Butts came out dry

myselftokeep · May 2005

I think it was the butcher's fault. In the past I have used 10 pound picnic shoulders for the cook but this time I used two 4 pound boston butts. My picnics always had about a quarter inch thick peice of fat on top but these bostons had nothing. I cooked at 230 for twenty hours then kicked the temp up to 300 for the last 5 and a half hours. Pulled it off the Egg at internal of 195 and the meat didn't pull as easily as I was used to. The meat was also drier than usual. I wish I'd have taken a picture of the raw butts, but alas... Is this a butcher problem?
SeanO

Unknown · May 2005

SeanO,[p]I don't cook on a BGE at home but have with DrBBQ at some of the contests. I cannot imagine that 25 hours to cook two 4-pound butts in a BGE. I can imagine more like seven -10 hours. When I cook butts and am not using a remote therm, I start checking them at the 1 1/2 hour per lb. timeframe. So with yours, I would have started checking at 6 hours. Once that bone starts(if they were bone-in) to wiggle, that butt is done.[p]I am sure someone else who cooks on a BGE all the time will respond but I thought I would throw my thoughts for you.[p]Hope it works out for you.[p]John[p]

myselftokeep · May 2005

RibDog,
One 10 pound shoulder took 20 hours. The next 10 pounder went 30 hours when I finally pulled it at 180 internal and chopped up the meat as it was nowhere near pullable. This was a 25 and a half hour cook that I probably should have let go to 200 internal istead of 195. Maybe it's time to callibrate the thermometer. My question was about the fat on the boston butt. Should they have a thick layer of fat? The ones I had were lean.
SeanO

Sundown · May 2005

myselftokeep,
Have you calibrated your thermometers lately? Just another thing to keep track of.

Greendriver · May 2005

myselftokeep, I have never found em with a fat cap on top...but I will second what Ribdog said whole heartedly...there is no way it should take more than 12 hours for butts that size. Now that is if all things are simular, ie. setup, BGE cooking efficiently (which it sure seems to be unless you reloaded with lump), and of course the calibrating of the themometers.

katman · May 2005

myselftokeep,
Yes, it does sound like it is time to calibrate the thermometers! No way it should take 30 hours (or 20 hours)to do a 10 pound shoulder unless you are trying to make jerky.

Unknown · May 2005

SeanO,[p]Definitely check your therms. I usually run a test on mine every two to three months.[p]Regarding the fat cap on a butt, it is not necessary to leave it on. Pork butts are already a fairly fatty piece of meat all through the butt. I like to trim them off when I cook butts because you lose too much of the bark when you take whats left of the fat cap off when it is done. And I do like as much bark as possible.[p]But if there is one thing I learned from Ray is that when you think you have pork butts figured out, one will will come along and shatter that norm.[p]John

Butts came out dry

Comments

Categories