Pork Butt Fail (was it me or the meat?)

johnkitchens · January 2015

Okay I didn't want to post this out of embarrassment. I mean we all know that pork butts are about the most forgiving piece of meat out there, but I somehow found a way to screw it up.

I honestly am not really sure if it was me or a bad cut of meat. My wife wanted me to try sliced pork so I bought two boneless butts. The guy working the meat counter said he would cut them for me. I didn't watch him, but it appeared that the bone was removed and they were cut in half. One weighed about 4.25 pounds and the other weighed about 3.75 pounds.

My setup:

Rockwood, new mapp torch, 4 pecan chunks, drip pan with 50/50 apple cider vinegar / water mixture, and Bad Byrons butt rub.

I lit my fire, put my chunks on, and my platesetter. I waited for all of the white smoke to clear. I then put in my drip pan and my butts. Here is a before pic.

I cooked these at 275. I pulled the smallest one off at 175 internal. She cut one piece out of it and said it tasted good, but she thought it was kind of tough. (I like pulled cooked to 203 internal, but I was trying to please her). I put it back on and pulled it at 185 internal.

I had a wonderful flavor and a great smoke ring, but it was so fatty that in the end you had a small amount of meat and a pan full of fat that was thrown away. There was more thrown away than kept.

I let the other butt cook to around 193 and removed it. It wasn't falling apart like it would at 200, but it was close enough. It was the same way though. These were the best tasting ones I ever did, but they were so full of fat that you had to pick and pick to get meat instead of fat.

I was so disappointed that I didn't even bother with any after pics.

So did I do something wrong or did I just get a bad butt from the store? I don't want to waste another day doing this.

MaC122 · January 2015

You were too nice for the wife. You should have gone with your instinct at 200f. But who the hell knows. Ive had great brisket and beef ribs but they will suck the next time I make them. Same recipe and technique

shucker · January 2015

Hard to tell how well you trimmed it by the picture since the rub is already on, but I would suspect that some trimming of fat would've helped your fat content issue.

NoobZero · January 2015

Sounds like bad cuts of meat to me.

GATraveller · January 2015

Wish I could say you screwed that one up but have to guess it was the meat.

theyolksonyou · January 2015

John, don't be ashamed of your meat, it happens to all of us eventually. Wait, wrong forum...

Seriously, I cut 4 steaks off a butt this weekend and there is a lot of fat that gets cooked out when we do pulled pork. Maybe the chopped pork lovers like @tarheelmatt‌ have some insight about trimming, temps etc... But I think 175 is too low for sure and they all act differently.

johnkitchens · January 2015

I am wondering that if I had cooked them to around 203 or so that the fat would have been cooked out. I just don't know.

grege345 · January 2015

Did it have a fat cap that was removed before cook or after cook? Hard to tell from pics. You have any sliced pics?

tarheelmatt · January 2015

John, for some reason, the picture doesn't show at work. Is the fat cap up or down? I like to have mine down for the first couple of hours and I'll flip. Actually, sometimes I don't bother flipping. Depends on what is going on. When we're doing true pit cooking, we flip.

I generally go to 180° for chopped Q, however that includes a bone in, instead of boneless. At that temp, some of the meat will pull at that point though, but shouldn't be tough.

At the size of those butts, I wonder if the fat just didn't render enough and not having a bone had some effect for your desire?

SmokeyPitt · January 2015

Definitely nothing to be ashamed of...at least you tried something different.

I wonder how much difference it makes to cut them in half? I know people of done this successfully, but perhaps it reduced the amount of time in the smoker thus the amount of time for the fat to melt away. I wonder if you try it again perhaps leave it whole?

I also like the @shucker's suggestion of trimming any fat away on the outside. I usually do this anyway when I am cooking to about 200 for pulling. I find there is usually plenty of fat in the butt.

johnkitchens · January 2015

I didn't do any trimming at all, and I didn't get any after pics. I planned to, but I changed my mind when I saw what a mess it was.

I had them fat cap down. This fat wasn't just on the surface of the meat it was all throughout the slice.

Imagine a slice of meat that you then had to slice the small amount of good meat out from the bad fat. Maybe two small pieces of meat per slice. The rest was just fat.

Jeremiah · January 2015

Sounds like it was the meat. Sorry man.

theyolksonyou · January 2015

Hard to see thru the salt and sugar, but I cut these off a 9# butt. There's a big vein of fat running thru all 3.

NPHuskerFL · January 2015

Sorry this wasn't up to snuff. It happens to the best of us man. My gut says by pulling at the lower IT the butt didn't have enough time to render out the fat. Is this the first you've pulled at this IT for slicing? Butts tend to be fatty but, when ya pull at 200℉ ish & buttuh you figure most of it has rendered. I'm wanting to try slicing a butt. Is it not possible to go to your normal pulling IT and then wait a bit so it holds together as best as it can---- similar to that of slicing a Chuck Roast?

NPHuskerFL · January 2015

One of my buddy's and his family stayed with us a while back. I made 2 BB. Both turned out nicely. His first reaction was it's so moist, tender & where's all the fat....did you trim it??? My response. I never trim BB they render. Sure there was some fat left I'm sure but, no where near what he was used to.

grege345 · January 2015

As far as I know the money muscle is the only part of the butt that can be sliced with any chances of getting a "slice " of pork. Maybe leave the sliced pork for the loin? I'm out of answers. Could've been a lazy pig

KiterTodd · January 2015

Everyone has slightly different methods and of course you see folks on here doing turbo butts, but I think you cooked it too hot, for not enough time, and you didn't let it rest.   Certainly could have been other factors as well.

I'd shoot for a grid temp of 225 which means you may float between 200 and 250 until you get it dialed in. Google around and see what pull temp people like, but 195-200 is common, it'll cook a little more while resting.   Then definitely FTC (foil/towel/cooler) that thing for a while. And keep the egg closed while you are cooking (no peeking) until the temp probe tells you to yank it.

I have had tough ribs and pork like you describe and it is usually when someone hasn't cooked it enough. Usually if you over cook it slowly, the meat will still fall apart, but it'll just be dry. If you nail it then of course it is juicy.

Fat cap up or down hasn't made a difference in the internal meat quality for me, mainly just has to do with the bark (fat cap down gives you more useable bark). And heck, you may have ended up with a particular lean cut of pork, more like a loin, and that was the issue.

I guess you get to smoke another one!   :-bd

Oh, and if you still have the dry pork, chop it all up and simmer it in a pan with some BBQ sauce. It should soften up and make for great sandwiches.

THEBuckeye · January 2015

Where did you buy the meat?

mitch2264 · January 2015

Not that I am a pit master, but it sure sounds like you got a bum butt! How frustrating!!! :(

MediumRarely · January 2015

I agree with KT on nearly all points - low and slow renders the fat. Combine this with a "bad cut"...

OK, now that we are finished assigning blame - go spend more money at different market, reset and hit start again!

By the way, where exactly is the collar located?

johnkitchens · January 2015

Thanks for the replies guys. I am guessing that it was a combo of it not being cooked enough and a bad butt. If it had cooked longer I am sure more fat would have rendered.

I have never had one do this before. NEXT time I am doing it my way. I cooked them 7 hours, but I was cooking to temp not time. It just happened to take 7 hours.

I usually cook a whole bone in butt. I am doing that next time. These tasted great so at least I got that down.

DaveRichardson · January 2015

Go with a loin cut if you want to slice; that's my preference. Butts make better pulled in my opinion. I always trim the excess fat down before the rubbing begins; EVOO instead of mustard for a binder.

GrannyX4 · January 2015

When I cooked 48 butts for the pop warner football season some of the butts gave me fits. All were cooked the same so I am guessing it's the butt. If I remember correctly there were 4 butts out of the 48 that were tough and took a lot longer to cook. ;;)

Lit · January 2015

Meat for sure. I did 4 shoulders not long ago and sliced one early around 175 and it was fine. Prefer 185 but even at 175 it was good.

greenenvy · January 2015

@KiterTodd pretty much covered how I do it. Usually pull at 195-200 and FTC for a couple of hours. If there are large streaks of fat, I'd probably pull those off before pulling the rest.

Usually I prefer bone-in, as that is one way to help determine when it's done - the bone slides right out with almost no resistance.

Can't quite tell, but zooming in on your pic, it looks like there's a pretty good streak of fat right through the center, so it looks like you were butt screwed on this one.

Ladeback69 · January 2015

For sliced pork you want an internal temp of 185 and for pulled you at least 195. Both of these can very. I have done sliced bone in pork to 185 and the were juice. I was cooking 8-9 pound ones though. even at 185 the bone can come out with a lit work. Try it again with the bone in, your results may differ.

badinfluence · January 2015

@johnkitchens‌ nothing you did wrong here brother other then used the wrong cut of meat for sliced pork. There are only 2 parts of the shoulder that should be used for sliced pork. That is the money muscle and the horn.

Honestly your better off using a loin for sliceing. Take it to 160 let I t rest about 10 min then slice and enjoy.

johnkitchens · January 2015

I appreciate it very much guys! I am ready to try it again.

@THEBuckeye I purchased this at my local supermarket. That is one of the many downsides to living in a tiny town. There isn't a lot of selection, and I am an hour away one way from a really nice butcher shop.

theyolksonyou · January 2015

Personally, I prefer loin pulled closer to 140, but different strokes.

Little Steven · January 2015

I've said this before and I don't know if it's true in the states but we get shoulder roasts here. A lot of the intra-muscular fat is removed and they are rolled and tied for roasting. They generally run about three times as much (per pound) as a whole shoulder. I would never try a whole shoulder as a roast.

THEBuckeye · January 2015

@johnkitchens

I'm lucky to be within 5 miles of Whole Foods, 10 minutes from a local butcher (bought ground chuck, a strip for Cast Iron Blackened and potatoes rolls today) and 25 minutes to another local butcher where I buy my butts, wings, chucks, bacon and ribs. I usually stick with Whole Foods for steaks and filets but love Wilkes Meats for the others.

A lot of eggers have the freezers and buy a lot of bulk. I'm lucky to buy fresh most cooks.

Pork Butt Fail (was it me or the meat?)

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