Long cook on butts/shoulders vs shorter higher temp . .

MCG DAWG

. .I've always done my long low/slow cooks with the egg for butts and shoulders. However, I've heard of folks egging at low temps for frist few hours, wrapping in foil, and finishing off at much higher temps either in the egg or the stove to greatly shorten cooking time.[p]Others have said that after 140 degrees internal you don't absorb any more smoke.[p]With my guru I don't mind a good 20+ hour cook. However, if these shorter options result in as good a product I may want to utilized the quicker cooking time in the future. [p]Anyone have experience comparing the two methods?[p]FWIW, got three 10lbs shoulders put on at noon to be used for lunch tomorrow.

stike

MCG DAWG,
you get smoke flavor as long as there is smoke. the smoke ring stops forming after 140. a brick placed on the grid, with a dome temp of 300, would still taste like smoke if there was smoke present. hahaha[p]the reason for the long cook is to allow collagen to break down and to allow felt to melt (and some to render out).[p]as long as you let the meat get through the plateau, afterward you can bump temps up. no sense taking it off the egg, just bump it to 300 or so.[p]the plateau isn't a flat line, though. it's more like a slow climb. the meat will relatively quickly get to 145/10, but then the temp seems to slow down. actually, the heat energy is now being used to break down collagen. it's a phase change almost. so you'll see a slowing of the meat temp. it's so long, it seems like a flat line,(the plateau), but it'll rise slowly say through about 170 degrees and start to speed up again.[p]the whiz has a graph.[p]you can't hurry through the plateau, but you can bump it at the end. might give you more bark. there will be more solid fat, too, because it may not all melt, but that's not a big deal[p]

Unknown

MCG DAWG,
Hey doc!! Glad to see you over here!!!

MCG DAWG

stike,[p]I know all about the plateau and am very familiar with it. The meat "holds" there as all the energy in the heat you're applying is used to break down the collagen/connective tissue/and fat. [p]For example, water boils at 100 degrees centigrade. A pot of water will heat up slowly to 100 degrees. Once it's at 100 degrees it will get NO hotter as all the energy is used to convert that water from a liquid into a gas. Once it's ALL converted to a gas you can then start raising the heat in the water vapor if you'd collected it all. [p]Same thing with a shoulder. You hit your plateau temp range and all the energy provided by the heat is used to break down tissue and fat and isn't utilized to raise the heat of the meat. Once that connective tissue and fat has been coverted from a solid to a liquid, then the energy is again utilized to raise the temp of the butt as a whole to your target temp. [p]The question is whether going slow through the plateau adds any discernable benefit to going through it fast.[p]With each shoulder it's going to take "x" amount of energy to render the fat/collagen/connective tissue. At higher temps you simply apply that energy quicker and thus you meet "x" in a shorter amount of time and thus finish cooking quicker. [p]Just wonder if a 10 hour cook at higher temp yields product as good as a 20 hour cook at lower temp. [p]

MCG DAWG

HR3,[p]I've been "over here" for right at a year, mainly just lurk though. I'll post on occassion. [p]What I gotta do is figure a way to safely get an egg in/out of Athens for tailgating!

YB

MCG DAWG,
I have taken my small a few times to Athens and it's easy to handle.
Larry

Unknown

MCG DAWG,[p]I'm sure if you go back and look at some of the archives for "crates" you'll find some. I've seen the posts. To answer your question, I think the slow cook gives the fat longer to break down and makes for a better product. I cooked a shoulder for a little over 20 last weekend and it was wonderful. I have cooked them fast before, but prefer the slower cook. I would think that if time is a factor you could get away with the higher temp shorter cook and no one would be none the wiser. The end product will still be just as juicy. Good luck to ya bud!!

Unknown

MCG DAWG,
Could always invest in a medium!!

Unknown

MCG DAWG,[p]Here's one link I found quickly. Ping Celtic Wolf he'll help you out!![p]http://www.biggreenegg.com/archives/2005/messages/225074.htm

MCG DAWG

stike,[p]One other thing, do you prefer a dry rub or a wet sauce on your smoked brick? ;-)[p]What's funny is I thought of heating some bricks on the eggs and setting them around my flowers/plants last week during the cold snap down here in the south. Thought it might have helped save some of the annuals I was stupid enough to plant before easter.

stike

MCG DAWG,[p]
problem is, water is a phase change. it CAN'T get colder than 32 until it ALL freezes. but you can steamroll right through past 'plateau temps' to 200 degrees internal with pork before it has had all its collagen converted. it won't just convert it faster, it'll leave some unconverted collagen behind.[p]all i can say is it's empirical. we don't have a chart showing optimal returns on time vs temp.... if folks COULD get great pulled pork in half the time, they would. we all would. which sorta gives us the answer in a backwards way.[p]you can try to rush it, but it won't be as good. problem is, how much can you rush it before the quality really drops? who knows?[p]i think your only real option for 'faster' good pulled pork is to jack temps up after the plateau. you can't rush it.
or everybody would.[p]

fishlessman

MCG DAWG,
i cook hotter in the beginning and at the end of the cook and see no difference at all compared to a longer cook. mine typically go 12-14 hours. 275 til 140, 225-250 til 180/185, then 300 til done.

MCG DAWG

stike,[p]Good points, especially on the "if it could be done that way, everyone would do it". [p]I've never done a quick cook as it's never been an issue. I just plan ahead, plug the guru in, and let it rip. [p]Plus, the longer it cooks, the longer you have a good excuse to drink beer while "cooking". [p]Appreciate the input.

Unknown

stike,
Exactly what I was attempted to say, but my uneducated GA born rear end couldn't put it into such elegant terms! LOL

Unknown

MCG DAWG,
You cannot go wrong with Dizzy Pig coarse rub!!!!!

Darnoc

MCG DAWG,
I have found if you cook at 325 for a five or six pound butt to an internal temp of 195 for four to six hours,the time will depend on the size of the meat.Pull and let it rest in covered foil 15 min or so and then pull the pork.

stike

fishlessman,
smarter and shorter answer than mine.
dude. you really could have saved me a pantload of typing if you'd just gotten here sooner

stike

HR3,
yeah.
well, i dunno about that.[p]see fishlessman's post. hahaha[p]about twenty words. he steered the boat right in, while we were all tying to talk it to shore.

Unknown

stike,
True!! It's Friday, I'm still at work, I have a flank to cook..........and I need a beer!!!!!!!!!!!

Clay Q

MCG DAWG,
I'm not real excited about overnighters so I cook in the daytime. My wifes sister is coming over to live with us for a long weekend and she has already put the word out to me on what she wants to eat, he he. On the list was taco's and I make a mean taco from pulled pork. So I get a small sized butt and do a 9 hour BBQ yesterday. Turned out excellent. I kept notes, here's the basic info;
Hog 7 pounds bone in,
45 internal @ 12:00, dome 325
140 @ 3:15, 300
160 @ 4:00, 290
170 @ 5:00, 260
170 @ 6:00, 250
175 @ 7:00, 250
180 @ 8:00, 300
195 @ 9:00, 325