a little help please (a little long)

Former Member

I cooked my second butt today and it was a little dry, at least compared to the first one. The first one was so good I tried to duplicate it but didn't quite make it. For the first butt which was 5 lbs. I rubbed it with CS rib rub and put in frig overnight, approx. 8 hours. I cooked it at 225 for about 12 hours then bumped it to 250 for the last couple of hours to get internal temp to 190. I then pulled it, tented with aluminum foil for 45 min., pulled it and ate. It was tender, moist, great taste. The second butt was 7.6 lbs, rubbed with CS rib rub and placed in the frig for 26 hours. Had a snow storm roll in and couldn't start it in the morning as I had hoped. Cooked for 18.5 hours at 225 and took out when it hit 190. FTCed it for 4 hours, then pulled it apart and ate it. Same great taste but I thought it was a litle dry. Do any of the difference account for the dryness. Don't get me wrong. It was still great but fell a little short of the first one. Any thoughts appreciated. BTW, my wife thought the first butt had more fat on it than the second. Both were cooked untrimmed. thanks

12/21/099:42 PM

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qnorthNear Traverse City, MI

Just a thought, but CS Rib Rub has a lot of salt in it... rubbing it for that long might make it taste 'hammy' and I suppose it might have changed the moisture content.

I always put the rub on and then toss it in the smoker.

12/22/093:46 AM

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Former Member

NEVER rub pork overnight. NEVER.

Now that I have that thought out. Like Q said, any rubs with salt will certainly draw some moisture out, and more likely leave it a very hammy taste (if you like that taste, then do rub it overnight)

The times are long for me, so if you're SURE you probe temp is accurate, then lean to use the "poke" test. You won't to push the probe in to test the temp and when you're doing that, "feel" for resistence. I can usually cook them to a set temp, but it's not always perfect.

Oh, and you sometimes will just get a piece that dries out, because it's the intramuscular fat that keeps it moist.

When dry, you can always add a finishing sauce, like those I have in PB101 to help a little.

12/22/097:43 AM

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ribdogMember

I agree with Smokin on this one. I never hold pork that long once I have put the rub on. Ribs also. I rub the pork butts down and leave them on a sheet pan until they form a liquid on the outside and then they go in the smoker. Same thing on ribs.

12/22/097:56 AM

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Former Member

quote:
Originally posted by SmokinOkie:
The times are long for me, so if you're SURE you probe temp is accurate, then learn to use the "poke" test.

I have the same smoker (SM 025) as Ranger and my butts usually take 2.25-2.5 hours per pound at 225 (and sometimes 250 for the last few hours), so the time on the last one seems about the same as my smoker. I usually pull around 195 internal. Like Smokin and RibDog, I never put the rub on that long.

12/22/091:24 PM

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Former Member

Thanks for the replies. That's a pretty easily correctable issue. I had only planned on the rub being on for about 8 hours but when the snow came in I had to wait. Now I know that even that is probably too long. Thanks, again.

12/22/091:58 PM

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Former Member

quote:
Originally posted by ranger620:
... Now I know that even that is probably too long. Thanks, again.

Actually that's more of an "overnight" duration and I wouldn't go that long.

I've done enough pork, I haven't found that more than an hour before really has any benefits (unless you want ham)