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she was a bit dry!

axelfoley
axelfoley Posts: 30
edited August 2012 in EggHead Forum

Hi Gang trust your all well.

I did a cook at the weekend and found that it came out quite dry. As I live in oz our meat cuts are often called something else over here and are also half the size. If I was to say Boston Butt to a butcher over here he would most likely have me burnt at he stake for being some sort of witch!. I am still battling after years to try and find the equivalent cut over here which I am led to beilve is a Pork Scotch Fillet??. Anyhoo, the cut I used at the weekend was a pork leg with bone in. I injected with apple juice and marinaded for a few days, and just before putting into the egg I put a dry rub on it. It went on for about 15-16 hours and got to an internal temp of 190F. I mopped it a few times during the cook, and although it fell to peices, it was a on the dry side. I have some possible ideas on why this happened but would love to here any opinions.

1. The cut of meat i used is not ideal for slow cooks as the fat content of the leg is lower?

2. The dry rub may have contained two much salt and ended up drawing out all he moisture?

All the best

 

 

 

Comments

  • Bumm39
    Bumm39 Posts: 60
    Ask your Butcher for pork "Shoulder" it is the Same as Boston butt. To this day I don't know why pork shoulder is called Boston butt, and I have been a butcher for 25 years.
  • Thanks BUMM39. I always thought it was shoulder until I started reading more forums about it, and more and more people said that the shoulder is not the same as the boston butt. Also alot of youtube video of Boston butt show two peices in a cryopak with no shoulder bone, thats why im o confused. Not that using shoulder is a bad thng of course.

    PS: The reason for the name is, In pre-revolutionary New England and into the American Revolutionary War, some pork cuts (not those highly valued, or "high on the hog," like loin and ham) were packed into casks or barrels (also known as "butts") for storage and shipment.[2] The way the hog shoulder was cut in the Boston area became known in other regions as "Boston butt". In the UK it is known as "pork hand and spring", or simply "pork hand".

  • Bumm39
    Bumm39 Posts: 60
    edited August 2012
  • Bumm39
    Bumm39 Posts: 60
    edited August 2012

    The 2 pieces you probally saw in cryovac we're the picnic ham and shoulder which is actually the entire front shoulder of hog. But for conveniance it usually comes in 2 seperate portions. The pic shows what is considered Boston butt or Shoulder, at least in Florida.

    p.s. thanx for boston butt info, Cheers

  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    edited August 2012
    what temp did you take it to? sounds like you cooked a leg roast (green ham), and maybe didn't take it high enough to fall apart.

    re your questions:
    1.) it's the connective tissue we are looking for, and legs have plenty of it.  your fabled 'boston butt' is part of the leg anyway.  it
    s the upper shoulder.  the 'picnic' is also part of the leg, and is the direct equivalent on the animal of the rear leg ('ham'), since it is simply the front leg, minus the foot (hock) and stopping short of the shoulder (the boston butt)
    2.) it' not possible to dry out meat by using salt in a rub or marinade

    i really think you flinched when cooking it, and stopped at a lower temp for fear of overcooking.  you really MUST overcook shoulders and butts in order for it to fall apart

    i go to 195-205 internal, and you need to eat it fairly soon.  the moisture is fugitive.

    you may have just had a leaner animal too
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • gerhardk
    gerhardk Posts: 942
    Like everyone else said aka shoulder, at least here in Canada.  I agree with Stike the moisture is gone by the time you reach those temps so you have to serve it hot so that the fat in the meat lubricates the mouth and fools you into thinking it's nice and moist.  I like serving pulled pork with both bbq sauce and coleslaw, put the slaw right on the sandwich just like they do in the south.

    Gerhard