Greasy Butt

For your purposes you are caught between rendering more fat, possibly drying out the butt, having a problem holding them and being over cooked. If you can stall the 155 to 170� internal portion of the cook more fat will render off.
It's a judgement call for you.
Jim

Hi Jim, Thanks for the fast reply. How do I stall the 155 to 170 cook part? Do I lower the temp for awhile? I really like the end product, but wish I could get rid of a little more fat. Popajack

Popajack, how are you holding and reheating your pulled pork?

Popajack,

Could you be more specific what you mean by "greasy"? How heavy is the fat bark on the butts you're buying? If it seems too excessive, you can trim them down a bit.

Your pull temp of 190 is the same as mine. I shred them by hand as soon as they're cool enough to handle, and cull out any large pieces of fat. You might also try applying a vinegar mop...the acid will help render some of the fat but you'll increase the cook time via heat loss in the smoker.

Personally, I'd rather have the meat a bit too greasy vs. too dry.

If you need further assistance, please give a holler.

Hi Topshef, You and I are on the same wavelength. I would prefer a little grease to dry myself. I was wondering how it would work if I switched to a fresh ham cut of meat or maybe a sirloin roast of pork. They seem to be leaner. What do you think? Popajack

It's me again. I forgot to ask you how you hold the meat and reheat. Right now I am hand shredding the meat and putting it in a pan and covering it with film and setting it on the flat top grill on very low just to keep it warm. I am noticiing a little drying out though. I am open to suggestions on how to keep it moist. Popajack

Howdy,Popajack.

IMHO forget the ham or loin,as you'll do great butts.

Everyone covered a lot of points.

You didn't say what temp. you were cooking on.Jim may say to pull your temp back to around 200� or so,and take longer to break through your plateau.

Next experiment,bump your CS to 250� after you break the plateau.

I probably wouldn't try to open and mop,as TC says that will sure increase cook time.

I'd follow the suggestion of trimming all external fat and let the internal baste it.

Try taking it up to 195�-200� in your CS and let it rest in foil an hour.

When you break it down,leave the meat in end- -of- thumb size pieces and discard all fat.

Spritz with an e. Carolina style vinegar sauce while you are breaking it down.

To hold it in pans ,try a little apple juice or even a little non-salty chicken stock to maintain moisture.

Smokin' will choke ,but it will get you through in time of need.

Hope this helps a little.

Tom is right on with maybe bump back the pit temp a bit and let it stay in the 155 to 170� range longer. I also agree for your purposes adding apple juice or the chicken stock will help. If you are going to cool and reheat the butt I would pull from the cooker just a little sooner than normal (low end of being able to pull it) when you reheat it won't dry out as badly. What you have to do for commerical purposes is not always the same way you would handle something your cooking for your own dinner. Have to hold product has it's own set needs, but starting with good meat, rub, and using good techinques your customer should be very happy with what you serve them.
Jim

Popajack,
We cook all of our pulled pork ahead of time and reheat as the level of business dictates. The reason I asked how you reheated is that I find that the butts are kind of greasy right after you pull them. However, after we reheat the pork, it is not dried out, but is less greasy.

To reheat the pork, I place it in a 1/3 size pan and pour about 1 cup of water in with it. I foil the pan and heat it in an oven until it reaches 165. This renders some more of the fat. It does collect in the bottom of the pan with the water, so if the product does begin to dry out, you can give it a good stir. I hold ours on a steamtable but as long as your product is not drying out, I suspect any heat source that will keep it above 140 will do. We get rave reviews on our pork, so I hope some of this helps along with all the other good ideas posted.

Popajack,
Allow me to put forth some basic rules which govern the universe.

1. Pulled pork is the end result of smoke-cooking a pork butt. Prior to the genetic re-engineering of the pig, butts contained a fat content of roughly 30 - 33% The 3:1 ratio of meat to fat is what's required for good, tasty, moist sausage and pulled pork. As a means of cutting back costs and promoting a "healthier" product, pigs are now "new & improved" to be leaner. The trouble is, IMHO most commercial pork has lost its flavor and tenderness as a result. To compensate the difference, packers now add salt solutions or/and "tumble" pork product prior to bring it to market.

2. Forget about substituting hams or sirloins. The flavor of pulled pork comes from the fat content. As I said before, when it comes to the shredding of the smoked butt, you can trim off the excess outter fat, and discard the inner fat you come across.

3. As for holding/reheating...that depends on your particular operation. If you're doing a fast turn-around of what you smoke, I'd recommend that you moisten the pulled pork with a mix of 50% BBQ sauce combined with a 50% apple cider/vinegar mop. If you're reheating the meat to order, use the cider/vinegar mop to get the meat hot, along with a bit of Q sauce...then top the meat with a liberal dash of Q sauce.

I wouldn't sweat the "grease" Popajack...as Emeril says, "pork fat rules." When it comes to good pulled pork, it's essential.

Thanks to all for the info. I think I will live with the grease for now. Also I will make it a point to make sure all big chunks of grease are removed when we pull the pork initially. I really appreciate your time and advice. I too, get rave reviews on the pork I am just now in the process of refining what I do to try to make the best product I can. Good Que to you all. Popajack

I pull the pork and put in large ziplock bags,add a little bit of water and some rub. Then to rejuvenate you boil water and put the ziplock into the pot. The pork stays moist and the flavor is out of this world. Hope this helps

Excellent Idea Big Daddy! I will definitely use it. thanks, Popajack