Pulled Pork Question - are the parts of the pork butt that do not pull as easily

dstearn

I smoked a 7.6 lb pork butt last Sunday, this was my 2nd attempt. Used the same method as the first except that I rested the 1st butt for 45 minutes instead of 30 and I used a water pan for my 1st cook . For the 2nd cook I sprayed apple cider vinegar on the butt 3 times during the 5 hour cook prior to wrapping for the remaining 3 hours. This time when I was pulling the pork butt I had noticed that some areas would not pull easily, they were more meaty. Could it have been the money muscle? Was this because of the cut of meat or my method? The first shoulder I cooled looked more like a loaf, more rectangular. The 2nd butt was more square. In each case the blade bone easily pulled out and the temp was around 200.

saluki2007

There are a lot of variable that could have contributed to this.  To me it sounds like it may have not been fully done.  I used to always cook to a specific temp, but now I cook more to feel.  What I mean by this is when you probe the meat to check temp, it should slide in and out like a hot knife in butter.  Since no two butts are the same, they would cook at different rates therefore not necessarily be done at 197 or 200 or whatever temp.

RRP

When you say "around 200" which side of 200 and how "around"? Did you probe the butt in more than one place for a temperature reading? If you hit a fat pocket or bone you can get widely differing readings.

dstearn

200 + and I probed in 3 spots avoiding the bone. The bone came out very easily once it rested.

Carolina Q

I water pan really isn't needed. Nor is apple juice for that matter. The only time I rest a butt is when it's done and I'm not yet ready to eat. Otherwise, I pull and eat right away. 

Sounds like yours wasn't quite done. For pulling anyway. I once had one that was done at one end, but not the other. Probe went in with no resistance in one half, not so, the other. It was late and I was hungry, so I pulled part of it right on the grid and had dinner while the other half finished cooking.

SGH

@dstearn‌
The butt has three parts that it can be separated into individually. The rails, the horn and the money muscle. More often than not it's the horn section that's the hardest to pull followed by the rails. This is usually a sign of slightly undercooked for pulled pork. Granted the pork is actually done long before it will pull but for ease of pulling it must be cooked to a higher temp. I hope this helps my friend.

dstearn

Thanks, I think that opening up the egg 3 times to spritz may have contributed to that. Next time I will let it cook for 5 hrs without opening and then wrap it at 275. The bark was better at 5 hrs without the water pan.

SGH

The water pan on the egg has only a few limited applications. It's not needed with pork shoulder. The foil is also not necessary unless you are trying to speed the cook. For the ultimate bark do away with the water pan and the foil. Hope this helps.

MagicMike

SGH said:

The water pan on the egg has only a few limited applications. It's not needed with pork shoulder. The foil is also not necessary unless you are trying to speed the cook. For the ultimate bark do away with the water pan and the foil. Hope this helps.

+1

I have never had any luck wrapping my butts in foil either. Foil does speed up the cooking process but the meat never seems as tender to me vs not wrapping. I think the connective tissues inside the meat needs more time to break down.

tarheelmatt

Going turbo makes a portion right in the middle somewhat non-pull able, however it is tender.  I actually like this portion.  I like to coarse chop this portion and have for myself.  Besides, I like my Lexington BBQ coarse chopped anyway. 

tulocay

I always tend to get a section that looks like white meat (when compared to the rest of the meat). I find that is very dry and not as easy to pull.