So to pull or not to pull??

Chrisk57

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6
Grill(s) owned
  1. Stampede
So I need some advice, I did a Pork shoulder 3 hours 180 at 1:30 bumped up to 220 for 15 hours pulled at 191 degrees let it set for an hour, I thought it was pretty good ,a couple dry pieces but not bad. My question is ,any problem not letting it go to 200 ,mine was getting dry already. I’m open to options this is my first long burn.
 
So I need some advice, I did a Pork shoulder 3 hours 180 at 1:30 bumped up to 220 for 15 hours pulled at 191 degrees let it set for an hour, I thought it was pretty good ,a couple dry pieces but not bad. My question is ,any problem not letting it go to 200 ,mine was getting dry already. I’m open to options this is my first long burn.
Sounds like to me the dry that you were experiencing was undercooked. It'll tend to be mushy if its over cooked and dry and tough if undercooked. I always start probing around 195 and it always seems to be anywhere from 200-205° probe tender
 
Sounds like to me the dry that you were experiencing was undercooked. It'll tend to be mushy if its over cooked and dry and tough if undercooked. I always start probing around 195 and it always seems to be anywhere from 200-205° probe tender
Sounds like to me the dry that you were experiencing was undercooked. It'll tend to be mushy if its over cooked and dry and tough if undercooked. I always start probing around 195 and it always seems to be anywhere from 200-205° probe tender
Does it always take this long ? It was getting nervous 8 1/2 pounder!?
 
Does it always take this long ? It was getting nervous 8 1/2 pounder!?
They say to plan on 2hrs per lb. Ive never had one take that long though. Mines always closer to 1-1.5hrs per lb. But I like to cook them at 250-275 on my WSM. But even on a pellet I've never had one go 2hrs per lb
 
So my 2 cents. Pulled pork is is usually again I say usually done around 203 +/- a few degrees.. I've had some that are done a 200 and ones that are done at 205+

Time, the protein will tell you when it's ready. Like other said, time per pound is just a gauge to help you plan for done time. I've had shoulders/butts take as little as 9hrs all the way up to 26 hours.

Dryness, never had dry with undercooked but that's just my experience. I usually get dry section when the protein is lean and really lean. If my cut is lean ill be sure that I add some sort of fat with it..

Again just my 2 cents.
 
I never do just one, but I normally do 9lbers. 16hrs is what I normally plan on. I rest mine a few hours just like I do my briskets and that has improved the moistness. I also put in a foil pan with 1/3 cup of liquid and cover around 160F. Pull around 200F and rest.
 
This past weekend we did a 9.5# butt, it cooked faster than expected @ 225, somewhere around 15 hrs. Pulled it @ 210, let it sit for 3hrs. Bone fell off when moving it to the pan for pulling. Juicy, tender, very little fat. In the future I think 2+ hrs for a sit time might be the way to go.
 
So I see none of you are cooking at 220 do you think that was the problem?should I be at 225? also if I put in one of those smoke tubes does that increase the smoke taste very much because I definitely would have liked that. You should know I used the RQ competition blend pellets. Thank you all very much for your info.
 
So I see none of you are cooking at 220 do you think that was the problem?should I be at 225? also if I put in one of those smoke tubes does that increase the smoke taste very much because I definitely would have liked that. You should know I used the RQ competition blend pellets. Thank you all very much for your info.
I can't imagine a difference between cooking at 220 versus 225 -- it's only 5 degrees. Pork shoulder is a forgiving cut that can handle a range of temperatures.

And yes, a smoke tube can increase the smoke flavor.
 
Three days ago, I cooked a 13lb. boneless pork shoulder/butt in my Bull at 180 degrees (extreme smoke setting) for 14 hours. Pulled it off the grill at about 170 internal degrees and after wrapping it in butcher paper with pads of butter, brown sugar and honey, I placed it in a tin pan with a little bit of apple juice. Turned the grill up to 275 degrees and cooked it for another 3 hour until internal temp reached about 200 degrees. I let it sit for about 1 hour and then shredded it for sandwiches, then vacuumed seal and froze the left overs.
I was very happy with the way it turned out and got great comments from my guests.
 
Three days ago, I cooked a 13lb. boneless pork shoulder/butt in my Bull at 180 degrees (extreme smoke setting) for 14 hours. Pulled it off the grill at about 170 internal degrees and after wrapping it in butcher paper with pads of butter, brown sugar and honey, I placed it in a tin pan with a little bit of apple juice. Turned the grill up to 275 degrees and cooked it for another 3 hour until internal temp reached about 200 degrees. I let it sit for about 1 hour and then shredded it for sandwiches, then vacuumed seal and froze the left overs.
I was very happy with the way it turned out and got great comments from my guests.
Wow!! 14 hours on extreme, I was not sure I could do that. Well in the future maybe I go 4 or 5 hours on extrem for more smoke flavor and this time I’ll let it hit the 203+ make. Thanks everybody.
 
Additionally the first 5 hours of the extreme setting I used a six hour smoke tube to increase the smoke. The meat had a very nice smoke ring and although the meat had a great smoke taste to it, it was not too overly smoked.
 
I never do just one, but I normally do 9lbers. 16hrs is what I normally plan on. I rest mine a few hours just like I do my briskets and that has improved the moistness. I also put in a foil pan with 1/3 cup of liquid and cover around 160F. Pull around 200F and rest.
start in a pan or when you hit 160?
 

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