# Smoked Pork Shoulder Didn't Pull Apart



## train conductor (Apr 26, 2012)

*Last week, I smoked a 7 pound pork shoulder for 7 hours.  When I took it out of the smoker and tried pulling it, it didn't pull apart as I expected.  I actually had to slice it.  What did I do wrong, did I need to leave it in the smoker longer?  Any help will be appreciated.*


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## diggingdogfarm (Apr 26, 2012)

Train Conductor said:


> What did I do wrong, did I need to leave it in the smoker longer?



Yes, what was the internal temperature?



~Martin


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## s2k9k (Apr 26, 2012)

And what was the temperature of the smoker?


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## alblancher (Apr 26, 2012)

Normaly we wrap the butt in aluminum foil with a bit of moisture when it reaches 160 IT or so.  Put the butt back on the smoker or in the oven till it hits an IT of maybe 200.  Remove from the smoker, wrap foiled butt in bath towels and place in an ice chest for a couple of hours.  The meat should continue to cook and reach 205 or 210 IT.  The butt should be fall apart tender.


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## train conductor (Apr 26, 2012)

Smoker temp was 250 and internal temp was 160


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## nozzleman (Apr 26, 2012)

Well  the internal wasn't near high enough, you should have let it go to 195-200. Always cook by temp not time.


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## rdknb (Apr 26, 2012)

I smoke mine to 205 for pulling. Smoker at 225-250. I adv about 2 hours per pound.  The rule of thumb is 1.5, but I never seem to get that.


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## alblancher (Apr 26, 2012)

Yea 160 is even a bit low if you intend to slice it.


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## JckDanls 07 (Apr 26, 2012)

Train Conductor said:


> Smoker temp was 250 and internal temp was 160



there's your problem...  IT needs to be AT LEAST 200`


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## johnnie walker (Apr 27, 2012)




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## solaryellow (Apr 27, 2012)

RdKnB said:


> I smoke mine to 205 for pulling. Smoker at 225-250. I adv about 2 hours per pound.  The rule of thumb is 1.5, but I never seem to get that.



Ditto.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2


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## chef jimmyj (Apr 27, 2012)

Here is some useful info for you to read but I agree with RdKnB, plan on 2 hours per Pound plus a rest...JJ

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/57139/basic-pulled-pork-smoke


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## train conductor (May 26, 2012)

*OK, today I smoked some ribs, and the bone fell out of the meat and had great taste.  I used 3 to 1 of apple juice and Capt Morgan spiced rum to mist the meat with to keep it from drying out.............BIG SUCCESS*

*On the other hand, I did just as everyone here told me, I cooked pork shoulder till it was 205 internal and I used the same mixture as above to mist the meat with.  I wrapped both meats in foil for the final cooking.  The shoulder still didn't pull like it should.  Is pork butt going to be better and pull easier?  I have seen guys on the food channel using pork butt for pulled pork and it literally fell apart.  *

*Any comments are appreciated.  Still learning this smoking process.*


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## jp61 (May 26, 2012)

Train Conductor said:


> *OK, today I smoked some ribs, and the bone fell out of the meat and had great taste.  I used 3 to 1 of apple juice and Capt Morgan spiced rum to mist the meat with to keep it from drying out.............BIG SUCCESS*
> 
> *On the other hand, I did just as everyone here told me, I cooked pork shoulder till it was 205 internal and I used the same mixture as above to mist the meat with.  I wrapped both meats in foil for the final cooking.  The shoulder still didn't pull like it should.  Is pork butt going to be better and pull easier?  I have seen guys on the food channel using pork butt for pulled pork and it literally fell apart.  *
> 
> *Any comments are appreciated.  Still learning this smoking process.*


Congrats on the ribs! I've always smoked Butts for PP so I do not have any experience with shoulders but, at 205° IT it should have pulled. You should consider checking your thermos for accuracy with an H2O boil test.


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## bigwayne (May 27, 2012)

Shoulder and Butt are the same piece of meat.  There are two cuts commonly sold as pork shoulder though.  One is usually

named pork butt or Boston butt, but is sometimes just called a shoulder roast.  The other is a piece that looks like an untreated

ham.  These are usually named a fresh ham or a shoulder picnic.  The bone and fat content of the latter is much higher than

the butt section, so the butt is usually used when doing pulled pork.


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## oldschoolbbq (May 27, 2012)

_"patience"_

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