possible to over do a pulled pork?

poster · September 2014

I did a pulled pork on the weekend. Started with a 7lb shoulder at 250 until 170ish IT, then I foiled and took it to somewhere about 210. I just tied up and left it on a little long. I then FTC'd until I got to where I was going. 45 minutes late I pulled it. It fell apart easily, but almost too easily. The taste was awesome but the texture was almost mush. I could grab a handful and pack it into a ball and it would stay. Could I possibly have overdone it? I assumed overdone would make it more dry. This was kinda the opposite.

nolaegghead · September 2014

If it falls apart and mushy, it's over cooked. If it's more like ham, it's under cooked (if you're shooting for pulled pork). They're all dry, they seem moist because of gelatin and fat.

Hotch · September 2014

@poster I would try the next one without the foil. 235-250 and start checking around 195 I.T. If bone in, you should be able to pull it out clean and easy. Temp should be between 195-200. FTC and then pull just before serving. Keep the serving pan covered as best you can to reduce moisture loss.

Remember the best it will ever be is the first pull of pork. That should be the Cook's.

I am a no sauce guy for the first round of serving (fresh pulled) then you can add a light Carolina sauce later to keep it moist.

smokeyw · September 2014

I always foil at around 165 but I start probing when it gets to 190. It's done when it probes like butter. I never have to go to 200 on butts.

SGH · September 2014

I know I'm fixing to start a riot but so be it. Drop the wrap while cooking. It is totally un necessary. I just cooked two shoulders each weighing in excess of 20 pounds without wrapping at this weekend brisket camp. I assure you they were not mush. The problem with wrapping is it gives folks the illusion of a safety net that just doesn't exist. A lot a good meat has been turned to mush because of aluminum foil. Wrapping does have its place in the comp world. It's usually used to either speed the cook or stop farther darkening when running very high temps. This is the only 2 times that it can be useful. As a note myself and brother Nola demonstrated that massive shoulders could be cooked at extreme temps and still come out perfect in taste, texture and color. When we pulled the last 22 pound shoulder, Unit 1 was screaming at a absurd 440 degrees. No wrap, no magic, and no voodoo. Just cook until done and remove from the heat. Just try it one time without wrapping and I bet you like the end product better. Again there are times when wrapping is a must and a useful tool. But more often than not it's in the competition arena. Not in ones back yard. I hope this helps my friend.

nolaegghead · September 2014

^^^that

Wrap to speed it up or arrest bark development and smoke.

poster · September 2014

ok, I will give it a go without the wrap. Im fairly new to the egg and I have only done a couple. I remember the first one was awesome, so I tried to duplicate the process. But as I cook more and more I think im getting pickier and pickier on the outcome of everything

nolaegghead · September 2014

That's a good thing. I'm always my own worst critic. And I'm a perfectionist. Sadly.

SGH · September 2014

Try this my friend. It comes backed by the SGH money back guarantee. By a bone in butt. Size is irrelevant and totally your choice. Try to get one covered with heavy fat. Do not trim it at all. Don't even touch the meat with a knife. Season how you like, it doesn't matter. I'm going to give you a huge window here. Cook at any temp that you want or that you feel comfortable with from 200 degrees all the way up to 375 degrees. Cook that baby until you can EASILY pull the bone out with 3 fingers. Not 4 or 5 fingers, but 3. Don't even concern yourself with the internal temp. Ignore it for it will deceive you at times. The bone test never lies. Never. That's why I only cook bone in shoulders. If you will do what I say and be fair and honest, I'm willing to bet that it will be the best butt you ever ate. If my method fails you I will come on here and say that cazzy is the man instead of SGH. I bet I don't have to say it though if you follow my simple advice to the letter.

MagnoliaBBQ · September 2014

I agree---when the bone easily pulls out it is done--best test. If you have a temperature probe in it to monitor the cook, do the bone test at 190-195 and don't go above 200 in any case. Also, foiling liquefies the bark. Most people, myself included, enjoy the texture and taste of chewy bark blended into the pulled pork. Only foil after 160 IT to speed up the cook when needed. Don't foil at all if not pressed for time. For pork butt, I have recently been trimming away the fat cap and have not noticed any adverse effect on the tenderness of the end product, because the pork butt seems to have enough internal fat . I trim away the outside fat cap to create more area for bark formation. Otherwise, the bark forms on the fat on one side of the butt, and at the end of the cook, I end up throwing the bark attached to this fat layer away. Also, if you score the top of the pork butt at 1 inch deep in a 2in by 2in grid pattern, it creates more outer surface area for even more bark formation (although the butt looks weird at the end of the cook).

fishlessman · September 2014

no foil here as well. i also prefer pulling larger pieces and not shredding with forks. shredded small pieces remind me of the tupperware containers sold in markets all processed with sauce

SGH · September 2014

@fishlessman‌
Brother Fish I'm glad to see that you concur. Foil does have it's merits at times. But as I already stated they are usually for very specific reasons usually not encountered during home cooking. If a man keeps a close eye on what his meat is doing, wrapping is totally un necessary. I only wrap meat when it's done, not before. This is one time that I heed brother Franklins view in lieu of brother Mixons view. Not trying to discredit brother Mixon in any way as he can more than back up every claim that he makes. But he does so on highly specialized cooking equipment and with the aid of preppers, loaders, stokers and a entire cooking entourage at his beckoning command. The average home cook does not have this luxury. Brother Mixons advice is geared more toward competition cooking rather than everyday backyard bbq. Brother Franklins advice can be applied by a absolute novice all the way up to the upper elite. I sway to the side of brother Franklin on this foil nonsense. Sorry brother Mixon.

cheeaa · September 2014

MagnoliaBBQ said:

I agree---when the bone easily pulls out it is done--best test. If you have a temperature probe in it to monitor the cook, do the bone test at 190-195 and don't go above 200 in any case. Also, foiling liquefies the bark. Most people, myself included, enjoy the texture and taste of chewy bark blended into the pulled pork. Only foil after 160 IT to speed up the cook when needed. Don't foil at all if not pressed for time. For pork butt, I have recently been trimming away the fat cap and have not noticed any adverse effect on the tenderness of the end product, because the pork butt seems to have enough internal fat . I trim away the outside fat cap to create more area for bark formation. Otherwise, the bark forms on the fat on one side of the butt, and at the end of the cook, I end up throwing the bark attached to this fat layer away. Also, if you score the top of the pork butt at 1 inch deep in a 2in by 2in grid pattern, it creates more outer surface area for even more bark formation (although the butt looks weird at the end of the cook).

I wouldn't worry about temp at all as for when to pull. I've had some butts go well past 195 before probe and bone tender. But like you I use a temp probe to start checking it at about 190. And like a lot of you guys I'm a bark shark and I dont wrap either although I've noticed a lot of people don't like heavy dark bark, but more of a mahogany, so imo wrapping is totally up to personal tastes.

Zmokin · September 2014

SGH said:

I know I'm fixing to start a riot but so be it. Drop the wrap while cooking. It is totally un necessary. I just cooked two shoulders each weighing in excess of 20 pounds without wrapping at this weekend brisket camp. I assure you they were not mush. The problem with wrapping is it gives folks the illusion of a safety net that just doesn't exist. A lot a good meat has been turned to mush because of aluminum foil. Wrapping does have its place in the comp world. It's usually used to either speed the cook or stop farther darkening when running very high temps. This is the only 2 times that it can be useful. As a note myself and brother Nola demonstrated that massive shoulders could be cooked at extreme temps and still come out perfect in taste, texture and color. When we pulled the last 22 pound shoulder, Unit 1 was screaming at a absurd 440 degrees. No wrap, no magic, and no voodoo. Just cook until done and remove from the heat. Just try it one time without wrapping and I bet you like the end product better. Again there are times when wrapping is a must and a useful tool. But more often than not it's in the competition arena. Not in ones back yard. I hope this helps my friend.

No Riot, but I wrap to foil the stall.
"Pun intended"

nolaegghead · September 2014

oh schnapp!

tarheelmatt · September 2014

tarheelmatt · September 2014

I fully agree with @SGH with foil. I am not a fan of foil nor ever will be. Foil I feel compromises the bark/fat and I am just not down with that (dang, I rhymed). To each their own here. If one is cooking a butt, and hit a big stall, push the temp to get out of the stall instead.

poster · September 2014

Thanks for all the info. Is FTC'ing done just for time management? or is it needed for the rest period? Every time I have done one I needed an hour before pulling. I haven't tried pulling after taking the pork directly off the egg yet. I also have done beef a couple times with FTC'ing, but I think beef may need the rest more so than pork?

buzd504 · September 2014

SGH said:

If a man keeps a close eye on what his meat is doing, wrapping is totally un necessary.

So much truth here. B-)

nolaegghead · September 2014

FTC is for keeping warm for long periods between the cook and serving. If you're going to eat in an hour, just let it sit out and cool down. You can't put 190F meat in your mouth and if you pull that hot you loose even more moisture to evaporation.

DaveRichardson · September 2014

@SGH‌ I was wondering on what your cook time was per lb at that screaming 440.... My daughter wants to try her first cook tomorrow.....

We had fun cleaning out the ash tonight and prepping the lump and Apple wood for smoke.....

SGH · September 2014

@DaveRichardson‌
Brother the last load of 15-18 pound briskets were done in 4:20 minutes. Give or take a little. However I don't recommend this procedure unless time is a real pressing issue. Also I was cooking them in a totally air tight cooking environment. Also on Unit 1 I don't have to contend with reflective heat like on a ceramic cooker. If time permits run them at 275-300. They will cook plenty fast and turn out wonderful.

lousubcap · September 2014

@SGH-I don't usually comment on one of your threads or posts when you are "game-on" with a thread but your " no foil" during the cook is where I have happily landed. I will foil (or now butcher paper-recently acquired) to hold the cook when I have many hours til "eat-time". I cannot predict with any degree of accuracy when a big ol brisket will finish but once you crank them at around 280-300*F you can get much closer with the estimate than the traditional low cook temps. Just an observation.

And while here-thank you for all you did for the Brisket Camp. Never would have achieved the level of notoriety had you not kept them in line. And @nolaegghead for the talent to pull that off. Can't believe how quickly it all came together and with such eggceptional results!

All, have a great BGE weekend!

DaveRichardson · September 2014

@SGH‌ I'm looking at about 300-350 for a butt and loin combo. Hopefully I can get them done in less than 6-8 hrs in the BGE....

I guess a test butt post will start airing tomorrow. Gonna let the kiddo take control of the cook tomorrow!

SGH · September 2014

@DaveRichardson‌
My bad brother. I thought that you were inquiring about the briskets. That said you can really get up high on the loin and pork shoulders. You can run the pork at 375 with no issues at all. Sorry for the short and delayed answers. I'm currently watching 7 miles of mainline slip below the waves in the Gulf of Mexico.

DaveRichardson · September 2014

No worries..... Fish On brother @SGH‌ !

NOLA was a stomping ground in previous years and the Mississippi Gulf Coast was a close second.... Many fond memories. Some destroyed physically by hurricaines, but good times nevertheless!!

Cowdogs · September 2014

nolaegghead said:

FTC is for keeping warm for long periods between the cook and serving. If you're going to eat in an hour, just let it sit out and cool down. You can't put 190F meat in your mouth and if you pull that hot you loose even more moisture to evaporation.

This is the best advice in this thread... I think some are under the impression that FTC somehow improves the end product. It does not. If you FTC a 200+ degree butt, you are basically cooking it for 2-3 hours longer.

When I have a butt that is going to finish 4 hours early, I will FTC, but I let the meat cool to about 170 (1-1.5 hours) before going to the cooler.

Lit · September 2014

I didn't read through all this but I have tried many times to do a 9 pound shoulder at 350 in my large and by the time it hits 200 the bark is burnt and I have to trim it off to get to edible meat. If your a Carolina chop guy and pull it at 185-190 then 350 works but you have to foil if you try to cook at 350 or you have to spray every 15 minutes to stop the burning bark. Not sure how you cooked those large shoulders 15 plus pounds at 350 plus and had anything left edible. Were they skin on picnics?

Mattman3969 · September 2014

@lit - how much sugar is in your rub?? I have done a few 9-10 lbs with BBBR or Dizzy Dust with no burning problems when cooking at 350 and no foil. I have only done one actual low and slow and didn't care for the bark. I like a lil crunch but maybe that is what some would call burnt. Idk. I have to admit I am no pro at pork by any means as I would rather have pulled beef so if I have my choice its a chuckie any day.

smokesniffer · September 2014

Great thread. Thanks for all the input. I haven't done a lot of pulled pork in my junior years of using the egg, I have wondered about the FTC thing, never done it, and probably won't do it now. @SGH thanks for the 3 finger tip, going to try that the next time I do a butt. You guys are all amazing. Thanks for your input. It does help "UP my game." ^:)^ ^:)^

Lit · September 2014

Never use sugar. Use the same rubs you mentioned above and the bark turns out past beef jerk texture. I will go to 350 on a 6 pounder since it will finish faster but a larger shoulder I cut back to 300 or so.

possible to over do a pulled pork?

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