Those pans are blocking a huge portion of your air flow.
3. I'm not sure that I understand what you're asking with this, "I don’t have much of a gap to clear out the ash so when I was doing this the temperature kept shooting up if I had the lid of the firebox open my cooling chamber temp was dropping like a bowling ball.".

[JustinT]

pkadare thank you for your response maybe next time just use the 1 drip tray next time more central so allow the air to flow better.

I got the 6 hour time from meat heads recipe for this as below I know now I need to get up at maybe three next time.

I do have an offset smoker and the gap between the grate and the bottom of the firebox that the coals sit on I only have around 1.5-2 inches to get the ash out as I had read that the coals don’t burn well on top of ash I was clearing this out every hour and a half to two hours is this normal for an offset smoker ? Do other grills have larger spaces or do I not need to do this during the cook ?

And I’d thank you for the or their advice I willl remember this for next time 😊

[Huskee]

JustinT correct, sorry for not clarifying. Offset stick burner. It depends on how much ash is in there of course, if it's truly blocking the vents and the airflow pull it (or some) out, but don't spend so much time doing it that your temps are thrown out of whack. Usually that's a between-cooks thing, since there's shouldn't be THAT much ash building up in a 10 or 12hr cook.

[Santamarina]

After a few cooks the grate in my firebox bowed quite heavily - pretty normal. What I did to increase airflow was put it in upside down. Lots of room for the fire to breathe, and room to get a small shovel in if you need to remove ash during the cook. Depending on your wood, it’s not uncommon to have to remove some ash to keep air flowing. Often times moving the grate around will shift everything enough for good airflow.

[JustinT]

Huskee Santamarina thank you for your responses I will have to give it another go soon and see how I get on I must admit a lot of the ash I was taking out contained hot embers so I was probably removing heat at the same time.

I didn’t use wood I was using coal for the heat would this increase ash ?

[JustinT]

This is where I got my timing from.

[pkadare]

From the same recipe: "Cooking time. About 8 to 12 hours depending on a number of variables. See "Cooking time" below."

[pkadare]

BTW - my philosophy here when it comes to BBQ is that as long as no one gets sick and the food gets eaten, it is never a failure! :-)

[JustinT]

I completely agree everyone loves the pork I served I just wanted to figure out why it wasn’t how I wanted it to make it better for next time :-)

[holehogg]

To experience what you did is all part of laearning learning curve as we progress.
6 hours is way to short a time as already mentioned and meat is done only when it reaches target temp.

Have you checked out how your offset functions by doing a dry run or two. There is a lot to be gained by this process.

[JustinT]

I have don’t a dry run with it my temps seemed to hold quite well other than when I was adding additional fuel and removing ash which I am unsure is correct.

[pkadare]

What brand of offset do you have and can you post a picture of your firebox? Is there not a door on the end for ash removal? A couple of suggestions not knowing what your firebox looks like:
1. Buy or make a charcoal basket that will hold your charcoal high enough from the ash bed so that the ash won't choke out the fire.
2. Find a brand of lump or briquettes that produce less ash. Sorry, but I don't know what is available on your side of the pond.

[JustinT]

pkadare I have a Landmann Kentucky smoker it’s not amazing but until I can afford a new one it will have to do for now.

pics of the firebox below.

[Santamarina]

Some brands of briquettes have more ash than others. With that firebox i’d Pick up some oak splits (or whatever wood is available local) and skip the charcoal - except for setting the coal bed.

[JustinT]

Santamarina so you would literally use coal to get it started and then use just wood to keep it going after that ?

[Santamarina]

Yep, a half-chimney of charcoal to start, then wood to keep it going. There’s nothing like the flavor you get from a well burning fire.

[LA Pork Butt]

First, those look like picnics rather than butts. Second, they look pretty thick, maybe 5 to 6 inches thick. While you can pull a picnic just like you cannot Butt, the texture of the meat is different. In order to pull the meat you will need to get the internal temperature up to at least 190, and I usually take mine to 200°. 5 to 6 inch thick butts usually take me 12 to 14 hours cooking at 225°.

[LA Pork Butt]

JustinT Here is some guidance as to how to tell the difference between a Boston Butt (Butt) and a Picnic. The Butt is from the front shoulder and the Picnic is the lower part of the front leg like your calf. The Butt usually has a bone that when removed looks a little like a 7 and the Picnic has a long bone and sometimes has a ball on the end. The Butt is more uniform in thickness while the Picnic tends to taper and narrow at one end. The Picnic has a thick layer of skin An the Butt thick fat.

[Jared49]

I agree on the "picnic" call. I enlarged the photos showing the label, I never heard the butt referred as a "joint". They also seemed really lean for a butt, too.

[pkadare]

Jared49 - You shouldn't read too much into the use of the word "joint" on the label. In the Queen's English, a joint is simply used to describe a hunk of meat that is cooked in one piece so a butt, a picnic, a standing rib roast, a lamb shoulder are all "joints".

[mountainsmoker]

JustinT sorry I missed this yesterday. Where are you reading the grill temp at? I did not see a probe on the grill.

[JustinT]

pkadare I think a second thermometer may need to be my next investment as going backwards and forwards I the grill to check the temp all the time is a bit of a pain I have always just use the built in one but the more I’m doing I think you right and I need something better.

[mountainsmoker]

JustinT the thermometer in my lid is a 100 degrees higher than the temp at the grill I get with my Maverick 732 on my Weber kettle. Just for your future reference. It also depends on weather the lid temp is more influenced by what is happening outside. Sunny, windy, etc.

[JustinT]

mountainsmoker wow that’s a big variance I will need to get one sorted.

This is my current probe but I only have 1 it works well.


ThermoPro TP07 Wireless Kitchen Food Cooking Thermometer for BBQ Smoker Grill Oven Meat Thermometer with Timer Functions, 300 Feet Range, Batteries Included https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B014DAVC..._YAQBDbZCYAG18

[Santamarina]

Butts get at least 12 hours for me, usually 14-16. That’s the one cut that doesn’t seem to render if you cook hot and fast to get it to 203°F internal - it needs the time.

Wrapping after the stall, once there’s good bark formation, will help you get there at the 12 hour mark. I don’t often wrap - I want my butt to come out looking like a meteorite. With a water pan you can get that thing jet black and still have moist, shreddable meat.

If you take the time and get it up to temp it will almost pull itself.

[mrteddyprincess]

Lots of good advice already provided here. I smoked for years on an offset similar to yours. It required a new hot chimney of charcoal about every hour. Having a temp probe at the grate where your meat is is critical. I even resorted to using a box fan blowing into the fire box to regulate temps. I angled the fan to control temps in the cooking chamber.

Pork butts do not have to take 10-16 hours. At 275-300 F ten pound butts can finish in 8-9 hrs. I just finished three in 9 hrs yesterday.

You have begun the process of knowing how not to do it! That's what will make you better! And as said above, even "bad" BBQ is good BBQ most of the time! Keep us posted on your progress! Best wishes.

[JustinT]

Thank you for the advice it all helps with getting better so I’m your stick burner you use shot coal ? Once I had gotten the fire going I was just moving to one side and adding unlit coal every couple of hours.

Some have advised just using wood after initially getting it going with charcoal.

[mrteddyprincess]

On my old stick burner I added one chimney of red hot charcoal about every hour. For that cooker it was the only way to keep the heat above 250 F in the cooking chamber. I also used wood chunks for flavor. You could certainly try all wood splits as an alternative. Bottom line is that whichever way you go you have to find a method that allows you to control the temp in the cooking chamber where the meat is. On my current offset I can get by with one or two splits at a time because it's thicker.