FTC or skip it?

[BigRich]

Thanks for the help!  It pulled nicely.  It was plenty moist too.  Here's what I did:

   • Marinate overnight with buttermilk, pineapple juice, brown sugar, salt
   • Inject with pork fat and rub
   • Oven temp 220
   • smoke 4 hrs
   • Wrap with foil at 160, spray with Apple juice
   • Internal temp 195
   • Spray with apple juice, ftc 2-4hrs


It came out great.  The flavor and texture wasn't there this time but that's just a product of the pig.

I didn't have time to FTC and I skipped the apple juice spray.

[ragweed]

Looks great!  Makes me hungry just lookin' and I just ate supper!

[Greg E]

Very nice. Good job

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[Habanero Smoker]

The finished product does look very good.

I'm curious about the texture. Was it tough or was it mushy, or would you describe it in another way?

If it was mushy, then it was cooked too long, and the finishing internal temperature was too high. So you may want to try a lower IT next time. If it was tough, then it could has used more cook time. For myself, the best test for doneness is the fork test, and using the IT as a guideline. As soon as that fork can be inserted and twisted easily, it is done.

Although buttermilk and pineapple juice are know meat tenderizers, marinated generally will not penetrate more then a 1/4", and if the pineapple juice was pasteurized, there would be very little enzymes left to tenderize the muscle.

[BigRich]

I don't disagree with that.  Most of it pulled no problem but there were a few areas that wouldn't pull.  The pork was tuffer than I like it and the meat seemed bland somehow.  There were areas that hadn't hit 195 yet when I pulled it so had I let it continue to cook, it might have softened up a bit more. 

What I wasn't expecting was the 2nd stall.  It sat between 180 and 190 for at least 4 hours.  I finally cranked up the heat to 230 to get it moving again.

The cut was narrower than a butt so I thought the cook time would be less.  Wrong.  18 hrs and I still could've let it keep going. 

The bark was great though.  I rubbed it with Jan's.

The buttermilk and pineapple juice is used primarily to remove any gamey flavor the meat might have.  That worked great as there wasn't even the slightest bit of gamey flavor.

It wasn't a store bought butt so I'm really happy with the results overall.

[Habanero Smoker]

As long as you can be pleased with the out come, it is always a good cook.

That second stall is puzzling. The only thing I can think to add is maybe a longer foiling period, with a 1/4 cup of apple juice or other liquid.

[BigRich]

That's a thought.  I could boat it sooner.

I think I'll wait to see how the next one comes out before I change anything though.

Last question- The last picnic I did had a similar result in regards to the meat being inconsistent, that is, a few areas that were still hard and couldn't be pulled.  If I wait for those areas to get soft a break down, what's that going to do to the other areas that are already finished?  I imagine they'd be over cooked.

[Habanero Smoker]

Sometimes it comes down to the characteristic of a particular cut of meat. It may have too much or too little connective tissue. As you pointed out because of the shape, some areas will cook faster than others, but also both the shoulder and butt are made up of different muscle groups.

Many use the picnic for pulling, but when I smoke/roast a picnic (commercial) I generally take it to slicing. Though the picnic is not as tough as the shoulder, it is a tough cut of meat. All tough cuts of meat are forgiving.  If you measure the internal temperature in the thickest part of the cut, and take it to the IT that you want, the rest of the meat should be tender and not mushy or dried out; though many like mushy (melt in the mouth pork). You still may find that some areas you may need a little more effort to "pull" the meat, but it will all be tender. Even with my butts, some areas require more effort.