Rancid Pork - Please Help?

[BBQGrandMmmDisaster]

I have no idea what I'm doing wrong - but, for whatever reason, my boston butts keep coming out completely rancid - absolutely disgusting and inedible. While the dogs next door LOVE my cooks - they eat really good - I'm not so happy? ;)

I have no clue what I'm doing wrong - but the smoking method I developed for my Weber Kettle is obviously not translating well at all to my Weber Smokey Mountain 14.5"?

Again - I'm not talking about pork that doesn't taste so good - I'm talking about absolutely rancid, inedible pork. And I'm not certain what the culprit might be - but here are the reasons I'm guessing might be causing the issue?

1.) I soak and inject the butts overnight with apple cider. Possibly my Kettle always cooked at a higher temperature - and given I can now accomplish "low and slow" with the 14.5, the pork sits at too low of a temperature for too long after the cider has possibly "cooked" the pork a bit? Again - I have absolutely no clue?

2.) Our local piggly wiggly closed up shop and now all we have is an independent grocer. I was friendly with the butcher at the pig, and possibly he then provided me with really good quality butts that could handle my mistakes? And now I can't cook because I'm not making the right prep for possibly not so good pork?

3.) I have previously smoked chicken on the 14.5 and didn't clean it out - I'd just turn off the vents to shut it down after the chicken cooks, like I always did with my Kettle no problem - so possibly there's just rancid chicken whatever inside the smoker?

Formerly I thought that one of the worst things in life was spending 20 hours cooking a boston butt and having it come out... not so good?

But now I have the absolute nightmare of cooking butts for 20 hours and having them come out completely inedible and rancid.

I've now washed the grill with Dawn, scrubbed it as good as I could, done my very best to get it back to "new" - there's still some gunk, but I was afraid to scrub harder and accidentally damage the ceramic?

And I just tossed in half a chimney with some apple wood to hopefully kill off whatever else might have caused the rancid - hoping that might help?

Just very much hoping that some of you might have ever had this happen to you and can tell me HOW it is I messed up so I never risk the rancid nightmare again?

I realize I must be doing something terribly horribly wrong. I just can't pinpoint what it is? But the end result is rancid pork. The only time I've even gotten "meh" pork was when I did my best to keep the temperature at 275 or above rather than 225-250. But even then I just ended up with roasted pork that tasted like I'd cooked it in the oven?

I know I must be committing some major foul - but I have no idea what I'm doing wrong? And I don't smoke every weekend - tops once a month. So unless someone can pinpoint what I'm likely doing wrong - I'm probably just screwed? ;)

 

[JLinza]

What temp are you cooking at? As long as you know your meat isn't bad from the get go, sounds alot like super dirty smoke. After you cleaned it the way you described, did you re-season it? Also what temp are you finishing this butt at? I'm sure others will have more questions too.

 

[SmokinEdge]

For 1) I’ll say you should never inject meat with only ACV, it should always be mixed with another liquid like apple juice or chicken broth.

For 2) I think if you are having to cook a butt for 20 hours then your pit temps are actually much lower for a long period of time making the meat spoil early on in the cook. These are just two wild guesses, but your strategy needs changed I’m thinking. As a side question what are the actual grate temps through the cook, I’d care less what the dial in the lid says.

 

[noboundaries]

Rancid usually equates to rotten. I don't believe your pork butts are rotten. Sounds like too much bad white/grey smoke and ash. Bad smoke makes for inedible meat.

Set your vents open 1/4". Load the wood. Then load the charcoal. Then add hot coals to start your fire. Then WAIT 90-120 minutes. The slower fire will preheat your buried wood and burn off the nasty-tasting volatiles that cause meat to taste acrid. The fire burns cleaner, too. You may not even see smoke at the two hour point, but whiffing a hand thru the exhaust plume toward your nose will enable you to smell exactly what you want to taste.

Pork butts will cook/smoke at ANY temp and come out delicious. There's nothing magical about any given temp. Temp = clock speed. High temp = fast clock. Low temp = slow clock. I do low (225-250°F) overnight so I can sleep, then 350°F+ in the morning until almost probe tender to finish quickly so the meat can rest for several hours.

Just saying.

Ray

 

[DougE]

What is your IT at 4 hours in? If it isn't 140° 4 hours in, it has to be since you injected.

Try skipping the injection and running your pit at 275~300° verified with a probe at grate level. Pulled pork should not take 20 hours even counting a couple hours rest in a cooler.

 

[JLeonard]

You know i remember this exact thread a while back.

Jim

 

[Hijack73]

Straight vinegar will absolutely jack up meat. Will it taste rancid or rotten? I don't know, but the post I'm going to reply to or quote below are my suspicions also (too long at too low a temp). I've mopped a lot of pork with ACV cut with apple juice when it was on the cooker, but soak it beforehand - no. If nothing else the outer 1/4 inch is going to be funky as all get out.

Ceviche fish or poke' is 'cooked' with vinegar. Too long in vinegar and it tastes horrible, and I don't like it to begin with.

For 1) I’ll say you should never inject meat with only ACV, it should always be mixed with another liquid like apple juice or chicken broth.

For 2) I think if you are having to cook a butt for 20 hours then your pit temps are actually much lower for a long period of time making the meat spoil early on in the cook. These are just two wild guesses, but your strategy needs changed I’m thinking. As a side question what are the actual grate temps through the cook, I’d care less what the dial in the lid says.

This^

 

[BBQGrandMmmDisaster]

Thanks VERY MUCH for all of the suggestions.

I've definitly allowed dirty smoke - so I'll give it much more time to get up to temperature before putting the meat on.

But what I'm obviously not "getting" - from what I've read, it seems most people suggest a cooking temperature of 225-250. If I have two even 5 pound boston butts - one on the top grill and one on the bottom - then, if I try to keep it at this magical smoking temperature - the meat just takes FOREVER to even get up to 160? I've double-checked my temperature probes, and the temperature is definitely resting at 225-250? I'm certainly not doing anything - I try to not even open the access door? So the meat's sitting there, the heat is apparently what the probes say it is - but the meat just sits and sits and sits and takes forever?

So I was thinking that was allowing the meat to "rot" - so I followed directions and smoked at 275. And, while the meat didn't come out acrid, it tasted more like it was cooked in the oven - it didn't seem to be taking on any smoke? So I ended up with flavorless but edible pork.

I'm going to skip the "soak" in the cider next time - but I really like the sweet apple taste - so would it be okay to just inject it with Musselman's Apple Juice right before I put it on the smoker?

I'd really like it to have some flavor? Again, last time at 275, it at least didn't take on the smokey apple flavor I expect? It was just pork. The only flavor then was from the BBQ sauce.

So, given something's off - can I smoke it at a lower temperature for a few hours - then raise the temperature? Or would I then still expect it to rot on me?

What would be simplest possibly is to know how many hours it's allowed to come up to whichever temperature insures that it can't rot? Say it's been 4 hours and it's still at 140 - I've only wasted 4 hours, so just throw it out because it's likely rotted at that point?

Last time it rotted, I was beyond OCD about temperature control - I only roasted one 4.5 pound butt - I was keeping the temperature at 225-250. I believe the top gauge was reading about 260 the whole time?

I then transferred it to the oven at 250 to finish it, which I think took about another 4 hours?

I was doing my best to keep it at the "perfect temperature" - but, then I pulled it out of the oven - and, because I no longer trusted the smoker, I'd luckily already cooked up some yummy ribs in my Kettle ;) So at least I had a full stomach when I pulled it and AGAIN tasted nothing but rancid pork?

Something just seems VERY off?

But I'll skip the soak, wait for the clear blue smoke bit - and only then put the butt on -

But at what temperature then? Obviously the pork I'm buying refuses to budge at 225-250? Either that or because I presoaked it in the cider so it can't cook right?

You know i remember this exact thread a while back.

Jim

My apologies - I'd planned on just tossing the 14.5 out by the road, but it's the 4th - so thought I'd give her one more shot? I was beyond extremely frustrated when I made that post, so the moderators were kind enough to remove it for me. Rather than asking for advice, I was just venting about how much I hated the WSM. Hopefully now I can have more patience - follow the proper advice - discard everything I thought I'd learned with my Kettle - and realize the smoker is a completely different tool and approach it correctly? Thanks VERY MUCH for your patience.

 

[BBQGrandMmmDisaster]

Straight vinegar will absolutely jack up meat. Will it taste rancid or rotten? I don't know, but the post I'm going to reply to or quote below are my suspicions also (too long at too low a temp). I've mopped a lot of pork with ACV cut with apple juice when it was on the cooker, but soak it beforehand - no. If nothing else the outer 1/4 inch is going to be funky as all get out.

Ceviche fish or poke' is 'cooked' with vinegar. Too long in vinegar and it tastes horrible, and I don't like it to begin with.


This^

THANK BOTH OF YOU!!!!!

I don't know where I read that Apple Cider Vinegar was good for the injection - but I did mix in a tiny amount on my last cook.

Beyond making it funky - also it possibly "waterlogs" the meat so that it can't come up to temperature on time without rotting first? Just guessing - because it does take FOREVER to cook? When I put the butt on, it's an almost white pinkish hue from the soak.

But I do love the Apple flavor - so is it still okay to inject it with the good Apple Juice? And spritz it with it after the first few hours?

 

[mike243]

Welcome to the site, I use to inject apple juice and spritz with it also, never had pork or any stuff cooking over 180 go bad, if it tasted rotten it was before you cooked it, remember 4 hours/140 for injected meat. that's the goal that most follow.

 

[jcam222]

You know i remember this exact thread a while back.

Jim

I was thinking the same thing. You seem to have a lot of variables while leaving your WSM. I'd suggest going back to basics to reduce the number of variables. No injection just a standard BBQ rub. Make sure you have a good clean smoking 275F bed of coal and wood. I'd suggest you try hickory wood if you want a more pronounced smoke flavor. When the butts temp 165 wrap them and finish to 205. ( you can not wrap for more smoke it will just extend the cook time) Rest then for an hour wrapped in towels in a cooler. Don't skip this step. If you want to add flavor to the pulled meat search the site for a finishing sauce.

 

[BBQGrandMmmDisaster]

Welcome to the site, I use to inject apple juice and spritz with it also, never had pork or any stuff cooking over 180 go bad, if it tasted rotten it was before you cooked it, remember 4 hours/140 for injected meat. that's the goal that most follow.

That's brand new to me - so I have to make certain it reaches 140 degrees before the 4 hour mark? If it doesn't make it around that time, then toss it out?
Possibly there's a higher recommended smoking temperature then for injected meat?
I'm an idiot - I thought pretty much everyone injected along with the rub and everything else.

 

[DougE]

That's brand new to me - so I have to make certain it reaches 140 degrees before the 4 hour mark? If it doesn't make it around that time, then toss it out?
Possibly there's a higher recommended smoking temperature then for injected meat?
I'm an idiot - I thought pretty much everyone injected along with the rub and everything else.

With solid unadulterated muscle, like butt, the interior of the muscle is sterile and as long as the surface temp. hits 140° in 4 hours (which isn't a hard target to hit), all is fine.

Once you inject, or debone a butt, you have then introduced bacteria from the surface into the interior of the muscle and must reach an internal temp of 140° in 4 hours to remain safe.

 

[civilsmoker]

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/simple-polled-pork-tacos-and-samiches.327772/

Lots of discussion, just posted this cook, but just keep things simple. Put a pork rub on it. Smoke it @ 250-300 deg and foil boat it when it hits INT 165 ish with a finishing sauce shown in the post. Add the sauce a little at a time till the right apple flavor when you pull it, add a splash of salt as well. Oh and once covered just move it the house oven till it’s done. Ie that way you only have too run the kettle 5-6 hours tops. This also keeps it from getting too much smoke, good luck!

 

[civilsmoker]

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...simplified-and-reliable-dinner-timing.325427/

One more read for you… step by step….

 

[schlotz]

Yup, got to agree with civilsmoker you need to keep it simple. Make sure the grate temp is verified with a calibrated thermometer (not the built-in which are notorious for being inaccurate). No need to inject a butt. Would suggest you run the smoker at 245-265º. Here is a recipe I generally suggest newcomers to smoking try:

So you want to try smoking your first Pork Shoulder

There are many ways, and all of them can give great results. One of the reasons is that pork butts are very forgiving. Here is the recipe I usually pass on to those first starting with a smoker. The results are both predictable and repeatable. This recipe has never failed to delight who ever...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[Newglide]

Boston butts are one of the most forgiving meats to cook. They can take some time. Don't over think it with injections and pre-soaking the meat, Like already stated, keep it simple. Season it and put it on the kettle. You can run the kettle over 225, I tend to go where ever my smoker likes to settle in, Usually 250-275 sometines higher. On my kettle I tend to use the snake method when doing a long cook. Make sure your wood is dry and don't soak it. If you like the sweet cider taste, use it when you wrap it and in the finish sauce when you're pulling the pork

 

[Winterrider]

Butts don't matter what temp you cook them at. Manage your fire to about 300°, only rub your butt (sounds weird), wrap at 165° and take to 205° ( or probe tender), and see what you think. Can adjust from there. Use a calibrated digital at grate level to verify proper temp.

 

[hoity toit]

I have no idea what I'm doing wrong - but, for whatever reason, my boston butts keep coming out completely rancid - absolutely disgusting and inedible. While the dogs next door LOVE my cooks - they eat really good - I'm not so happy? ;)

I have no clue what I'm doing wrong - but the smoking method I developed for my Weber Kettle is obviously not translating well at all to my Weber Smokey Mountain 14.5"?

Again - I'm not talking about pork that doesn't taste so good - I'm talking about absolutely rancid, inedible pork. And I'm not certain what the culprit might be - but here are the reasons I'm guessing might be causing the issue?

1.) I soak and inject the butts overnight with apple cider. Possibly my Kettle always cooked at a higher temperature - and given I can now accomplish "low and slow" with the 14.5, the pork sits at too low of a temperature for too long after the cider has possibly "cooked" the pork a bit? Again - I have absolutely no clue?

2.) Our local piggly wiggly closed up shop and now all we have is an independent grocer. I was friendly with the butcher at the pig, and possibly he then provided me with really good quality butts that could handle my mistakes? And now I can't cook because I'm not making the right prep for possibly not so good pork?

3.) I have previously smoked chicken on the 14.5 and didn't clean it out - I'd just turn off the vents to shut it down after the chicken cooks, like I always did with my Kettle no problem - so possibly there's just rancid chicken whatever inside the smoker?

Formerly I thought that one of the worst things in life was spending 20 hours cooking a boston butt and having it come out... not so good?

But now I have the absolute nightmare of cooking butts for 20 hours and having them come out completely inedible and rancid.

I've now washed the grill with Dawn, scrubbed it as good as I could, done my very best to get it back to "new" - there's still some gunk, but I was afraid to scrub harder and accidentally damage the ceramic?

And I just tossed in half a chimney with some apple wood to hopefully kill off whatever else might have caused the rancid - hoping that might help?

Just very much hoping that some of you might have ever had this happen to you and can tell me HOW it is I messed up so I never risk the rancid nightmare again?

I realize I must be doing something terribly horribly wrong. I just can't pinpoint what it is? But the end result is rancid pork. The only time I've even gotten "meh" pork was when I did my best to keep the temperature at 275 or above rather than 225-250. But even then I just ended up with roasted pork that tasted like I'd cooked it in the oven?

I know I must be committing some major foul - but I have no idea what I'm doing wrong? And I don't smoke every weekend - tops once a month. So unless someone can pinpoint what I'm likely doing wrong - I'm probably just screwed? ;)

all vents wide open during the cook prevents creosote tatste on the product.

 

[zwiller]

My opinion is that you did 2 things wrong to get a rancid type final product:
1. Injecting straight vinegar;
2. Too low of temps for too long of time.
Both of those together would be pretty nasty.

I agree with all to get back to basics. I can tell by just reading your pit temp is low. You need a good pit temp therm. That dial gauge on your smoker is junk. Get a remote. Something like this. Grab one from a box store, Lowes, HD, Walmart, Academy, etc if you need by the 4th.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C8ND33S...s=kitchen&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWwy