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First real failure

Newbs
Newbs Posts: 188
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I cooked up some "country ribs" on my BGE last night and for the first time in over a year filled with terrific results, I had a failure.
These weren't the pork shoulder steaks, or butt-chops that are sometimes called country ribs. These were the odd cuts...the ones with two stubby ends of rib at either end...part loin(white meat) and part shoulder (darker meat). I marinated them overnight in some diced onion, garlic, canola oil, seeded mustard and some dry rub all mixed together. The marinade was fantastic. The problem was the meat. I put the probe in the loin part and when it hit 149, I pulled it off the grill. I had them on a raised grid with a dome temp of 350-375. They were on for about an hour. Well the loin bit was the only part I could eat. The rest of it was either horribly undercooked, or rubbery , or full of chewy connective tissue. Just plain awful. I ate the loin bits and carved the rest up and tossed it into the fridge.
Soooo....[p]I have two questions.[p]1) Has anyone had success with this type of pork?[p]2) Any suggestions for what to do with the leftovers? I'm thinking something along the lines of chili or pork n beans or some sort of slow cooked meal that I can toss alot of leftover pork into.[p]Thanks,[p]John

Comments

  • Newbs,
    I love those cuts - they are great. Your begining was great - the marinade sounds yummy enough. But I always cook those at a MUCH lower temp (225 to 250 MAX). Also, Those have to go to around 190. These are not like a super fine cut Tenderloin that is done at 160, these need some time for all that porky goodness to come out. [p]I cook these indirect as well. I also have had a lot of success with the more rib-centric 3-2-1 method [p]For pork, 149 is not cooked.

  • Newbs,
    remember, if it was all great, it would all be average :-)

  • AZRP
    AZRP Posts: 10,116
    Yeti Bob,
    For my taste, pork tenderloin is pulled at 145 then rested 10 minutes. At 160 it will be over cooked. -RP

  • AZRP,[p]That should have read for that cut 149 is underdone.....[p]Yes, you are right tenderloin is totally different from these scrap cuts. I like my tenderloin the same as you.
  • Newbs
    Newbs Posts: 188
    So true Max but it is still sad when the winning streak ends...LOL![p]
  • Newbs
    Newbs Posts: 188
    Yeti Bob,[p]I guess the problem is that different cuts of pork need to be cooked to different temps and that particular cut of meat has three different types of pork in an "all in one"
    package. I thought that the loin part would be awfully dry if I cooked it to the higher temp and that while the rib bits would benefit from a low and slow cook, the loin
    would not. Since the loin portion was the largest, I opted to cook it at a loin target temp. [p]Not good.[p]Thanks for the advice.[p]John

  • Newbs
    Newbs Posts: 188
    AZRP,
    Me too which is why I pulled it at 149 but the rib ends and the other part which is not the loin could have used
    alot more time on the grill.[p]Weird cut of meat.[p]Cheers,[p]John

  • Newbs,
    Don't feel bad. The first brisket I tried I totally destroyed!! Ruined a $25 piece of meet. Did another last weekend and turned out great. Not quite as rare as I wanted, but 110% better than my first effort.

  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    HR3,[p] Brisket RARE!!! You don't want brisket rare. It's the only cut of beef I want WELL DONE and slowly..
  • Celtic Wolf,
    Didn't want it super rare. It was just overdone for my tastes. I'm learning, but having fun doing it!!!

  • wobin
    wobin Posts: 211
    HR3,
    You can resole your shoes with rare brisket. It must be slow cooked for a loooong time to break down the connective tissue.[p]Cheers, Glenn

  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    HR3,[p] As a wolf I love my meat RAW, but brisket slowly cooked beyond well done is yummy. The key is to cook it reallllll slow. I think if you cook it too fast you might as well have chunked it up and made pot roast. One - two hours per pound and closer to the two hours the better.[p] Hmmmm come to think of it I like Pot Roast well done too as long as it's cooked in it's own gravy reallly slow.[p]
  • Celtic Wolf,
    I'll keep that in mind on my next one!! Thanks!