# Pulled Pork - Help!



## mitchelld1 (Mar 20, 2011)

Hi everyone.  Need to do a post mortem on a half Boston butt I smoked today.  This was a 10lb butt the butcher cut in half.  The half I bought came in at just under 5 lbs and was boneless.  I smoked it for 9.5 hours at a temp that ranged from 200 to 230.  I have a Great Smokey Mountain vertical charcoal/water smoker.  It is very similar to the Brinkman and GrillPro models.

The intent was pulled pork but what came out was of a similar texture to a tender grilled pork chop or loin.  Definitely not pulled pork.  I've been smoking for about 5 years but I mostly stick to short duration smokes like ribs, chicken/turkey breasts, fish, brats etc and I do those well. But this is my 2nd attempt at pulled pork and I have not gotten it right either time.  First time was actually a little closer.

I would appreciate some thoughts on what might have gone wrong.  I have read that cooking time is 1.5 hours per pound but I've also read others that say it is closer to 2 hours a pound.  Are mine cooking too long or not long enough?  Unfortunately I did not have a meat thermometer in so I cannot say what temp it was at when I took it out.  I took it out, rested it for about 15 minutes and we dug in.

As a side note my wife can put a 3 pound pork loin in the crock pot for 8-10 hours and it falls apart when you pull the lid off and stare at it.


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## ak1 (Mar 20, 2011)

When I do mine, I let it get to 165-170 internal, then foil and let it go to 205-210, then wrap it in towels and let it rest in a cooler for at least 1 hr before pulling. 

It sounds to me that the temp didn't get high enough. 

Usually I smoke a butt for 15-16 hrs.


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## tyotrain (Mar 20, 2011)

What was the internal Temp of the meat.. To have pulled pork i like to have a internal temp of around 200F than let it rest for a hour... sound like maybe you didn't reach a high enough Temp..  When i do pulled pork i will bring the meat to around 165-70 than foil it put back on the pit till i get my target temp.(200F). Hope this helps


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## double rl (Mar 20, 2011)

FYI I ,smoked a butt yesterday and it took about 12 hours.I dont smoke on a time table butt I use a temp table,195 to 200 depending on the size of the butt.I think if you would try that your sucess would be a little better.Great smoking Double RL


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## dirtworldmike (Mar 20, 2011)

Agree with the other posts, It probably didn't reach a high enough IT. (200 degrees or above.) All is not lost, you can finish it off in the slow cooker for a few hrs.


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## mitchelld1 (Mar 20, 2011)

Is it possible I _overcooked_ it?  What if the internal temp was say 220 the last hour or two?  Would that make it turn out as I described?  Another follow up question, what has to happen to make the meat break down inside so that it falls apart.  From what you all have said, the pork needs get to 165, wrap it, then get to 200/205.  But the trick is to get it there slowly right?  So is there a general rule of thumb that you need to it to take x hours to get to 200 degrees?  Does the 1hr rest period after it reaches 200 degrees contribute to the tissue breaking down or is that just so it cools off enough to handle easily?  Sorry for the dumb questions - I want to get this figured out for next time.


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## jacobtia (Mar 20, 2011)

Gotta love some smoked butt!!!


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## cliffcarter (Mar 20, 2011)

The first thing you need to do *before* you cook the other half of that butt is buy a meat thermometer. I suspect that you didn't cook it long enough, if you had cooked it too long it would have fallen apart. It may help to get your temps up to the 220°-240°F range, also.


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## SmokinAl (Mar 21, 2011)

I agree with the rest of the comments, it wasn't cooked long enough. You have to go by internal meat temp, not time. For pulling you should be around 205 IT. Get a good therm & I'm sure the other half will come out fine. There is NO way to do this by time.


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## fpnmf (Mar 21, 2011)

You need a thermometer.

There is a ton of great info here. Read the Wikis and use the search tool.

Here's the Wiki for pulled pork.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/wiki/basic-pulled-pork-smoke  

The meat therm info ..

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/search.php?search=meat+thermometer  

  Craig


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## dirtworldmike (Mar 21, 2011)

The resting period continues the tissue break down. It also redistributes the juices back into the meat.


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## eman (Mar 21, 2011)

Have to agree w/ the others , it's all about the internal temps.

  There are folks that have done many butts on their smokers and can pretty much say, a butt on my smoker at Y temp  will take X ammount of time to get done. but that comes w/ alot more experiance than i have.


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## reardenreturns (Mar 21, 2011)

I'd agree with all of these post. A meat thermometer is a MUST HAVE item! Let it get to 165-170* then double wrap in foil then bring it up to at least 200 (if not 205). Then let it rest, while still wrapped, for at least an hour. It will make a huge difference and be just like you like it. Good luck!


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## mitchelld1 (Mar 22, 2011)

Thanks for the tips everyone.  Gettin' a thermometer!


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## ak1 (Mar 22, 2011)

mitchelld1 said:


> Is it possible I _overcooked_ it?  What if the internal temp was say 220 the last hour or two?  Would that make it turn out as I described?  Another follow up question, what has to happen to make the meat break down inside so that it falls apart.  From what you all have said, the pork needs get to 165, wrap it, then get to 200/205.  But the trick is to get it there slowly right?  So is there a general rule of thumb that you need to it to take x hours to get to 200 degrees?  Does the 1hr rest period after it reaches 200 degrees contribute to the tissue breaking down or is that just so it cools off enough to handle easily?  Sorry for the dumb questions - I want to get this figured out for next time.


I don't think it was overcooked. Simply because, once temp is reached it will shread apart nicely. If you go beyond that point and overcook the meat, it still shread's nice, but the meat isn't tender.

That's my experience at least.


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## jirodriguez (Mar 22, 2011)

Also if you can get a dual probe digital thermometer that would be best. Then you can use one of the probes to tell what the true temps are at the grate level. The thermometers that come stock on almost all smokers are generally crap and can be off by 50-100 degrees!


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## jakerz66 (Mar 22, 2011)

The first thing I learned was temp not time when slow cooking internal temperature is the secret to good BBQ.....and always let the meat rest so the juice stays in the meat and not all over the board. Listen to the experts and get a good thermometer.


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## ellymae (Mar 22, 2011)

When I do s butt (or anything for that matter) I take the meat our of the fridge about the same time I get the Egg fired up then I apply the rub.

Once the Egg gets up to about 230 degreed I put the meat on and make sure it returns to temp.

I leave it alone till the internal temp gets to about 190 - 195 and I start probing the meat. For me it's Time, Temp, and tenderness - the last part is to test it - it's not done till a probe slodes in like a hot knife through butter - typically around 200 - 205.

When figuring out how long I think a cook will take I figure 1.5 hours/pound then add at least two hours.

Once the meat is ready to go (temp and tenderness) I wrap the meat in foil and towels and put it in a warm, dry cooler to let the juices redistribute. IT will stay hot in there for hours.

Good luck!


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## forsenpork (Mar 24, 2011)

I usually smoke butts around the 7-9 lb range.  This is my method:

I place my butt in an aluminum pan on the smoker at 225-250 degrees for about 4 hours (adding Apple/Oak every hour) or until the internal temp gets to 150-160 degrees.  Then I cover the pan with double foil.  At this point I increase the temp inside smoker to around 325 for another 4 hours or until it reaches internal temp of 205-210.  I then remove pan from smoker and let the butt sit in pan for about hour until I pull the meat.  This being said, the best advice for you is to go to Academy Sports and get one of them ten dollar battery operated temperture probes so you will know what the internal temp is during the smoke.

bf


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## bbqking (Mar 24, 2011)

I just did (4) 8 pounder's this past weekend. They took almost 22 hours to reach 195-205 IT. I agree with the other posts, the IT didn't get high enough (195-205) to pull easily. Definitely make the small investment in a digital thermometer. Because of the plateau, you can't predict by time alone but I use 1.5/2.0 hrs per pound for estimation purposes only. It's not a bad thing if it's done sooner than later because you can leave it rest for a couple of hours and still have warm, tender, easily pulled pork. There's nothing worse than trying to anticipate when it will be done by time only and having your dinner guests arrive only to find that dinner needs another few hours! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 Good luck with the other half and happy smokin'!

Kent


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## realtorterry (Mar 24, 2011)

Don't forget to calibrate your therm. too! That's for BOTH the gauge on the smoker & the probe!

Don't give up it will be worth it in the end & you'll be making them regular after that


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## sqwib (Mar 25, 2011)

I agree with everyone else, the internal temp is the key.

Here are some notes from a few butts I done.

My apologies for the long post.
[h3]I like Big Butts[/h3]
Pulled Pork Section 

USDA ON PORK



When doing a butt just remember...
 









                                                                                            ...is the way to go










Prepping


One thing I have learned over the years is to be prepared and organized.
So before I went into my first cook on he RF, I made sure I had everything, Wood splits, Propane, Thermometers, Gloves etc...
Same goes with the Ingredients to a recipe, get everything out before you start, you just may realize your missing an important ingredient that the neighbor most likely will not have. 





 




 






For a long time now I wanted to try a side by side comparison of an injected Butt vs. a non injected Butt. Went to Sams Club and picked up a few decent Boston Butts, total weight was 13.62lbs., bone in. I figured about a 50 percent yield.



Seasoning

The night before, I prepped the Butts, removing as much fat as possible to promote more bark formation. 
One Boston Butt was injected with a marinade mix, equal parts of Apple Cider Vinegar, Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum and Apple Cider.
The other was not injected. The marinade was also used as a mop (sprits). Rubbed both Butts, wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerator. 



 




 




 




 




 




 







Smoking

I used Cherry wood splits, because that’s all I had at the time. The Butts were spritsed simultaneously about eight times during cook The Butts were done sooner than I was used to.
At approximately 6.8 lbs each, bone in, it only took about 8 hours (72 minutes per/lb.)

I was surprised at how quickly they cooked, I was worried that since this was my first cook with the RF and the fact that I was a newbie at fire management on a stick burner, that I might have ruined the Butts.

The Butt temps were about 195° but I was leery removing them so soon, because it had only been eight hours…I never had a Butt cook this quick, I kept moving the probe all over and kept thinking to myself, _"what’s this Butt all fat"_, then I remembered a quote I had read from a blog or forum, can’t remember which, “To check for doneness insert a probe, it should slide in very easily like butter”, well this was definitely like butter.
 So with that in mind and the thermometer reading 195° internal, I figured it was safe to remove them from the smoker.














 














 





[color= rgb(102, 51, 0)]Resting[/color]

The Butts came off the RF about a half hour apart, wrapped them tightly in foil and towels then placed them in the cooler to rest for about 90 minutes or so.









Pulling

After the rest I handed my wife two forks and one of the Butts in the pan and smiled. The Butts pulled beautifully and yes the bone was clean The Bark formation and smoke ring was perfect and the bark was not burnt.










Tasting

I was a bit skeptical so I had 6 family members pick at each one, getting input from each person. Everyone liked the pork 5 out of 6 preferred the non injected Butt and out of the 6 one like the bark on the injected one better, as far as the bark I think that was a fluke I can’t see how injecting could change the flavor of the bark.
The 5 out of the 6 said although they preferred the non injected Butt better, couldn’t really explain why.








I did not try any of the pork until everyone was done, I didn’t want to my tasting to interfere with the test.

The Bark formation and smoke ring was perfect, just a hint of smoke and the bark was not burnt but was nice and chewy, not hard and crusty.

The next day my wife tried both and said this one seems mushy…BINGO, that’s what I was looking for, it seems the injected one was a bit mushier probably due to the vinegar breaking down the meat, however, both were just as flavorful as each other and I believe the reason everyone preferred the non injected Butt was due to the texture not the flavor.

Ok, so now its day 3 of eating pulled pork and it’s still moist.



Conclusion 

My conclusion is that if I were to inject again, which I doubt, it would only be with apple cider/Juice.

I can honestly say, without any doubt in my mind, that this was my best Pulled pork to date, I don’t know if that is because of the RF or maybe the temperatures were slightly higher, maybe a better choice of meat, but make no mistake… there will be much more testing.

[color= rgb(0, 0, 0)]I believe that there is a fair amount of convection going on, because of "Franks" diameter being 20 inches... just as long as its not too much.[/color]


*[color= rgb(102, 0, 0)]Pork Butts 10/24/10[/color]*

Nothing special here,


Trimmed fat and false cap for more bark, rubbed buts 36 hours before the cook with my Rub, no mustard.

Spritzed with equal parts Captain, Apple Cider Vinegar and apple cider after internal temp was above 140°.

Smoked at 240° - 250°for about 8 hours with cherry wood, until an internal temp of 205° took about 1 hour 20 minutes per /LB.

Foiled toweled and placed into cooler for half an hour, would have kept it in longer but wanted one for dinner.
One was done about 10 minutes sooner than the other.  The other one rested about 2 hours, both were fine


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## tommerr (Apr 8, 2011)

I am thinking about breaking in my MES this weekend and doing my first smoke, a pulled pork. I see that some people set the meat on a rack and some people use a pan. May I have some pro's and con's?


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## roller (Apr 8, 2011)

The first one that I did took 16 hrs. that sucker took a stall and I thought it was never coming out of it...I smoke mine as AK1 described...perfect...You will always remember your first one its kinda like one of your other first .


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## sqwib (Apr 11, 2011)

tommerr said:


> I am thinking about breaking in my MES this weekend and doing my first smoke, a pulled pork. I see that some people set the meat on a rack and some people use a pan. May I have some pro's and con's?




Sorry I didn't catch this sooner,

I usually place a pan underneath the rack directly on the reverse flow plate for my Offset.

I have also placed them directly in a pan , for example when I did my Italian style pulled pork, but would suggest a rack to keep it out of the liquid.


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## dalton (Apr 11, 2011)

I would have to agree with the other posts.  not a high enough IT.  I have only done pulled pork about 6 times but followed the cook to 165 IT then douple wrap in foil with some of whatever you are moping or spaying it with and cook to 205 IT.  wrap in a towel for at least 45 min (longer is better) and pull it!!  they have all turned out great. 

I am actually in the middle of doing two this afternoon.  i like to experiment a little with what I spray them with.  I have tried variations of many different things.  it sort of depends what I have handy around the kithchen.  things like apple juce, grape soda, olive oil, varoius rum flavors, coke or pepsi, I even used some snow cone syrup once to give it a sweet flavor.  I try different rubs as well.  some poeple like mustard although I am not a fan. 

my point is that these things are good to experiment with but the internal temp is really not!!   an internal temp prob is really a must!!  you don't have to spend lots on one of the remote ones, (although I love mine) you can use one if the cheep ones from fredmeyers or safeway.  a few months ago i had two butts that I did at the same time that were almost the same weight and they got to the right internal temp almost 2 hours apart.  same smoker, same temps, same rub same everthing but 2 hours different.  I really can't stress enough that a internal therm is a must if you want a good result. 

keep trying and you will get it right.  the result will be worth the effort.  since I live in anchorage alaska there is no where here to buy pulled pork that is really any good.  I had had it a few times when I was on vacation but never when I was at home.  now it is one of my families favorites and a real hit at any BBQ or party!!


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