Mushy pulled pork

[aks753]

Need help troubleshooting what went wrong with my pulled pork. Had 2 butts - one 10.2 lbs and one 6.7. Cooked on the rack of my Mak. Smoke for 3 hrs - 200 for 1 hour and the rest at 225. The 10 pounder took 20.5 hours get to 190 - the smaller one took longer 21.5 hours.

When I pulled the bigger one after 45 min in foil, it fell apart and wad kind of mushy. Consistency kind of like canned tuna. Flavor not as great as usual. The smaller one was fine.

Anyone run into this. Perhaps 10 pounds is just too big? Also, 21 hours for a 7 pounder seems very long.

 

[TTNuge]

Could just be the cut of meat you happened to get that time. Not all pigs are created equal.

 

[Big Poppa]

FIrst off I like to foil during the cook...saves on pellets and makes for a better product. I foil anywhere from 150 on up You foilwhen it gets the color you like. I also believe that any meat placed in a chamber with a fan for 20 hours will not be perfect. The foiling will speed up the cook and that ten pounder will cook in about 10 hours.

 

[RGrunz]

Just a possibility, but I recently bought some butts from BJ's wholesale. They switched to a new brand, Prairie something. I got similar result on that cook. They did the sme with their ribs.... I now pay a little more and shop at my butcher shop. It just takes too much time and effort to have a cook ruined by less than the best meat you can buy. Besides, I hate being embarassed to serve my results.

One other thing, sometimes you can cook something tooooooo long, I have actually increased some of my cooking temps after I am confident that I have achieved the smoke flavor I want. And as I posted yesterday, I WILL BE FOILING longer cooks to finish.

 

[RGrunz]

PS, Did you trim as much fat as possible? A real fatty butt can produce that too.

 

[aks753]

PS, Did you trim as much fat as possible? A real fatty butt can produce that too.

Probably didn't trim enough. Luckily this batch was for a BBQ next weekend, so I can make another batch and use the mushy pork for something else.

 

[sparky]

BP, to you foil in a pan w/ liquid or just wrapped in foil?

 

[JeremyY]

I had this same problem last night. I am cooking a large amount for a church so I was trying to keep costs down. I got the pork at a different place because it was cheaper and cooked it up. It is awful.. Very mushy and the flavor is way off. I'm not even sure what I could use it for now. Very frustrating!

 

[elcid79]

Throw it in a blender and make a smoothie.

 

[TentHunter]

This question is for both aks753 & JeremyY.

Did either of you noticed whether or not the packaging said the product was "Enhanced"? It's possible they were enhanced (or injected) with a solution that contained phosphates and other things to help tenderize & flavor the shoulders. This could explain the mushyness.

I can't stand (or safely eat) enhanced pork products.

 

[aks753]

This question is for both aks753 & JeremyY.

Did either of you noticed whether or not the packaging said the product was "Enhanced"? It's possible they were enhanced (or injected) with a solution that contained phosphates and other things to help tenderize & flavor the shoulders. This could explain the mushyness.

I can't stand (or safely eat) enhanced pork products.

Mine was not enhanced - and the second one that I made came out fine.

I like the blender suggestion - may need a Bass-o-Matic for that.