Pulled Pork roast – dry as a nun’s fart

[smokeinBC]

Hi all  I did my first attempt at pulled pork with an 8 lb pork butt roast.   After 13 hours it was dry as a Nun's fart and I had to toss it out.   

I took the roast out of the fridge and let it sit for an hour and pre-heated the smoker to 220.   I used a dry rub and placed it in the smoker and smoked for 5 hours then let it slow cook.  I watched the temperature rise to 160 then it stalled out.  At about the 10 hour mark I turned the smoker up to 260 to try and bring the roast up to 190 but the best it would get up to ( around midnight as we were all hungry) was 178.   When I took the roast out I thought well it won't be pulled pork but at least we could eat a tender roast.  NOT  it was so dry it sucked all the moisture out of my mouth and was really hard to swallow.  What a waste.  I even mopped the roast at least 5 times once it reached 160

Any thoughts what I did wrong?

[STLstyle]

Did you keep water in the pan for the whole cook?  Did you cook on the bottom rack?  I've never dried out a pork butt.  I use the bone in variety and cook for longer than that.  More help will be by soon. 

[smokeinBC]

Water in the pan?  Do you mean for the pucks or the drip pan under it

I did have water in the puck pan but it did dry out. Nothing in the drip pan at all

Is this where I went wrong!

I also had the vent up top closed the whole time including during smoking


Sorry I'm a newbie at this but I can only get better :-)

[RAF128]

Was it a very lean piece of meat?    I've done a few for as long as 20 hours.   Always get a stall before it comes up to temp.    Always nice and moist.

[Tiny Tim]

The vent being closed (should always be at least 1/4 open, mine is stuck in the wide open with no ill effects), and opening the door (to mop) 5 times after the IT hit 160 contributed to the length of time.  Not sure what to tell you about the dryness.

[Tenpoint5]

The vent being closed (should always be at least 1/4 open, mine is stuck in the wide open with no ill effects), and opening the door (to mop) 5 times after the IT hit 160 contributed to the length of time.  Not sure what to tell you about the dryness.

This what caused ti to take so long and the temps not climbing. Keep water (liquid) in the bowl as well.

[beefmann]

sounds  like the dry water  pan is the cause,,, always  keep  some water or flavored beverage in the  pan,  The process most every  one follows is

Fill water  bowl at the beginning of the smoking  precess with water to extinguish the pucks, as soon as the smoking  process is over  remove the water bowl...  and either  clean out the bowl and  replace  with water or flavored  liquid or  put in a  tray  with water or liquid to help to  keep the meat moist...

another   option is to inject the meat  with some type of  liquid suck as  apple  juice or  bbq  sauce

[KyNola]

The water bowl needs water in it at all times.  After it extinguishes the pucks it needs to be dumped, refilled and is used to collect the drippings to keep them from burning, catching fire and burning up your smoker.  Also, the vent needs to be open!

Remember, you asked ;), the biggest problem was poor planning and lack of patience.  If you were going for pulled pork you should have let it work itself through the stall at 160 and resisted the urge to try to push it to increase the internal temperature.  That is when all the magic happens.  That is when all of the collagen and connective tissue breaks down and the pork becomes very moist.  Trust me, the internal temp will begin to rise again but it may very well take a couple of hours.  A butt or pork roast is done when it is done.  I would allow for a minimum of 18-20 hours on a butt to reach 190 or so.  If it gets finished sooner, wrap it in foil, then wrap it in a towel and place it all in a dry cooler.(That's the FTC process).  It will hold very hot for 4-6 hours. I've had butts take as long as 26 hours.

Don't stress out over it though.  We've all "been there and done that".  Just another good reason to try it again!

[smokeinBC]

Some really good advise!!  Thank you all.

I plan on getting back in the saddle and smoking up another pulled pork Sunday.   I'll let you know how it goes.

[Saber 4]

You've gotten some really good advice, I use a tea kettle to put boiling water in my buck bowl to help with heat retention and after the smoke I replace it with a 9x13 disposable cake pan full of hot water and or apple juice so that I don't have to open the door as often and mine always come out good. I think you will do fine on your second go round. :)

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi

Sorry to welcome you to the forum in this manner.

Although it is important to keep water in the bowl to catch put out the bisquettes and catch drippings, I'm not one who subscribes to the theory "dry heat equals dry meat". So I don't feel that is the cause of the dryness. The sense of moistness in pulled pork comes form the collegan converting into gelatin. It is the coating of gelatin over the meat fibers that gives your tongue the feeling of moisture.

Although when cooking low/slow it is best to maintain the temperature as consistant and steady as possible, bumping it to 260°F the way you did would not have a major impact on the outcome.  You are still way withing the range of low/slow cooking.

Sometimes it just comes down to the particular carataristics of that piece of meat. But I do have to ask, are you sure you had a butt roast, and not a roast from a different area of the pig? If so that will produce some dry meat.

[TedEbear]

dry as a nun's fart

LOL - I've never heard of that one.  Thanks for the morning laugh.

I'd guess the main reason for the dryness is trying to rush it through the stall phase.  Also, "if you're lookin' you're not cookin'."  Resist the urge to open the door 5x and mop it when it gets to 160.  I don't mop mine at all.

[Wildcat]

But I do have to ask, are you sure you had a butt roast, and not a roast from a different area of the pig? If so that will produce some dry meat.

I was wondering the same thing. I primarily smoke butts for pulled pork and have never had a dry one. If anything they may get too moist or greasy if you do not trim enough fat off.

[smokeinBC]

I just did a test on my thermometers.  have a look at the post I did in general discussion.  I wonder if this is the problem

[Grouperman941]

Some butts just take a long time. 13 hours is not long for a butt.

I think that once you go past 160 degrees, you will have pretty much a dry pork roast until the temp gets past 190 or so and the meat is fit for pulling.