Bad Morning....Long Post

[dash8dvr]

Had a really bad experience with a pork butt this morning and wondered if this has happened to any of y’all. This may get a little long so I apologize in advance. I don’t cook a lot of pork butts, so I’m not sure if this is a common occurrence. I purchased the butt a week and a half ago and knew I wouldn’t have the time to smoke it until this weekend. I put it in the freezer where it stayed until a few days ago when I put it in the fridge to thaw.

My plan was to start the smoker this morning at 5:30 a.m., trim the butt a little, and try an injection I thought would be good which I made last night, then put the meat on around 6:30...
That was the plan.

I got up early, started the pit, made some coffee, put the butt in the sink, and pierced the cryovac.....this is where it went deep south. I’ll say at this point I have two dogs who know through experience when I am doing an all day cook....I think they look forward to it as much as me and never leave my side from start to finish....I immediately smelled something a little loud, but was not alarmed at this point as most know raw meat sometimes has a little game to it. I ran some water and started to rinse off the meat when it hit full force. This smell was beyond anything I can truly explain, but I’ll try....It was almost a petroleum smell, an off-gassing of sort, not a spoiled meat smell which I have encountered many times over the years. It was so bad, I heard the dogs vacate through the dog door that leads to the back yard. At this point, I should have cut my losses and gone with my gut...but man instinct took over. I told myself that the cold water was rinsing off the funk, and considering I had no other thawed meat to smoke, I’ll give it one more smell test before I concede. I picked it up, gave it a smell, and good God....

Long story a little longer, I grabbed the butt and ran outside with it where it still sits in the woods. I decided to drive to the local HEB for a replacement and could not get the smell out of my mind. I looked at the pork butt case and couldn’t bring myself to get another due to the experience so I picked up a small brisket and have tried my best to salvage the day. A side note, and no kidding, I literally had to get a leash to get one of my dogs inside this morning before I left for the store.....Is there something different about bad pork vs bad beef?? This was a game changer in that I may not be able to try a pork cook for the foreseeable future.....I still smell it...

 

[pjtexas1]

I've had a burned plastic smell from a ham a couple times. Nothing that would make me gag though.

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[jimbotx]

More than once I’ve seen frozen/refrigerated products left at inappropriate places in the store because a customer suddenly didn’t want it and didn’t take it back to where they found it, and it’s possible it was placed back in the bin by a store employee once found. No telling how long it may have sat out. Not saying this is what happened, but it could have gone bad before you even bought it.

 

[WilliamKY]

I've bought pork ribs that were pretty rank when I opened them but not a chemical smell. I'm wondering if the pork butt was already spoiling before it was cryovac at the plant.

 

[Free Mr. Tony]

Oh yeah. Several times with butts. Had kids coming from upstairs with their doors shut in a fairly large home asking what happened. Whole house smelled for at least an hour. I didn't have a problem cooking pork after, but I can see where some would. As soon as I read what you described, it came right back to me.

 

[sudsandswine]

I've had spoiled pork butts that smelled sour like ammonia plus some pork funk mixed in, stunk up the whole upstairs. Tossed it and went on with life. Not really worth it if they stink since it's only about 15 bucks to replace em.

 

[toys4dlr]

We were at a local comp (which is rare in AZ) and I walked past our friends pop up as they were prepping their pork and it was bad when they opened the cryo. I said what is that smell and he laughed and responded, Houston we have a problem. I have had pork that off gassed, but that package beyond foul.

The funny part of the story, is our restaurant was 15 mins away and I told him to go into the walk in and pick out what they needed. And Guess who won the pork category. lol I guess I Should have asked for a split. I can still smell that funk.

 

[wire-it-up]

This is similar to my post from yesterday morning. I've never smelled pork that I thought smelled bad, before yesterday. But one of four racks of baby backs I bought was so foul that I had to get it back to the store right away. It didn't affect me on the other 3 racks, nor the replacement rack that the store provided for free. We ate ribs last night, and again this afternoon after church. There's still enough left for one more meal, which will be Friday evening.

Glad you were able to salvage the day with the brisket though. Hopefully, your aversion to pork passes quickly.

 

[Hoss]

I cut open a cryovac of beef,bone in ribeye,today.Bout a $100, rinsed it,smelled O.K. I decided it would be food for the farm dogs.I am not crazy,squirrely about things but this was just "off".My family was coming over for dinner,so we had ham steaks.It had been "wet aging" in the fridge for a spell.The smell when I opened the cryovac was just too pungent for me to take a chance.I have wet/ dry aged many primals.This one was just too funky to chance it.

 

[zippy12]

I now buy my cryo's right before I cook. After I pay for them I will open them in the store and if there is any off smells I go strait to the service desk...

If it smells ok I put them in the truck bed in case anything leaks out before I get home.. Then onto the grill they go!

 

[Ylouder]

I had something similar. For about the last two years I cannot stomach the smell or taste of pork. No amount of BBQ sauce or rub can overcome the gameyness of it. It just has underlining taste and smell of sh*t.

Only thing I can stomach is sausage and bacon.

 

[Jrogers84]

once had a whole garage freezer go out with 15 butts in it. Sat for who knows how long. I vomited while emptying it out. Worst smell ever

 

[Daleridge]

Been there, the smell will ruin your appetite for months. I once bought Swift spare ribs in cryovac from Costco like I had done many times before. Never frozen. Unwrapped and wow, I almost lost it and my wife left the room. Water would not remove that stink. I rewrapped them in two layers of trash bags and put them in the refrigerator until I took them back. I cautioned the service lady not to open them but she did. That stopped the food court business for hours. On the unrefrigerated shelf where the lady put the ribs were several other returned packs of ribs. I would bet they went to the dumpster rather soon. I had to cook beef for months before I could ever stomach pork again. I still can't buy from Costco or Swift pork. I actually changed my membership to
Sam's and I now live on brisket and steak.

 

[Demosthenes]

More than once I’ve seen frozen/refrigerated products left at inappropriate places in the store because a customer suddenly didn’t want it and didn’t take it back to where they found it, and it’s possible it was placed back in the bin by a store employee once found. No telling how long it may have sat out. Not saying this is what happened, but it could have gone bad before you even bought it.

I have seen first hand, where a store manager was off loading/returning a buggy full of misplaced items to their original places. I was in the meat section and I saw her place a pack of leg quarters back into the stock. I finished my browsing, but something told me to go check that pack of meat...I placed my hand on the meat and it was room temp. Needless to say, I don't buy meat from that store any more. That pack of meat quite possibly went untouched long enough to get cold again and the next buyer would be none the wiser. I'm sure I've been the recipient of a pack of meat treated this way. So yeah....this could have been the case.