Pork Butt Juice

[strength_and_power]

Yeah... one of the main reasons I came out with the “Sweet Heat” trial batch.



Dunno if I’m gonna continue it tho. Only sells at about .20 the pace of the GP.

Look for my order soon


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[a207769s]

18.5 hours later we have this.

Now for the newb question. Alot of the stuff in the pan is burnt. Then I have a little dark sludge and the clear liquid. Feel dumb asking but what's the good stuff I wanna keep? Pictures I've seen look dark and I think the clear stuff might be fat? Help a guy out.....

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[jwbtulsa]

Seems to me that the pan got a little hot. but then you were having temp probe issues. Plus, if your pan is directly over a heat source it will cook that stuff dry. The sludge is bitter and really wont lend itself to anything. Put the drippings you have in the fridge and see how much fat will rise up. The remaining juice can be then returned to the meat. It happens sometimes. One cook I won't have but a bit and the next cook I have two cups. Just the nature of the combined cooking method and darn animal you are trying to eat.

[a207769s]

Forgot to post the finished product. Overall pretty good. The bark with the MHGP and BS was great. Didn't have quite enough smoke flavor for me but it did have some.

I only have two racks in the smoker and I typically use the bottom rack so the pan was directly over the water pan (which is filled with sand). I usually clip my temp probe in the middle of the top rack just to keep it out of the way but maybe I need to move it down to the bottom rack. I'm sure sitting above the meat it reads a little lower than it is under the meat.

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[jwbtulsa]

Just takes practice to learn the best way to use the tools you have. Looks pretty good to me. And now you have another reason to not do yard work as you have to do another cook and investigate technique.

[a207769s]

Well the family requested another pork butt for father's day dinner so of course I had to say yes to another night of sleeping on the couch tending a smoker all night. To try not burning the juices I put the butt in a pan on the top rack....still burnt. May have to wrap one and see what happens. Does anyone wrap through the stall and then unwrap to harden the bark? If there wasn't bark in pulled pork I probably wouldn't eat it.

One thing I don't like about the foil pan is I am getting very minimal smoke penetration. Just a slight smoke ring on the top. I was expecting smoke to fill the pan and still flavor the meat but that isn't happening. Next time I think I will put the butt on the top rack and pan below on the bottom just to make cleanup easier. I really need that smoke flavor.

This butt was only about 8.6 lb before trimming (biggest the butcher had, last was over 10.5 lb). The last one took 18.5 hours. This 8 pounder took 18 hrs. Must've been a stubborn oinker. It was crunch time and I had to turn the temp to 300 F for the last 1.5 hours to hit 195 F in time. It was probe tender and pulled just fine. Both butts were done at 250 F - 260 F on average (until I turned it up on this last one).

I haven't been probing until about the 4 hour mark. This butt was at 137 F after about 4 hours. I'm thinking I may need to bump up my smoker temp to hit that 140 F in four hours. Now that I've done a few butts and other meats I am noticing my cook times are typically longer than what others see at similar temps. Must just be the nature of my smoker and I'll have to adjust accordingly. I like it when learning is fun AND delicious.

One question I have........... I am using a vertical propane smoker and using apple chunks in a metal pan. produces nice thin smoke and with 2 chunks I can get smoke for 45 - 60 minutes on average. So for a pork but I go through 8 - 12 chunks depending how often I replenish and how big they are. I was talking to someone using an "egg" and he uses 2 chunks per cook. I assume it has to do with the fact that he is burning charcoal in a very controlled manner and the chunks aren't being burnt up as fast? Or maybe he just isn't putting as much smoke flavor in the meat? Just seems like a big difference.

[Richtee]

Try a “double pan” below for drippings... maybe a little water in the bottom one. And yeah charcoal’s a different animal. It alone will give smoke flavor..of course. And the Eggs are VERY controlled.

[Bearcarver]

I haven't been probing until about the 4 hour mark. This butt was at 137 F after about 4 hours. I'm thinking I may need to bump up my smoker temp to hit that 140 F in four hours. Now that I've done a few butts and other meats I am noticing my cook times are typically longer than what others see at similar temps. Must just be the nature of my smoker and I'll have to adjust accordingly. I like it when learning is fun AND delicious.

.

Somebody else probably knows this better than I do:

But I think the "40° to 140° in 4 hours" is actually kinda rounded off for ease of memory.

I think it might really be something like "45° to 131° in 3 1/2 hours".

But either way you're good to go.

I probe at 3 hours & never have to worry.


Bear

[Mark R]

I haven't been probing until about the 4 hour mark. This butt was at 137 F after about 4 hours. I'm thinking I may need to bump up my smoker temp to hit that 140 F in four hours. .

Somebody else probably knows this better than I do:

But I think the "40° to 140° in 4 hours" is actually kinda rounded off for ease of memory.

I think it might really be something like "45° to 131° in 3 1/2 hours".
Bear

That 40 to 140 in 4, in whole meat (not ground or injected) is for the SURFACE of the meat only. Not the center.

[Bearcarver]

That 40 to 140 in 4, in whole meat (not ground or injected) is for the SURFACE of the meat only. Not the center.

No it isn't---The 40° to 140° in 4 hours is for the center of Whole Meat.

The surface should be to 140° a lot quicker than 4 hours.

Getting the surface to 140° is what makes it safe to probe it before 4 hours.

C'mon Mark you knew that as well as I do.

Bear

[Richtee]

Bear... the surface is safe for probing in an hour-ish. Center of the meat can go longer than the 4. It’s “virgin”. When you run into the 40-140 is sliced/ground cuts. It’ not uncommon for big roasts to go longer IT wise. Like a whole hog for instance.

[Bearcarver]

Bear... the surface is safe for probing in an hour-ish. Center of the meat can go longer than the 4. It’s “virgin”. When you run into the 40-140 is sliced/ground cuts. It’ not uncommon for big roasts to go longer IT wise. Like a whole hog for instance.

Exactly---I wait to probe at 3 hours because I use lower Smoker Temp than Most.

One Hour would be Iffy for me---2 hours probably OK, but what's the hurry, I wait until 3 hours so I'm Absolutely positive!! That way I know I won't be pushing any Bacteria in from the surface.
I learned this one from the Best in the Business---BBally--My Favorite Safety Man!!
I got no reason to rush it. I don't care what the temp is until I get close to my finished Temp on my Prime Ribs.

Bear


.

[Mark R]

Exactly---I wait to probe at 3 hours because I use lower Smoker Temp than Most.

One Hour would be Iffy for me---2 hours probably OK, but what's the hurry, I wait until 3 hours so I'm Absolutely positive!! That way I know I won't be pushing any Bacteria in from the surface.
I learned this one from the Best in the Business---BBally--My Favorite Safety Man!!
I got no reason to rush it. I don't care what the temp is until I get close to my finished Temp on my Prime Ribs.

Bear


.

So what do you do with a butt or a brisket that takes 6 hours to get to 140° Int.? Think about it. The only part of the meat exposed to harmful bacteria from the air, is the surface. That is the part or area you have to "disinfect" with 140°. The center of the meat has not been exposed so it can cook much longer and slower without promoting bacterial growth because it has not been exposed to the bacteria.
If this is not true, you could not cook a brisket for 12 hours, or a butt for 10.
It is a common misunderstanding of the rule, for whole muscle meat only!
As soon as you grind or inject or stick a non sterilized thermo in the meat, the game changes.

On edit, this does not apply to poultry at all!

[curious aardvark]

18 hours !
sod that !

Cut that sucker in half, and add about half a pint of apple juice to the foil tray, add more when you foil if it's looking like the original has evaporated, cook it at 275 and you should get the cooking time down to about 5-6 hours.
The pork shoulder I do are usually around the 4-5lb mark. 5-6 hours is my normal.
I cook them in foil trays, which keep the juices add more apple juice when you foil, which will help the steam process.

This way you get lots of juice.
Use a fat seperator and keep the non-fat part (the fat is the very clear liquid on the top)
I then put the rest of the juices in a pan and reduce it a little and usually add some redcurrant jelly to give it a little piquantness.
The reduced juice then gest mixed back into the pork once you've pulled it.

I know you guys like to pull these ridiculously long shifts. But come on 18 hours is just madness :-)

Oh yeah and cook the pork whenever you have time. Freeze it once pulled and juiced. I use foil trays, but bags works as well. And just defrost and re-heat when you want it.
This whole bbq masochism thing just isn't necessary.

[Bearcarver]

So what do you do with a butt or a brisket that takes 6 hours to get to 140° Int.? Think about it. The only part of the meat exposed to harmful bacteria from the air, is the surface. That is the part or area you have to "disinfect" with 140°. The center of the meat has not been exposed so it can cook much longer and slower without promoting bacterial growth because it has not been exposed to the bacteria.
If this is not true, you could not cook a brisket for 12 hours, or a butt for 10.
It is a common misunderstanding of the rule, for whole muscle meat only!
As soon as you grind or inject or stick a non sterilized thermo in the meat, the game changes.

On edit, this does not apply to poultry at all!

Pay attention Mark.
This is the thing we have to explain to many Newbies, just like it was explained to us when we were Newbies. "BBally" explained it to me 7 years ago.
I never thought I'd have to explain it to you. I'm glad to see you at least mention the word Inject or Thermo now. Wasn't in your first post.
The guy asked about only getting to 137° in 4 hours, and if he should bump his heat up. That showed me he knew part of it, so I told him he was fine on that one.
The 40° to 140° in 4 hours isn't just for ground meat. It's also for any whole meat that has been injected, probed or if the seal was broken in any way.
That's why if people don't know their Smoker, they should not Inject before smoking or Probe with their Temp probe, until a couple hours into the smoke (I wait 3 hours), because if you probe before you start, or too early, you could push Bacteria from the surface into the inside of the roast. If you know your smoker, and know you can get to 140° in 4 hours, you don't have to worry about it.
I wait until 3 hours into my Smoke, then I sterilize my Temp Probe & insert it. This way the Bacteria on the outside was killed in the 140°+ on the outside, and there are no Bad things on my probe to push inside.

So this All boils down to, When you said "the only part that has to get to 140° is the surface", that is actually the WRONG Point, because if the Roast was compromised in any way, like injecting or probing, that means the whole thing should get to 140° in 4 hours---Not just the outer surface!!

I explain the whole thing at the beginning of my "Pulled Boston Butt" Step by Step, which I linked earlier in this Thread.

Bear