Pulled Pork Newby

RICHIED777 · July 2014

My pork wouldn't pull, so I could use a little guidance.

I had two 3.5 pound pork shoulders. Applied Mustard and Dizzy Dust. Marinated 12 hours. Used my Adjustable rig with the plate setter on the bottom, drip pan with Apple juice and water mix, and the grate at gasket level. I used cherry and Apple wood. Set up my Digi Q to 250 degrees. I got a meat stall at 157 for about 2.5 hours. Because I was a dumb dumb and screwed up my cooking times, I had to foil. I pulled at 195, and added another piece of heavy duty foil on each piece of meat. Wrapped in a towel and into the cooler for 1 hour. I opened it up ready to pull... Ain't gonna happen! Had to go with chopped pork instead.

Can my brand new Digi Q be off? My dome therm was reading cooler then the Digi. I did NOT check it with my thermapen. Didn't think I had to.

Any advice would be appreciated.

When and how do you place your wood?

Do you wait a time period before you place your food?

Is their a BETTER place to put your Digi q temp sensor?

Thanks a bunch all

Hawg Fan · July 2014

I spread wood chunks around the charcoal and light in the middle for low and slow. As the charcoal burns toward the outside of the egg, more smoke is introduced to the cook. I never add my meat until the temperature has stabilized at my desired temp and I place my Digi Q probe on the dome temperature probe. You may see a difference between the dome temp gauge and Digi Q at first, but they'll settle out after awhile. 157 for the stall sounds low to me, but every piece of meat is different. I usually see the stall around 170 to 178. I never foil during the cook and don't peek. Just pull the butt, foil and toss in an ice chest for 1-3 hours. Sounds like you did a lot of stuff right, but may have an issue with temperature calibration. You didn't mention where you placed the Digi Q probe so it would be normal to see it higher if it was clipped to the grate.

Wolfpack · July 2014

In my experience if you couldn't pull it it wasn't done- I would calibrate your probes to make sure. When the bone pulls cleanly from the meat it will pull.

TexanOfTheNorth · July 2014

I don't think anything in your post had to do with not being able to pull. As @wolfpack said, you probably pulled it too early. IT's are really just targets and can vary from cook to cook depending. If your shoulders were bone in the once the bone moves freely they're done. Otherwise, you should be using a probe to check for tenderness.

JethroVA · July 2014

I would wait until 205 to put in the cooler for a couple hours.

stevethegreat · July 2014

Regarding your digiQ and dome temp being different: that can be pretty normal, but it would depend on the placement of your probes. If you have your DigiQ up high in your dome (like clipped onto a bamboo skewer that's in the shoulder), then the temps should be very close. If the probe is down on the grate, fell through the grate, or in your drip pan then you will get some wonky readings. I would recommend trying to get the pit temp probe up higher if possible. Also, if you have a thermapen use it. Nothing like verification that everything is as you expect it. Your meat probe could be on a bone or fat pocket and throw off readings. Multiple readings with thermapen will help with that. My $0.02

DMW · July 2014

I would also try a whole butt or picnic shoulder next time instead of 2 smaller cuts. I think cooking them whole gives a more forgiving cook

tulocay · July 2014

+1, I agree you pulled too soon

tksmoke · July 2014

Start probing at 200, and when it probes very smoothly, it's done. That will usually be around 205. The difference between grid temp and dome is normal. They should start to come together around 2-3 hours. With a butt, it is not necessary to FTC - cook until it reaches temp. I use the turbo method - it works GREAT for butts. 350 all the way. Butts are unpredictable though. My last one I thought I left plenty of time, and it stalled right on schedule @175, and it was dinner a liffle after 8 - target was 7. But I enjoyed an extra Moscow mule in the interim.

RICHIED777 · July 2014

Thank you EVERYBODY! THE DIGI probe was clipped to the grate, how can you move it higher... If that's necessary? Where do I find bamboo skewers?

I will definitely use my thermapen more

You all are soooo helpful

stevethegreat · July 2014

I like to get mine up high in the dome as thats what the temp gauge reads and all recipe use. Any kind of wooden skewer will work, you might want to soak them so it doesn't burn. You can find them at any grocery.

Hawg Fan · July 2014

I clip my Digi Q probe to the egg temp probe. I run the cable through the daisey wheel.

thailandjohn · July 2014

You can also clip it to the Egg probe if you want to get a temp high in the dome

buzd504 · July 2014

I haven't had a pork butt be done at 195 ever. Usually at least 203.

stemc33 · July 2014

@RICHIED777‌ Temp is just a reference point to start checking to see if it's ready to pull. When you hit the 190's, start probing or wiggling the bone. Should probe like butter.

It's hard to be patient and the process is gonna play mind games with you making you think your over-cooking it. Just let it ride until it feels right.

I would get so frustrated when I tried to do pulled pork in the crockpot before I got the BGE. After reading a few post, I figured out my problem. Wasn't cooking by feel.

Pulled Pork Newby

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