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Pulled Pork comparison: Butt & Loin

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  • #16
    The butt and loin are in the smoker. I marinated the pork loin in apple juice with a bit of salt and some Big Ron's Original rub. This morning I rubbed both butt and loin with Big Ron's rub. Here are the contenders:

    On the left, an 8.2 lb pork butt, and to the right, a 5.2 lb pork loin.
    DennyD



    GrillPro charcoal cabinet smoker, CharGriller Pro, 22" CKG(cheap kettle grill), 16" UniFlame kettle, Firepit/smoker stickburner, Brinkman gasser w/smoker box

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    • #17
      Go Denny Go!..... Was wondering earlier how this was going....
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      • #18
        Long day.... but it's all done, pics and all. I wouldn't say it's decided though. Breezy but not gusty today. I used the cabinet smoker, and had to put a board up for a windbreak so the smoker would run close to the same temperature on both sides. Even though the smoker held to the target temperature range all day, it was one of those days where it took a long time. Cooler temperature, low humidity, high barometric pressure, or all of those might have been a factor. The smoker was at 220 to 250 all day, except two very brief periods(each a matter of minutes) when it dropped a bit below 220°.

        I mopped the pork loin twice in the last hour and a half before foiling it. I ended up foiling the pork loin at around 157°, cooked it a couple more hours, and put it in a personal size cooler, still wrapped in foil, at an internal temperature of 190°. Covered it with newspapers and let it rest for an hour. When I got it out of the cooler, I waited about 5 minutes and then pulled it, using a pair of Bear Claws. Easiest meat I ever pulled to date. Didn't have to use my fingers for any part of it, no gristle, fat pockets, or waste of any kind. I weighed it before we tasted it. It's very moist(but not greasy) and tender, and has a nice delicate pork flavor.

        Pulled Pork Loin


        Around 2 hours after the Loin came out of the smoker, the pork butt was up to 195°, so I took it out and put it in the cooler, covered with aluminum foil and newspapers. I took it out of the cooler after it rested almost an hour, and went right to pulling it. It pulled the way pork butts always do for me... much of it's easy, but there are always stubborn parts. As always, I used my fingers while pulling the pork butt to take out gristle, pockets of fat, and tough pieces of bark that wouldn't break up well. There were also a few coarser pieces of meat that needed to be pulled by hand. That makes it very difficult to do without washing my hands a lot while I'm at it... because that greasy pork butt is "finger-lickin good"!

        When I got done and weighed the finished product, my wife and I both tasted it. As usual, the pulled pork butt has good texture(for me... I like my meat to have some "character" to it) and tastes delectable.... pork flavor with stringy, chunky, gooey globs of greasy goodness mixed in.

        Pulled Pork Butt


        My wife had a different opinion. The pork loin tasted like better meat to her, and she felt that it was preferable to just taste the meat without grease or any tough bits.

        So our votes are in, and mine is for the pork butt, with the flavor that makes your heart tremble in fear. I like the greasy bits and the fact that the meat has more interesting textures mixed together in what has, up til now, been our "usual", pulled pork from butts. However Linda's vote is for the more delicate texture and flavor of the pulled pork from the pork loin. She likes the tenderness and lack of greasiness.

        Initial weight vs finished product: The trimmed pork butt weighed 8.2 lbs raw, and after cooking and pulling, weighed 4.5 lbs. The finished product was 54.9% of the uncooked weight.
        The pork loin weighed 5.2 lbs raw after trimming some fat. The finished product weighed 3.34 lbs, which was 64.2% of the uncooked weight.

        I'm surprised there wasn't more difference in the amount of loss. Apparently most all the fat in the pork loin rendered out, except for a bit of the fat cap which turned into a nice, thin enough, bark that all of it could be shredded in the pulled pork. Pulled pork from a loin is decidedly different, but not bad. Not quite as different as pulled beef is from pulled pork, but different enough to be a nice change. Now that we've tried it, I think we'll be making pulled pork from loin every now and then for a change of pace. And I think now, after having tasted it, my wife will insist on that.
        Last edited by DennyD; 09-11-2010, 01:17 PM.
        DennyD



        GrillPro charcoal cabinet smoker, CharGriller Pro, 22" CKG(cheap kettle grill), 16" UniFlame kettle, Firepit/smoker stickburner, Brinkman gasser w/smoker box

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        • #19
          stringy, chunky, gooey globs of greasy goodness YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
          Chargriller Pro w. sfb
          Ducane 4100 propane grill
          Brinkman Electric


          Member # 200

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          • #20
            Xlnt side by side comparison The loin will be added to my "to do" list. Thanks for sharing that.
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            New Braunfels Bandera
            New Braunfels Hondo
            4-22.5" Weber Kettles
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            24"X72" Reverse Flow-Made in the U.S.A. by me
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            • #21
              The aftermath: The family gathering went well. After the initial taste and then trying some pulled pork from the loin and butt searately with sauce added, I mixed it all together. Most of the family except one cousin and his wife probably think BBQ is something from a crockpot with BBQ sauce added, so I didn't want to confront them with a taste test.
              Got raves from nearly everyone on the pulled pork(well there was one vegetarian and some of the kids ate hot dogs), but my biggest satisfaction was watching them pile it on, eat it, and come back for more. Some of them got adventurous and tried it with Linda's cole slaw on the sandwich too. Mixed together like that, it was great! Plenty of greasy, stringy, crunchy bits from the butt, but the loin added a different kind of moist, more delicate meat to the mix, making for some of the best pulled pork sandwiches I've ever had.... especially when topped with the cole slaw!
              DennyD



              GrillPro charcoal cabinet smoker, CharGriller Pro, 22" CKG(cheap kettle grill), 16" UniFlame kettle, Firepit/smoker stickburner, Brinkman gasser w/smoker box

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              • #22
                Thanks Denny, for what it's worth and not that it matters I vote for the butt. They both look great
                Thanks for sharing
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                Char-Griller Outlaw w-SFB & (mods)
                30" Masterbuilt Electric Smokehouse

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                • #23
                  great comparison thanks for posting I quit smoking pork loins when I started kicking (oh sorrry) cooking butts for the great info
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                  Brinkman Pitmast Deluxe (with alot of mods)
                  Great Out doors grill
                  Brinkman verticle
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                  Crooked Creek Viszlas

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