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[imahawki]

I like my pulled pork to be easily shreddable. I've had some butts come off a long time ago that had big chunks that were still connected by connective tissue that basically couldn't be shredded and were unappetizing even though the remainder of the butt was fine.  In all of these cases I was running up against the clock and was unable to go much beyond 190 and unable rest the butt for any appreciable amount of time.  I started cooking to 205 and making sure the butt was done way early (2-4 hours).  Since then every butt has been fall apart tender.  My problem is, I changed two variables at once, I started cooking to a higher temp and started achieving reasonable rest times. 

Based on your collective experiences, do you think it was the temp or the resting that was the answer? I've got a butt at 180 right now and need to take it off the smoker by 11ish.  I'm guessing it won't get to 205 in the next 3 hours.  But I will foil it up and place it in a towel in a cooler. 

I guess I might know the answer to my own question in a few hours but I'm curious what the forum thinks.

[urnmor]

I for one pull my pork between 190 and 202 however I try to pull it between 192 and 197.  I also foil however the length of time will vary depending on when I am serving.  I never let it rest over 4 hours and I would say my average rest is two hours.  I have never had a problem pulling it.

[David]

I do not worry too much about temp any more,  I use a probe and cook it till it is probe tender.  Usually it is between 195 and 205

[Canadian John]

 +1.  Probe tender is the way to do it.

 Rest time, epically wrapped = cooking time. If you are in a hurry, wrap at ~ 160º internal until done.

 Re internal temperature: Check the meat in several places - it very often varies.

Just relax and enjoy the day!

[Free Mr. Tony]

Too late for this cook, but I like a long rest. If I was in your position this morning I would have cranked the heat to get it where it needed to be, then rested longer. 350-400 won't hurt it wrapped in foil, and you will be up to temp in no time. Don't be afraid to turn the heat up especially after it's been I the smoke for a good while.

[Bar-B-Lew]

If I am rushed for time, I always foil at 160 and take it to about 200-205 IT.  I then put it in a pan, unwrap, let's juices fall in the pan, pull apart with forks, and mix into the juice and serve.

[imahawki]

I just wanted to check in and follow-up on my own question. 

First of all, it turns out for me, it seems resting is more critical than the final temp when I take it off the smoker.  The hard to shred pork has always been rushed and not rested. 

On the day in question from the OP it turned out that after moving the probe to a new spot and checking a few spots with my instant read, I was further along than I thought.  Lesson learned there when you're getting close, check a few spots.  When I did this there were multiple spots were 195-200.

The cook in question turned out perfect.  One of my best ever.

[bregent]

>First of all, it turns out for me, it seems resting is more critical
>than the final temp when I take it off the smoker.

Define what you mean by 'resting' - what is your resting process?

[hughver]

I probed when I first started but very quickly reverted to just temperature. I foil (covered foil pan) at 160°, pull at 203° and FTC until cool enough to pull with my hands. I collect the juices from the pan, place it the freezer, remove the fat when hard and add enough of the remaining warmed juice back to the pulled pork to obtain optimum moisture. As I mentioned in another thread, I remove the bone and slice across grain into 1" slices. The slices pull easily and yield great consistency pulled pork, no globs or chunks. 

[imahawki]

>First of all, it turns out for me, it seems resting is more critical
>than the final temp when I take it off the smoker.

Define what you mean by 'resting' - what is your resting process?

Foil, towel, cooler.  At least an hour after it hits temp seems critical.

[bregent]

>First of all, it turns out for me, it seems resting is more critical
>than the final temp when I take it off the smoker.

Define what you mean by 'resting' - what is your resting process?

Foil, towel, cooler.  At least an hour after it hits temp seems critical.

Right. The reason I asked is that some folks let the butt/brisket cool down quite a bit before FTC. When you FTC immediately from the grill, the meat will continue to cook for hours. Your butts that were not shreddible were just not cooked long enough - and 'resting' in the cooler allowed them to cook longer. There's no problem doing it that way, except that it may never reach proper tenderness during the rest.

I think a better method is to fully cook it on the grill, pull it off when probe tender. Then you can either FTC if you need to hold, or just let it cool to shredding temp and it will be good.

IMO, final temp is not a good way to cook pork butt or brisket. Cook till tender works every time.

[Bar-B-Lew]

IMO, you are wasting time with the FTC.  As I mentioned earlier, I foil at around 160° IT.  I cook it until probe tender somewhere 200°-205°.  As soon as I pull it off the grill, I put it in a pan, open up foil and let juices fall into the pan, and start pulling with forks.  Throw in some extra rub when done and mix seasoned meat in with juice and its ready to eat 5-10 minutes after pulling off the grill.

[hughver]

IMO, final temp is not a good way to cook pork butt or brisket. Cook till tender works every time.

I do not necessarily disagree, it's just that from my limited experience, my butts (40+) have always probed tender at 203*, so I don't waste time with probing anymore. Perhaps pulling at a lower temperature may improve the final result, but that was not my experience when I was probing. I only FTC until cool enough to pull but FTC slows down cooling while the fat from the juices harden in the freezer.

[pz]

I guess I do it a bit differently these days. I now use an SRG (propane) with pellets for smoke for a couple of hours until the bark looks right, then foiled and into the house oven (at around 250 degrees) until the I.T. of around 205 plus minus a few degrees - tested with a Thermoworks probe. Never fails to pull beautifully, has a wet bark, but a great mouth feel.

[imahawki]

I think some of the variables depend on how you prefer to cook.  I prefer not to cook on the smoker in foil.  That is nothing but a preference thing, I have no evidence that it results in a better final product but I don't have moisture issues when cooking unfoiled for the entire time and it allows me to not have to pull hot meat and fiddle with wrapping and then have sooty foil coming in the house after etc. Again, JUST preference.  I don't foil ribs either.

Now, bregent made the argument that I'm continuing to cook in the foil after I pull it and put it in the cooler.  This is unarguably true.  We know meat continues to cook which is why we usually pull even steaks, etc. before they get to final temperature.  But resting also serves the purpose of re-hydrating the meat.  When meat starts to cool in its own juices it reabsorbs juice.

I've only ever really had pulled pork that felt overcooked one time so I don't think I'm sending the pork into overcooked territory with FTC and it gives me leeway for when the meat can be done.  Maybe some of you have more "go with the flow" family but when my wife is trying to time sides and manage kids hunger etc. I don't get to say the pork will be done between 11:30 and 2.  We're eating at noon.  That means the pork needs to be done and rested at noon AT THE LATEST.  That means my only options are early or on time, which means I skew towards early.

I've probably cooked 10 butts now.  Its possible I've never finished one on the grill as Bar-B-Lew implies but I can tell you I've NEVER had one shred right in the cases where its only been off the smoker for 5-10 minutes.  Those have ALL been the ones that wouldn't shred and had un-rendered fat.  Its possible they were 10 degrees under cooked (they were still 195ish.  I've never pulled a butt under 195) and would have been fine if they'd have spent another hour on the smoker and then shredded 5-10 minutes later but that has not been my experience.  They always pull right when rested MUCH longer and almost always don't pull well when pulled shortly after coming off the smoker.

I will say that after doing the number of ribs and butts I've done to date, I get the "its done when its done and you'll know when its done" attitude of BBQ to some extent but that is REALLY frustrating and intimidating to a newbie and worse when said newbie has a house full of guests waiting to eat.  I can empathize with wanting a little more surety of when something will be done.  I've found what works for me. 

I'm not trying to start an argument with anyone.  Literally no one agrees on this stuff any way.  Some smoke at 225, some at 275.  Some foil, some wrap in butcher paper, some go naked.  Some sauce, some don't, some slather before rub, some don't some don't us sugar in their rubs some do.  Some people are doing it how they like it and some are objectively doing it wrong   All that matters is that we're all having fun, producing good eats (preferably for friends and family) and being polite to each other here on the forum.