Pork First Pork Butt ehhhh results

winty03

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Pro 575
Over this past weekend I did my first smoke on my pro 575 (2nd run after the initial burn in). Felt super confident but the results were kinda ehhh. Wife stated, I thought it was suppose to have a smoke taste...I said I agree. Not sure where I went wrong. Quick run down:

8# pork butt bone in
treager signature pellets
cooked at 225 the entire time, would increase to 250 next time....was a long cook
thin layer of yellow mustard for binding, and dry BBQ rub
Started cook at 8am...
11am, 3hrs in, spritzed with water/apple cider vinegar blend inserted temp probe, set for 160
3pm, 7hrs in, hit 160 wrapped butt and set temp for 200.
7pm, 11hrs in hit 200 pulled and left wrapped for 1hr to rest.
I opened the lid twice over the entire cook, at 11am and 3pm otherwise never touched the smoker.

To me when I unwrapped it, it smelled like basic ham. No smoke smell/taste and or dry rub taste. Did a solid even layer of rub, Im not sure if this hurt or helped...but I was told to cook with a pan of water in the smoker along side the meat, which I did. Would that have inhibited something?

Ready to try again..jus tnot sure what I missed...
 
I am by no means an expert, but keep in mind that Traeger is a grill, not a smoker. I'm not sure what smokers you have used in the past, but Traegers will not give you the same level of smokiness as other styles. If you prefer a higher smokiness, there are two possibilities: SuperSmoke (if you have it) or you can use smoke tubes (cheap option, less than $20 on amazon).

I will be doing a pork butt and a brisket this weekend, and I will be using the SuperSmoke feature for that, but since it will only work up to 225F, I also have smoke tubes for other cook sessions.
 
First timer....so no experience before this. I will look into these smoke tubes, no super smoke on the pros....Looks like you pack them full of your pellets, light them on fire and just place then inside the girll with your meat. Seems pretty straight frward Ill give that a try next smoke.
 
Others have suggested that using wood chips (or a combination of pellets and chips) works better. I have not yet tried using the chips, but plan to next time I use my tubes. Enjoy the journey.
 
You too appreciate the tips, new to all this.... my end goal is to try to recreate some jerk pork tacos that my wife and I enjoyed, has since closed down. Need to track down some pimento wood and or pellets, they are spendy :)
 
Start it at a lower temp - 180-185. That will get you a little more smoke flavor than cooking at 225. Then you can bump it to 250 or 275 after you get a bark going. Did you wrap in butcher paper or foil?
 
Sounds good did foil, was going to do paper but didn’t have it locally. How long at 180-185? Seen some say you can get too much smoke and makes the bark bitter?
 
Seen some say you can get too much smoke and makes the bark bitter?

I'd be surprised if you were ever able to get enough smoke on a Traeger for it to do that. If the pork looked like boiled ham, the foil could have been the culprit.

Maybe 2-3 hours at 185 and then bump it to 275 until the IT is 165. Wrap in paper. And then continue until IT is 205.
 
Appreciate the tips. I’m excited to give it another whirl. This is exactly what I was looking for.
 
Pork butts and shoulders are good to learn the Traeger with because they're usually a lot cheaper than briskets, ribs, etc. You'll find the mix of a lot of different recipes and techniques that works for you. You can also try using injections to get some more flavor into the pork. They can get messy though. Might need a pan underneath if you go that route.
 
I got my Ironwood earlier this summer. One of my early cooks was a pork shoulder that became pulled pork. It turned out fine for my taste.

It takes quite a bit of seasoning for 8# of meat. I used two different layers of seasoning to insure I had enough to season the entire hunk of pork. Season all six sides of the roast. Although you might be able to blame the Traeger for lack of smoke flavor, if the meat did not have the flavor of the dry rub, you did not use enough seasoning or you used the wrong seasoning.

You mentioned that you might increase the temp of your next cook to reduce the cook time. Remember that this will reduce the smoke flavor. What you can do to shorten cook times is start low and then increase the temp part way through the cook. Protein absorbs most of the smoke flavor during the first few hours of the cook while the meat is still cool. You might even try starting off at an even lower temperature to generate more smoke. Then once the internal temp hits 135 F, bump up the temperature to 250F.

Somewhere between 150-160 F, the meat will enter the "stall". That happens when evaporation of moisture from the surface of the meat (and from your water pan), is using all of the heat available from the fire pot. Thus, no extra heat is available to increase the internal temperature of your meat. You can either wait out the stall, increase the grill temperature to provide more heat, or wrap the meat to trap moisture so it cannot evaporate.

Have you calibrated your internal meat probe? You can do that using an ice water bath. My probe was off several degrees. Just a few degrees can make a difference in your cooks. I no longer use my Traeger probe and rely on a separate probe. Although many folks here use Meater and Fireboard thermometers, they are expensive. If you cannot afford the best, there are less expensive options. The main thing is accuracy.
 
Ham is cured. Did you rub the thing down a day ahead? That can produce a hammy cured profile I’ve been told. I want to taste the pork with some smoke not smoke with some pork. I like to collect the rendered juices in a foil pan that I set the butt in when I wrap and cover with foil. The juices can be run through a fat separator (or not) and reincorporated into the final product. Full of flavor it’s a real upgrade to the end product. Good luck. Heck figuring out how to achieve what you like is part of the fun and challenge. Enjoy the ride.
 
There are tons of opinions in this thread, all valid opinions and thoughts, so, here's mine:

Like those who have posted before me, I am no expert, but here's what I do for pulled pork and it always turns out great, with a smoky flavor to boot.

No binder (I only use binder on ribs)
Use two different rubs (I usually use Holy Gospel as the base layer and any other "flavor" rub I have).
Season it all up, let it sit for about 30 minutes.
Put it on my Traeger Pro34 on SMOKE for about 2 hours.
Crank up the heat to 225 and let it ride...no wrap at all. Like Zac Brown, I ain't in no hurry.
About every two hours (when I am awake), I spritz it with apple juice.
Take it off at 202 internal and pull it all apart. Turns out just fine @winty03
 
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Pork butts and shoulders are good to learn the Traeger with because they're usually a lot cheaper than briskets, ribs, etc. You'll find the mix of a lot of different recipes and techniques that works for you. You can also try using injections to get some more flavor into the pork. They can get messy though. Might need a pan underneath if you go that route.
Yep that's my plan, stay on the lower end of the meat $$ and just ge tthe hang of everything.....as we all know lots of ways to end up at 200 degrees.

I got my Ironwood earlier this summer. One of my early cooks was a pork shoulder that became pulled pork. It turned out fine for my taste.

It takes quite a bit of seasoning for 8# of meat. I used two different layers of seasoning to insure I had enough to season the entire hunk of pork. Season all six sides of the roast. Although you might be able to blame the Traeger for lack of smoke flavor, if the meat did not have the flavor of the dry rub, you did not use enough seasoning or you used the wrong seasoning.

You mentioned that you might increase the temp of your next cook to reduce the cook time. Remember that this will reduce the smoke flavor. What you can do to shorten cook times is start low and then increase the temp part way through the cook. Protein absorbs most of the smoke flavor during the first few hours of the cook while the meat is still cool. You might even try starting off at an even lower temperature to generate more smoke. Then once the internal temp hits 135 F, bump up the temperature to 250F.

Somewhere between 150-160 F, the meat will enter the "stall". That happens when evaporation of moisture from the surface of the meat (and from your water pan), is using all of the heat available from the fire pot. Thus, no extra heat is available to increase the internal temperature of your meat. You can either wait out the stall, increase the grill temperature to provide more heat, or wrap the meat to trap moisture so it cannot evaporate.

Have you calibrated your internal meat probe? You can do that using an ice water bath. My probe was off several degrees. Just a few degrees can make a difference in your cooks. I no longer use my Traeger probe and rely on a separate probe. Although many folks here use Meater and Fireboard thermometers, they are expensive. If you cannot afford the best, there are less expensive options. The main thing is accuracy.
Honestly I probably went a bit light on the seasoning....didnt want to end season with a bit of pork :) So next time Ill put it on a bit thicker.... The seasoning I had/used was Rib Rack Dry Spice Rub Original, did all 6 sides....ya my plan to increase temp is counter-productive with smoking....so might not do that. Plan to start lower and ramp. Also got a 12" smoker tube Im going to lay under to the back of the drip pan. I have not calibrated the probe, I do have a thermapen one, I could use to double check the Traegers probe.

Ham is cured. Did you rub the thing down a day ahead? That can produce a hammy cured profile I’ve been told. I want to taste the pork with some smoke not smoke with some pork. I like to collect the rendered juices in a foil pan that I set the butt in when I wrap and cover with foil. The juices can be run through a fat separator (or not) and reincorporated into the final product. Full of flavor it’s a real upgrade to the end product. Good luck. Heck figuring out how to achieve what you like is part of the fun and challenge. Enjoy the ride.
I didnt not, I rubbed it down maybe 45 mins before the smoke. Totally agree, its part of the fun. I relate it alot to my reef tank I have. You have to ride the waves and explorer see what works and what doesn't. Somethings go great,and something dont , and now you know :) Appreciate the feed back on this, nice to have guys that know what their doing to point me in the right direction....

There are tons of opinions in this thread, all valid opinions and thoughts, so, here's mine:

Like those who have posted before me, I am no expert, but here's what I do for pulled pork and it always turns out great, with a smoky flavor to boot.

No binder (I only use binder on ribs)
Use two different rubs (I usually use Holy Gospel as the base layer and any other "flavor" rub I have).
Season it all up, let it sit for about 30 minutes.
Put it on my Traeger Pro34 on SMOKE for about 2 hours.
Crank up the heat to 225 and let it ride...no wrap at all. Like Zac Brown, I ain't in no hurry.
About every two hours (when I am awake), I spritz it with apple juice.
Take it off at 202 internal and pull it all apart. Turns out just fine @winty03
I might try that...no binder and no foil........... seasoning and heat. I dont have a smoke setting or feature on my pro 575, but I bought a smoke tube, going to put the on drip pan along with starting lower temp. I think the time thing got me because everything i read said 7-8hrs and I got that in my head....and was thinking damn I got one bag of this pellet, it is going to make the cook. Along with timing it out for a 5-6pm done...it was more like 8. Next time going to start early and if I finish early....so be it.
 
I might try that...no binder and no foil........... seasoning and heat. I dont have a smoke setting or feature on my pro 575, but I bought a smoke tube, going to put the on drip pan along with starting lower temp. I think the time thing got me because everything i read said 7-8hrs and I got that in my head....and was thinking damn I got one bag of this pellet, it is going to make the cook. Along with timing it out for a 5-6pm done...it was more like 8. Next time going to start early and if I finish early....so be it.
That's crazy...but a lower temp (like 170 or 180) might help a bit too.

The smoke tube will definitely help.
 
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