# Smoked Pork Shoulder tough, chewy and fatty - where am I going wrong?



## slippy toad (Sep 10, 2017)

I'm fairly new to smoking.  I have successfully smoked the large pork boneless shoulder butts from Costco in the past, but I am having trouble with some bone-in Boston Butt Pork Shoulder Roasts from my local grocery store.  I have done three in the past week (4-7lb range), and all turn out fatty, chewy and tough - definitely far from the "fall apart tender" that I achieved with the Costco cuts. 

Before I go into my process, these butts are not vacuum-sealed, rather they come wrapped in plastic wrap on a foam tray, as most grocery-store meat is packaged.  When I get home, I wrap them tight in heavy-duty foil (still inside their grocery-wrapping) and freeze them.  When I want to cook, I defrost them in the fridge 3-4 days before the cook. 

Cooking process:  I basically follow this to a T (http://www.smoking-meat.com/may-28-2015-tasty-and-tender-smoked-pulled-pork). 

I rub with mustard, apply Jeff's BBQ Rub, and toss on the Traeger at 225.  After about 6-8 hours, the meat tends to be around 170, at which point I employ the Texas crutch - I wrap them in foil, toss in some apple juice, seal the foil up and finish in the oven at 240 until my thermometer reads 205 internal temp (about 2-4 more hours). 

After reaching 205, I take out the shoulder and let rest for 30 mins or so.  When I go to pull the shoulder, the bone is hard to get out, 50% of the meat is entangled with fat so I can't even separate it without great effort (and on top of that, it is so dry, tough and chewy that it probably belongs in the trash anyway), and the "good" meat that I can salvage is chewy and tough. 

My issue is, when folks seem to get tough, chewy, fatty pork shoulder, it is because they cooked it too hot or did not let it get up to at least 190 degrees.  My cooks all lasted around 12  hours, AND I waited to get to 205 internal (checked by my Maverick and my instant-read thermometers).  Also, I followed the SAME process to make KILLER shoulder with the Costco cuts.

So what is my issue?  Did I get bad, low-quality meat?  Or did I mess up by not properly vacuum-sealing the meat before freezing (I did NOT notice any freezer burn)? 

Any help would be appreciated, as I have two more of these cuts (there was a great BOGO sale) and am going to take them back unless I can figure out what I did wrong.


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## tallbm (Sep 10, 2017)

Slippy Toad said:


> I'm fairly new to smoking.  I have successfully smoked the large pork boneless shoulder butts from Costco in the past, but I am having trouble with some bone-in Boston Butt Pork Shoulder Roasts from my local grocery store.  I have done three in the past week (4-7lb range), and all turn out fatty, chewy and tough - definitely far from the "fall apart tender" that I achieved with the Costco cuts.
> 
> Before I go into my process, these butts are not vacuum-sealed, rather they come wrapped in plastic wrap on a foam tray, as most grocery-store meat is packaged.  When I get home, I wrap them tight in heavy-duty foil (still inside their grocery-wrapping) and freeze them.  When I want to cook, I defrost them in the fridge 3-4 days before the cook.
> 
> ...


Hi there and welcome!

I'm not sure what is up.  The best help I can give is that the temp is not the best indicator that the butt is done and tender.  Only feel can tell you that and the fell will come by stabbing the butt with a probe/skewer/toothpick and should it slide right in then you are good to go.

The Internal Temp (IT) is a great indicator of when to start checking.  You can always start checking around 200F and then just keep going.  You may need to go as high as 210F on these butts.  Just keep checking until it is tender.  

That is the best I have for you.  Good luck with the remaining cuts :)


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## GaryHibbert (Sep 11, 2017)

Yep.  What he said.  Just leave foiled an in the oven til they probe tender.

That the best I can offer--I've never experienced this problem and butt is my go to meat.

Have you boil tested both your therms just to make sure??

Gary


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## dward51 (Sep 11, 2017)

Something is not right.  At 205, that bone should slide out cleanly with little effort.  

First I would double check the thermometer in boiling water for starters to make sure its not off.  Another thought is how deep are you probing with the thermometer to check the temp?  Butts take forever to thaw in the fridge.  You may still have a frozen center and the top inch or two may be at temp but the core is way behind.  With a frozen butt you need to be sure you are probing deep for the final temp for this reason.


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## daveomak (Sep 11, 2017)

Wrapped but not vac packed meat tends to dehydrate in the freezer...    Try one but don't freeze it...  see if that makes a difference for you...


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## slippy toad (Sep 12, 2017)

After struggling to fully pull the pork, I noticed that the fat was almost gelatin-like in consistency, which made me think it was close but not totally ready, as per the comments.  I re-foiled it and put it back in at 240 for a few more hours and it came out tender and "fall-apart" just as I have come to expect from pulled pork. 

Apparently by focusing too much on the temp I was treating the cook as an art more than a science.  Thanks all for the help.


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## twd13 (Sep 12, 2017)

I'm questioning the accuracy of the probe as well. Never had a bone stick at 200+ degrees.


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## tallbm (Sep 12, 2017)

Looks like you are making progress.  On your next smokes just make sure and give it time and probe it to see when done :)


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## noboundaries (Sep 12, 2017)

Whenever a butt comes out tough, fatty, and chewy, it hasn't been cooked/smoked/roasted/braised long enough, regardless of IT.  IT is just a guideline.  The meat speaks to you when probed though, saying "I'm not done yet" if it fights the probe, or "I'm done," when the probe slides right in.  The bone speaks all languages too, I've found.


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## JckDanls 07 (Sep 12, 2017)

Also I've noticed...   the vacuumed double pack of butts is whole untrimmed ...  The ones at the grocery on a Styrofoam plate and wrapped in plastic are trimmed...


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## sauced (Sep 15, 2017)

Temperature is a ballpark number....probe test always works! It's done when it's done


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## Rings Я Us (Sep 15, 2017)

Something like this you need to be able to do before  its done for sure.. 













IMG_20170915_150959.jpg



__ Rings Я Us
__ Sep 15, 2017





Pulled the bone right out before I gave this to a lady I smoked it for. Was 8.5 lb butt .99¢ lb.


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## Cross Vegas BBQ (Sep 7, 2018)

I believe that the problem is that they are not truly thawed when you put it in the smoker like dward51 has stated.  There is no way that that bone is going to stay in at 205 true internal temp.  There has to be a frozen pocket in there near the center when it goes on the smoker.  I have made several and at 205 the bone always come out easy as you please and clean as a whistle.  The suggestion that daveomak says makes sense.  Try one that has not been frozen using the same method and it will come out great.  The problem could be that the temp in your fridge is just a little too high to defrost the meat in the amount of time you are giving it.  Hope this helps....


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## stevensondrive (Sep 9, 2018)

I’ve has the exact same thing happen. No idea why

I’ve been smoking for years too


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## chilerelleno (Sep 9, 2018)

Hey guys, this thread is just a tad mummified (Sept '17) and the OP hasn't been online in a year.
Just saying.


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## tallbm (Sep 9, 2018)

:D


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## stevensondrive (Sep 9, 2018)

My bad. I was researching old butts. Got 3 I’m smoking tomorrow.


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## daveomak (Sep 9, 2018)

There's plenty to be learned from old threads...  Don't worry about it...


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