Pulled Pork Trouble

Did a couple pork butts last weekend on my UDS. The things took a long time (about 17 hours at 225 deg). They seemed to hit a second plateau at 180 deg. I went to move one and I could tell it was too done; way too loose. I ended up pulling them off the smoker and they were overcooked and and mushy. What happened? I think I trust my thermometers. I usually cook to 195.

Well if they really had turned to mush then it was either an off termometer or you took the temp wrong. If you hit a bone or right around a bone it could have given a bad reading. More than likely the thermo is wrong though.

Did you foil it at any point?

That said, with butts don't cook to temp, cook to feel. When a skewer goes into it with pretty much no resistence it is time to pull it off.

No foil. I can check my thermos. I had one thermocouple in each butt and tried a second thermocouple readout when I started suspecting trouble. Maybe bad probe location though. I thought that would mostly cause and a false high reading though.

RDWHAHB said:

No foil. I can check my thermos. I had one thermocouple in each butt and tried a second thermocouple readout when I started suspecting trouble. Maybe bad probe location though. I thought that would mostly cause and a false high reading though.

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It is possible too that everything was right but it was just a weird butt. I have had some that were done and bordering on mush well below what temp it would normally be.

Is 17-18hrs too long? I thought it would be done earlier. Every one is different tough...
Next time I'll check my thermos and cook to temp & feel instead of just temp.
Thanks, Jeff

RDWHAHB said:

Is 17-18hrs too long? I thought it would be done earlier. Every one is different tough...
Next time I'll check my thermos and cook to temp & feel instead of just temp.
Thanks, Jeff

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I try to cook my butts at around 225-250....usually takes about an hour to an hour fifteen. Sometime there's a plateau and I'll wrap it in foul to help it along but I've never had a 7lb butt take more than 9 hrs.

RDWHAHB said:

Is 17-18hrs too long? I thought it would be done earlier. Every one is different tough...
Next time I'll check my thermos and cook to temp & feel instead of just temp.
Thanks, Jeff

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It isn't normal but it isn't unheard of either. Depends on the size. An average size full one is normally around 8lbs. I always plan on at least 14 hours for them and I have seen some go much longer than that. It all depends on how much fat and connective tissue there is in it.

I have had some huge ones that were I think ~12lbs that took well over 24 hours.

Dixon said:

I try to cook my butts at around 225-250....usually takes about an hour to an hour fifteen per pound. Sometime there's a plateau and I'll wrap it in foul to help it along but I've never had a 7lb butt take more than 9 hrs.

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Fixed that.

I get about an hour per pound at 250F. I do cook to temp, butts get cooked to 190F. I'm sure that I've never gone over 10 hours, even when doing 2.

passedpawn said:

Fixed that.

I get about an hour per pound at 250F. I do cook to temp, butts get cooked to 190F. I'm sure that I've never gone over 10 hours, even when doing 2.

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Thanks

I always re-probe my meat two or three times during a cook. I also focus the temp near the money muscle.

I use a thermopen and check them occasionally. I have found if you leave a probe in them the whole time its not quite accurate. You are cooking to a certain point that uses temp as a reference, but each Butt is different.

Good advice. Best tool I have for BBQ is my trusty thermopen.

I usually cook mine in the low 200. Around 210-215. It does take a while. And cook the but to 195-200 and I haven't had a problem. Sometimes when I know I have to have it done earlier in the day I'll have it in heavy smoke for 5-6 hrs and bring it in and put into my electric roasting pan thing. It seems to work out really nice. And a lot easier I can put a probe I the meat and another in the roaster. And set and forget it. Next best thing to an electric smoker I guess.

Probably not a good idea to post this on a dedicated "smoker" thread. However, in Hawaii Kalua Pig, the legandary slow cooked Hawaiian pulled pork consist of a whole pig encased in banana leaves roasted in kaive coals in a pit dug from the ground, covered with earth, cooked for hours and dug up, cut up and pulled.

The same results can be replicated by heavily browning a pork butt in a skillet, seasoned during the browning and slow cook periods with liquid smoke, sea salt and 6-8 hours in a crockpot.

Thermopen?

http://www.thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/
Best instant read thermometer on the market.
Good gear.

I've got an MTC from thermworks. Supposedly the same "guts" as thermopen. Then I plug different temp probes into the MTC.

I am curious why leaving a probe in would cause a low reading.

Did some more shoulders last weekend. A full sized 8-9 lbs and two pups @ about 4lbs each. Took about 19 hours for the small ones and 22 for the larger. Pulled them in the high 180s to low 190s. They came out great. I think 195 is a bit high if it takes that long to smoke them. I'm at a loss why it takes so long. The only thing I can think of is my temps are lower than I think. my pit thermocouple is near the center about an inch below the meat. Where do you measure? Ill put extra thermocouples in next time and see how they vary.

As long as I can consistently make good pulled pork I guess it is fine. I'd still like to figure out what I am doing different though.

19 and 22 hours! Whoa. That is a long time. I'd say your pit thermocouple is jacked or too close to the meat. I use the built-in thermometer in the lid of my WSM and I check the internal temp regularly with another digital probe thermo. just to make sure they match up. I usually smoke two 6-8 lb butts at a time and it takes about 15-18 hours. I've never had it take longer than 18. My cook temp is 220-240.....usually.

Howdy neighbor; I'm in Lakewood too.

Next smoke I'm gonna have more probes and wires hanging out of this thing than a ICU patient.

I thought 12-15 hours was a long time!

Lately I've been lazy since it's been so cold out. I just put the pork in the crock pot and let it go until it pulls the right amount.

If it gets overdone it's still better then no pulled pork IMO.

But I can't wait until it warms up a bit and I can break out the smoker again. DO up some ribs too...

Do you have your butts at room temp when you throw them on? That'll suck some heat/add some time. But shouldn't take 22 hrs. That's a long arse time. I usually average 12-14, depending on the ambient temp. How thin is the gauge metal on your smoker? Fairly well sealed up? You might be losing heat somewhere.

Fridge temperature.

I must be doing something very stupid and very wrong. Not sure what it could be at this point.

I pull my butts out of the fridge, and then go get my smoker going. By the time that is up to temp, the butts are pretty close to room temp. That helps a bit.

dfess1 said:

I pull my butts out of the fridge, and then go get my smoker going. By the time that is up to temp, the butts are pretty close to room temp. That helps a bit.

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This is what I do and even the huge ones take 14-15 at most. 19 is pretty darn long for a 4 pounder. I even smoke my at 200-225 and they never take that long. Are you sure your thermometers are accurate or in the right place when measuring the heat inside the smoker? Also I never cook to temperature, usually just until I feel it is done, you get the hang of it after a while.