After 1st Pork Butt - What'd I do right vs. wrong?

[ajgrills]

Hi All,

First post since joining. Looking for feedback on my first Pork Butt cook and recommendations on how to do it better next time.

I did a lot of research including studying Meathead's dissertation on pork butts. I combined things I learned in different places to get my butt done. In the end, it was pretty dry inside, and not much flavor beyond the bark. But this is sort of my expectation for pulled pork. Thus you sauce it up and throw some pickles and a bun on it, etc. I tend to prefer slow cooker pork butt that is braised in all that delicious fat, juices and braising liquid.

But I know from your posts that better results from the smoker are possible. So please review my steps below, and tell me what I should do differently next time. Based on research I backed out the time it would take but didn't leave myself much cushion. (I was wise enough to have a backup protein available). This may have led me to make a nervous mistake. You decide.

• I bought a 5.5 lb boneless butt from my local butcher (not berkshire, just plain' ol pork). It was twined and pre-trimmed. Had a thin fat cap (maybe 8th of an inch?).
• I dry brined it with kosher salt for 12 hours.
• I made a batch of Meathead's Memphis Dry Rub and applied it with a mixture of Molasses and Dijon Mustard as the binder.
• I cooked it in a Rec Tec 590 pellet smoker.
• I planned ahead to use the Texas Crutch, mostly 'cause I didn't want to wake up earlier.
• I put the meat on at 225, didn't touch it for 5 hours.
• At about 155 (5 hours in), I pulled it and double wrapped it in foil. I did not add liquid, as I felt it would make plenty of it's own juice to braise in the pouch. It did..ended up with 8 or more ounces of delicious pork jus later.
• I got nervous about time at this point, and based on the info in Meathead's write up, I jacked it up to 275 about 20 mins after starting the crutch. Meathead said the butt could handle it but maybe it did some damage?
• About 2 hours later, it hit 198 internal.
• I pulled it, unwrapped it (discovered happy pork jus at this time), then put it back on the smoker at 225 to dry up the bark and let it hold out there for a bit. Figured I'd see some evaporative cooling at this point.
• After 30 minutes I pulled it, brought it inside, double-wrapped it in foil, then wrapped it in beach towel to let it hold and hopefully continue to soften up.
• After 1 hour of hold, opened it and shredded it. Fats and collagen were well melted but not very integrated. Most of the meat was on the dry side. As I shredded I pulled tried to spread the remaining bits of fat around.
• It had a decent bark (a little too sweet for my taste, but good texture) and a smoke ring that looked like I expected from other folks' pictures.

By itself, the pulled pork didn't have a lot of flavor and was too dry. However, once we sauced it up and put it on buns it was pretty darn good. Gave folks a choice of Hawaiian BBQ sauce or Meathead's East Carolina Vinegar BBQ Sauce (which was really good but I made it too hot, had to add some mustard and some tomato paste to tamp it down a bit). I put both on my sandwich with some pickles and it was great.

Questions for the gang:
How necessary is the hold at the end? Can it improve the meat, or does it just give you more time to serve it?
What could/should I have done better?
What do you think is the most important tip to keep the meat inside the butt moist?

I figure next time I'll skip the crutch and wait out the stall and see how it goes for comparison purposes.
Also, I forgot the step about sticking a fork in it to see how soft it is inside. Pretty sure mine would not have passed that test.

Thanks for reading!

AJ.

[marshall]

congrats on your first butt cook! it sounds like you did everything right, but maybe I have a couple ideas for you.
1 did you have any type of water pan in your smoker as this could help with the dryness, also what did you do with the jus from the pork? I always shred my butt in the juice as it tends to soak it back up some. some pics of your cook would be helpful if u got em, any way it sound like a successful first pork butt to me so have fun and smoke on!

im sure more people will be along with better advice

[Ahumadora]

Here's your part where I think you went wrong.

• I pulled it, unwrapped it (discovered happy pork jus at this time), then put it back on the smoker at 225 to dry up the bark and let it hold out there for a bit. Figured I'd see some evaporative cooling at this point.
• After 30 minutes I pulled it, brought it inside, double-wrapped it in foil, then wrapped it in beach towel to let it hold and hopefully continue to soften up.

To me you may have overcooked it at that stage. (Did you continue to monitor internal temps?)

Use temps as a guide and go by feel. Rest of the cook seemed fine to me.

[marshall]

also I don't wrap until the meat hits the stall and make sure the meat is probe tender before pulling off smoker

[tbob4]

I honestly believe that you bought a nicely butchered butt based on your description. My butts have a good deal of fat and I don't trim a thing. Twined and pre-trimmed makes me think you got a very lean butt. I have similar results sometimes with a full loin. I don't think you did anything wrong. Every once in a blue moon I get a dry outcome. Do not despair. Try again with an untrimmed butt.

[Randy-Phx]

I cook mine in foil pans. Dump the juice/grease about half way thru. I don’t wrap. Maybe your butcher had already removed some of the fat since you said it was "twined and trimmed".
Welcome to the Pit!

[Steve R.]

"Fats and collagen were well melted but not very integrated. Most of the meat was on the dry side. As I shredded I pulled tried to spread the remaining bits of fat around."

This suggests to me that maybe it needed to cook longer. I think you did everything else ok. Maybe stay away from boneless butts. That bone pulling out cleanly from the meat is a sure sign of being properly cooked.

[RonB]

Congrats on a successful cook. I always try to catch all the drippings, and I never wrap, so a tray goes on the charcoal grate under the meat. I then add that back after shredding. Depending on how I feel, I may skim the fat off the meat and just add the juice back, but I occasionally add the liquid fat back too.

[mrteddyprincess]

Did your pork butt fall apart when you tried to pick it up? That's a sure sign all the fat and collagen are done doing what they're going to do. I have never over cooked a pork butt, but I have under cooked them, and when I under cooked they were hard to pull and had a tougher texture. In my mind your cook is a case of having either over cooked it (and I don't have any experience with that) or under cooked. For under cooked, make sure your probe is in the middle and it's over 203 F, or, more importantly, try to pick it up to see if it's ready to fall apart.

I have had some cooks where part of the exterior gets charred due to the way the heat is in the smoker, and I get burnt bark, but the pork underneath is still tender and juicy, even in those cases.

(I don't wrap pork butts.) Best wishes and let us know how the next cook goes!

[mountainsmoker]

I am also in the do not wrap gang. There is enough fat and melting collagen to keep a butt moist through out a cook. Always add back the juice you catch or add some of the Carolina sauce to it and mix it and add it to it. I will always take it off at 195 wrap in foil and a towel, since I don't wrap I have an excellent bark and I will let it set till I can pull at 180 or an hour or so. Once you start pulling add the juice and some of the sauce. It should feel, barely moist, not wet whey you are ready to serve.
,
Sounds like it wasn't a bad first try so well done

Also welcome from the mountains of NC, home of pulled pork.

[smokin fool]

After reading this thread I think Ahumadora and tbob4's theories sum it up.
For my part I don't salt brine meat, put on the rub out of the fridge and onto the smoker.
I do wrap at 180 to get me thru the stall and off the smoker at 200ish.
If I do get a dry cut of meat after its pulled into a slow cooker with a can of root beer and a bottle of bbq sauce for 30-40 mins....wha-la....

[jfmorris]

I am in the don't wrap camp, after cooking something like 600-700 butts over the past 30 years. That said, I have never bought or smoked a boneless butt, so it is possible yours was much leaner than I am used to, as others have indicated. I know I have had a few butts that seemed leaner, and they led to dryer results than I am used to seeing most of the time.

Cooking to probe tender is very important - back in the 90's I thought the magic number to cook to was 195, but now I know that while a few butts may be done at that temp, more are not ready to pull until they are over 200 - in the 203 to 205 range most of the time. You use your instead read meat thermometer (you have a good Digital one I hope!) to probe the meat, and if it goes in like a hot knife into soft butter, you've done your job.

As far as holding butts in a cambro - while I have done it on occasion, and always do it on brisket, I usually just set my butts on the counter in a pan to cool for a bit, and shred them on a cutting board with meat claws when they get just cool enough to handle, and then mix them back in with any juice that accumulated in the pan they were sitting in.

[mountainsmoker]

ScottyC13 yes it will apply to your small butt but everything will be speeded up as the heat will be hitting yours from all sides equally.

[jfmorris]

What mountainsmoker said! It should be the same, just done faster.

I love my Performer Deluxe! I smoke almost everything on it now, versus my offset. So much more stable, so much less fuel used. Just better all around - if the meat will fit. I think I've used the offset like 3 to 4 times in the past year, and half of those times it was in grill mode.

[tbob4]

I cook butt strips sold at Costco sometimes. They have a nice amount of fat and crust nicely because of the surface area. They go 6 hours at 225 with no real stall. The drawback is that I get nothing to chop - just pulled. Also, I find that a higher percentage is tossed to the side before serving. Very tasty and convenient, though.

[DeusDingo]

i think everyone else has it covered as far as the overcooking part. i don't hold my butts ever and they are always fall apart fantastic

to amp up the flavor i take those pork drippings (i keep a pan under my unwrapped butts) and i add the good stuff back in after i pull it and i also sprinkle on a little more raw rub (not much, just some) when it's still hot and mix it around.

when the butt is ready to shred (falling apart, do the fork test) there is no more need for anymore cooking, just shred, apply juices and rub, and enjoy (IMO)

[Dewesq55]

I think you wrapped much too soon. I guarantee the bark wasn't set and some of the smoke flavor, etc. washed off in the wrap. I do wrap my butts, but not until at least an hour into the stall and the bark is set (Harry Soo scratch test.) Well cooked pulled pork shouldn't NEED sauce to make it delicious (but I think it makes it even better 😁) Also, once i wrap them, they stay wrapped until I'm ready to pull/shred them. I also think that 198°F is generally perfect for butts. When I have gone to 203°F I sometimes think they are on the edge of becoming dry. As long as it's soft enough to shred easily (bone removal or twisted fork test) it's done.

[Spinaker]

It sounds like you got some great advise, so all I have to say is.....Welcome to The Pitmaster Club! We really appreciate your support!

Keep the smoke rollin'!