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Pulled pork: sous vide and smoke, in which order?

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    Pulled pork: sous vide and smoke, in which order?

    I have a couple of questions for those who have experience with making pulled pork and using a sous vide along with a smoker.
    If you’ve smoked both before and after the sous vide cook, which tasted better? I know Meathead has taught us that smoke adheres to cold meat better, but if anyone has experimented with both methods, please share your results.
    My other question is more about meat science. If I smoked a (raw) pork butt for a couple of hours, could I then vacuum seal it and refrigerate it for a day or 2 before the sous vide?
    Last edited by Batman4650; March 24, 2018, 04:36 AM.

    #2
    Not sure specifically about pork butt, but if you look around you are going to find people who have done other meat both ways. You should probably do both and let us know which you prefer! ​​​​​​

    A day or two in the fridge won't hurt anything. What you want to keep an eye on is how warm you get it on the smoker. Once you get it in the danger zone you will want to get it cool quickly if you are pulling it off, I think. So an ice bath is a good idea. This also prevents a large thermal mass from warming up your fridge.

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      #3
      By the way, since it's your first post, welcome to the pit!

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        #4
        Welcome to the pit from Southern Illinois

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          #5
          My best results have been smoke-SV-smoke. I would SV immediately after smoking. Once it’s done SV, you can hold in fridge for a few days before the final smoke.

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            #6
            Potkettleblack is the expert with this, but I believe the recommendation is to smoke, SV, ice bath and then refrigerate. When you’re ready to finish, pull from the fridge, scrape off the gelled purge (and reserve), apply rub, and smoke to set bark and heat to temp.

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              #7
              In terms of food safety, after smoking and bagging the hot butt, you should shock it in ice water before refrigerating it. But I would probably smoke, bag and dump right in the Sous Vide.

              You dont want to put a full smoke on before. Like to the stall as the maximum. And that’s if your planning on cooking it at 155.

              i find the best bark and the best flavor comes from the smoke Sous smoke process as described by T-bone.

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                #8
                I was contemplating doing a relatively cool smoke for a couple of hours, bag and refrigerate, then sous vide for at least a full day. After the bath, sear the outside with a Searzall before I wrap it up to take it to my night shift Easter party.
                I don’t want to have too much prep on the final day...

                and thanks for your help, everyone
                Last edited by Batman4650; March 24, 2018, 08:31 AM.

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                • Troutman
                  Troutman commented
                  Editing a comment
                  I’m not a huge fan of finishing with a Searzall but I think that works. Post smoke setting the bark is preferred by me.

                #9
                The "ayes" have it, QSQ (aka smoke, sous vide, smoke)

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                • Batman4650
                  Batman4650 commented
                  Editing a comment
                  How long are you pre-smoking... is it by time or internal temp?

                • Troutman
                  Troutman commented
                  Editing a comment
                  That’s kind of a loaded question as to what type of meat, finish and texture you prefer. I don’t do whole pork butts that way, but your looking at a high temp finish so I’d personally bring it up to stall temp, you get most of the smoke by then before going SV.

                • Troutman
                  Troutman commented
                  Editing a comment
                  And oh by the way, I rarely if ever cook bbq meat with live fire by time. It just doesn’t work that way, it’s by temperature or feel.

                #10
                I agree... I usually use my Slow N Sear in my Weber kettle and cook to temp.
                In this experiment, since the sous vide will be doing most (if not all) of the cooking, I think I’m going to just smoke for about 2 hours initially, sous vide for somewhere around 30 hours, lightly re-rub with a spicy sugar base, then sear.
                This may fail miserably, but I’ll let you all know.
                Last edited by Batman4650; March 24, 2018, 11:09 PM.

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                  #11
                  Thanks for directing me to the wisdom of potkettleblack. I looked through his archives and am changing up my cook for next Sunday.
                  I will dry brine, refrigerate, apply a rub, smoke, SV at 145ish for 48 hrs, chill then refrigerate. Before work on Sunday I can have enough time to unbag it, dry it off, re-rub and smoke again. If the bark isn’t quite there when it’s time to go, I will assist with the Searzall.
                  Then I’ll wrap it up, bundle it in a towel and faux cambro it to work.

                  Comment


                  • T-bone
                    T-bone commented
                    Editing a comment
                    Great plan! Take pictures and let us know how it goes. Good luck!

                  #12
                  The pork butt was phenomenal. It was juicy, tender, smokey and delicious. It was so tender, I just used my bear claws to push it apart, and it nearly melted in your mouth. I will write a little and post a picture or 2, as when I tried to upload several pictures they ended up out of sequence.
                  It was a 10 pound Boston butt. I did a dry brine for 12 hours, covered in a bowl in my refrigerator.
                  Then I coated liberally with Memphis Dust and smoked it at 230 degrees on my homemade mini WSM for 2 hours using Kingsford blue and apple wood chunks.
                  Attached Files
                  Last edited by Batman4650; April 2, 2018, 08:04 AM. Reason: Added detail

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                    #13
                    Immediately after the smoke, I bagged the meat and vacuum sealed it. I used a cooler to sous vide it at 145 degrees for 59 hours. Yes... 59.
                    Then, it hit an ice bath before resting in the refrigerator for nearly 2 days.
                    On Easter Sunday, I purged the gel, dried the butt, and did another rub - this time heavier with the sugar and added a bit of heat. I smoked it again using applewood chunks at about 255 degrees while I took a nap. When the internal temp of the meat was 165, I took it out of the smoker, wrapped it up, and took it to our dinner party. It was devoured, and I must say that the money muscle may have been the best piece of pork I’ve ever eaten. Thanks for all of your help, guys!
                    Attached Files
                    Last edited by Batman4650; April 2, 2018, 08:47 AM.

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                    • dsheatz
                      dsheatz commented
                      Editing a comment
                      How long did it take to get to 165?

                    #14
                    Here are the final pictures, after the cooking was finished.
                    Attached Files

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                      #15
                      Wow great job and first post !!! Bet it was tasty !!

                      Comment


                      • Batman4650
                        Batman4650 commented
                        Editing a comment
                        Thanks, and yes, it was awesome

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