I purchased a big pork shoulder pack and it came with two ~8 pound pieces. One was what I read is the Boston Butt and the other I think the pork shoulder.
I cooked the Boston Butt the first time a pretty standard way... 225 degrees till 165, wrap in foil till 200 and let rest. It was FANTASTIC. It was juicy and just fell apart. I could eat it with no BBQ and even leftovers without sauce tasted great.
We put the other cut in the freezer and just made it, a month later. It turned out so much worse. The taste was still pretty good! But other than a few juicy pieces, most of it just wasn't nearly as supple and juicy. It was alot more dry. BBQ covered it up and it was as good as what you would expect at a restaurant on a BBQ pulled pork sandwich. But nowhere near the first cook.
I wanted to know if this was just the difference in cuts or from my cooking technique. I was in a time crunch so I cooked it a little different. I defrosted it for 2 days in the fridge before cooking, but the inside was still a little frozen-ish while the rest defrosted. Then I cooked at 260 degrees, wrapped at 165 till 200 and let it rest for an hour. The only reason I think it may just be the cut is because the non supple parts were literally a different shade than the small bits of juicy parts. They were more white and just simply seemed more lean.
So which is it? Is the second half just that much more lean or did I mess it up?
Thanks!
I cooked the Boston Butt the first time a pretty standard way... 225 degrees till 165, wrap in foil till 200 and let rest. It was FANTASTIC. It was juicy and just fell apart. I could eat it with no BBQ and even leftovers without sauce tasted great.
We put the other cut in the freezer and just made it, a month later. It turned out so much worse. The taste was still pretty good! But other than a few juicy pieces, most of it just wasn't nearly as supple and juicy. It was alot more dry. BBQ covered it up and it was as good as what you would expect at a restaurant on a BBQ pulled pork sandwich. But nowhere near the first cook.
I wanted to know if this was just the difference in cuts or from my cooking technique. I was in a time crunch so I cooked it a little different. I defrosted it for 2 days in the fridge before cooking, but the inside was still a little frozen-ish while the rest defrosted. Then I cooked at 260 degrees, wrapped at 165 till 200 and let it rest for an hour. The only reason I think it may just be the cut is because the non supple parts were literally a different shade than the small bits of juicy parts. They were more white and just simply seemed more lean.
So which is it? Is the second half just that much more lean or did I mess it up?
Thanks!
