What went wrong with this shoulder?

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RacrX

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It had been in the freezer for about 3 weeks. Thawed completely and put in the smoker at room temp, along with a hot and fast brisket at 275, some swings up to 290. Pulled it out at 277 and rested. It was so tight and tough the bone wouldn’t budge, couldn’t budge the meat with two forks. What was it? Pic below.

8a926f0bfdc152f4a5b61f85559ceadd.jpg
 
Did you pull at 177? That's more than likely your issue here. At the temps your cooking, I'd start probing for doneness around i.t. of 200 . Mine are usually probing tender around 203-205 and then pull easily.

I think you just pulled it too soon. Would make for great slices on the side without a bone.
 
If it’s not falling apart pulled too soon. Don’t pull until it’s probe tender. Bone should slip out clean. Maybe you got an errant reading on your probe but at the end of the day you should be feeling for doneness.
 
Weird, it was on the dry side too- I imagine pulling later would have made it more dry, no? Maybe that was from being in the freezer?
 
100% agree with KClandcruiser...you pulled it way too early and needed to take it to at least 200° when cooking at 275°. You really don't want to rely on internal temperature for when to pull a piece of meat, and instead should work on developing a feel for the probe test. Insert a thermometer probe, toothpick, or even a fork, into the meat slowly. If it's tough to insert the probe then the meat is still too tight and needs more cook time. If the probe slides in with no resistance at all then you've likely overcooked it, but overcooked pork butt is still very good.

It's hard to describe but what you're looking for is almost no resistance at all...almost like inserting the probe into room temp butter. Just a very small amount of resistance and that will usually give you a perfectly tender piece of meat. I tend to error on the side of "overs beat unders" so I'd rather go 10-15 minutes too long as overcooked BBQ is exponentially better than undercooked BBQ.

Good luck in the future.
 
Like all others have said, you pulled early. Hey it happens to the best of us, just ask my wife. lol

Also, those look like picnic cut, lower towards the hock on the pig. They have a lot more fibers running though them and i find they need a little more time and temp to render.
 
If you pulled it at 277,,,U would have one big burnt end !!!!!
 
Ooops, 177. :) Can I wrap and re-cook in the oven until it falls apart, or is it too late for that?

Thanks everyone!
 
RacrX said:
Pulled it out at 277 and rested. It was so tight and tough the bone wouldn’t budge, couldn’t budge the meat with two forks. What was it? Pic below.

8a926f0bfdc152f4a5b61f85559ceadd.jpg
Click to expand...
I would say it's over cooked at 277.
 
Just saw your correction.. if it was 177, it most likely wasn't done yet but probing for tenderness is the way to go.
 
Butt

RacrX said:
Ooops, 177. :) Can I wrap and re-cook in the oven until it falls apart, or is it too late for that?

Thanks everyone![/QUOTEll

Double wrap in hd foil first.
Yes you can put in the oven at 250 for 2 hours then check to see if the bone will pull out clean. If not, another 1-2 hours, check again. Just as reference, I smoke at 225-250 for 5-6 hrs. Then double wrap, back on for 5-6 hours. All the fat will be rendered as well as the connective tissue. Great bark and fall apart tender. Butts I use are 9-10 Lbs.
Click to expand...
 
One heck of a recovery, brother. That looks really nice, and I'll bet it's tasty.

You've got some great inputs here with some broad generalities to apply to however you plan (or don't) to cook the next one.
 
Its probably been said, but 177F is slicing temps. Picnic's need to get in the 205F range to be pulled. Of course this is assuming 8 hour cook. You could pull it at 177F if you cooked it for 12+ hours at that temp.
 
Winning!! Glad it worked out. Final product looks delicious. Are you going to put a nice North Carolina sauce (Eastern or Lexington - both great) on it?
 
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