Cook Times and Temps

[Superporky]

I have been using the Smoke and Spice cookbook by Cheryl and Bill Jamison for my recipes and I really like most of them but I have a question about cook times.  What am I supposed to do when I reach the recommended internal temp for the meat before I have cooked the meat the recommended length of time?  Do I turn down the temp on the smoker and keep going?  Do I just call it quits and its time to eat?  Also, when applying a mop to the meat say every hour or two during a 8-10 hour cook, is this temp fluctuation on the meat when removing it from the smoker and returning it, helping or hurting anything?

[pensrock]

IMHO, its best to go by the internal temp and not worry so much about the time. Low and slow cooking will very in times so check the IT to be sure. If you remove the meat from the tower to mop, it will cool off a little but not to worry it is minor. If you happen to get done cooking well before time to serve, wrap the meat in a couple layers of Foil, then wrap that with a Towel, then stick the whole thing in a Cooler (FTC). It will stay hot for hours, till time to serve.

[beefmann]

i agree with pens, its better to go by IT then  time to be sure that the meat is cooked to disired doness

[Superporky]

Thanks guys for the help here.  I have cooked two pork shoulders in the past and they have turned out fantastic but they are not as tender as I had hoped.  Does cook time or temp or both affect how tender it will be?  This is related to my previous question in that, would keeping the meat in the tower at a much lower temp after it has reached the required IT make it more tender or just dry it out?

[Ka Honu]

Depending on what meat you're talking about you may be making this too difficult.  Check out some of the recipes and tutorials for what you're cooking and go from there.  The "secret" for most of the "otherwise tough" meats we cook is a combination of low temperature and a long time.  Moisture can be "enhanced" by some combination of prep (brine, injection, rub, marinade, bacon wrap, etc.) and process ("boating," FTC, etc.).  Generally when it's done, it's done (using the IT or fork test as the measure of "doneness").

In the case of a pork shoulder, you may be bringing it to the desired IT too quickly, not allowing the collagen and such to break down.  In other words, I can probably put a shoulder in a 400^o oven and bring it to the desired IT in a couple hours but it won't be as tender and moist as if I'd used a Bradley and/or slow oven at 220^o for a much longer cook to the same IT.

[pensrock]

Well put Ka Honu

[Superporky]

Thanks