TLDR; Try wrapping a rested smoked pork butt in plastic wrap, then foil and refrigerate it overnight before you pull the meat.
Full disclosure, this was an accidental discovery, but I've replicated it, so I think I might have stumbled onto to something really good.
Last Saturday, I planned to smoke a pork butt with the intent for the family to have it for dinner, but I over slept and didn't get it into the smoker until 9am. Rather than go hot and fast, I just kept it low and slow, wrapped with butcher paper when I had a nice bark, then pulled once it was probe tender (202 in this case). I wrapped it in 2 towels and dropped it in my "smoked meat cooler" for 3 hours. At midnight, I decided I had had enough so I brought it in the house, wrapped it in plastic wrap and then foil to prevent the whole fridge from smelling like smoked meat. The next morning, I pulled it out and started shredding the meat. There was tons of fat that solidified overnight, so I just mixed it in with the meat. I portioned it and vacuum sealed it. Before dinner, I dropped several bags in the sous vide for a bit over an hour at 185 degrees (no real reason for selecting this temp, just wanted the fat to melt but not continue cooking the meat).
When I cut open the bags and dumped the pulled pork into the serving container, it was insanely tender and juicy. Far and away the best pulled pork I have ever had.
At first I thought I got lucky, but I smoked another pork butt yesterday following the same process and after heating some up this evening, I'm now thinking that I've stumbled onto something great. We'll see what the family thinks this weekend.
My guess is that by cooling it down in the fridge, wrapped in plastic and foil, before pulling the meat, I'm preserving a ton of the meats juices that would normally escape as steam while pulling. I'm going to repeat this process the next 3 or 4 times I smoke a pork butt to see if it continues to deliver.
Anyone else done something like this or have any other super secret tips?
Full disclosure, this was an accidental discovery, but I've replicated it, so I think I might have stumbled onto to something really good.
Last Saturday, I planned to smoke a pork butt with the intent for the family to have it for dinner, but I over slept and didn't get it into the smoker until 9am. Rather than go hot and fast, I just kept it low and slow, wrapped with butcher paper when I had a nice bark, then pulled once it was probe tender (202 in this case). I wrapped it in 2 towels and dropped it in my "smoked meat cooler" for 3 hours. At midnight, I decided I had had enough so I brought it in the house, wrapped it in plastic wrap and then foil to prevent the whole fridge from smelling like smoked meat. The next morning, I pulled it out and started shredding the meat. There was tons of fat that solidified overnight, so I just mixed it in with the meat. I portioned it and vacuum sealed it. Before dinner, I dropped several bags in the sous vide for a bit over an hour at 185 degrees (no real reason for selecting this temp, just wanted the fat to melt but not continue cooking the meat).
When I cut open the bags and dumped the pulled pork into the serving container, it was insanely tender and juicy. Far and away the best pulled pork I have ever had.
At first I thought I got lucky, but I smoked another pork butt yesterday following the same process and after heating some up this evening, I'm now thinking that I've stumbled onto something great. We'll see what the family thinks this weekend.
My guess is that by cooling it down in the fridge, wrapped in plastic and foil, before pulling the meat, I'm preserving a ton of the meats juices that would normally escape as steam while pulling. I'm going to repeat this process the next 3 or 4 times I smoke a pork butt to see if it continues to deliver.
Anyone else done something like this or have any other super secret tips?
