Syzygies Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 (edited) Hi All. Cooked a "Red Wattle" heritage pork butt yesterday for a dinner party. The stall took forever, a 21 hour cook starting at 215 F but ramped up to 315 F. I understand to avoid the tyranny of numbers. The "jiggle" was perfect as we took the butt off the cooker. Most meat read 200 F with a Thermapen; the readings near the center bone were 185 F. It was well received. Truth be told, I've never had commercial butt that I enjoyed in the Carolinas, and I think the "disintegrating rope" standard is a steam table scam. Our butt just barely came apart enough to make tacos. In California one finds tortilla factories in larger Mexican restaurants and supermarkets, pressing corn tortillas better than I could each day from fresh masa. The bags of 36 are steamed up and warm when you buy them. My Mexican neighbor heats tortillas in pairs, flipping so each taco has a crisped side and a soft, steamy side. This is not mere expediency. While it does increase throughput, one wants a soft side to face the filling, and one wants to heat the tortillas without drying them out. At this point these tacos are twice-cooked, like the best french fries. Had I pressed my own tortillas from easily found fresh masa, they'd be too thick and once-cooked. As I don't mind (I rather enjoy) the scorn of traditionalists, I wonder if one could even out the pork butt internal temperatures better with something like "potato nails" ? Here is a flat skewer we've seen versions of in every falafel place: Charcoal Companion Stainless Flat Skewers. Unlike many of their brethren, they're a mere 12" long. One could push in a skewer each way, gliding along the bone, to conduct more heat into the center of the butt. Has anyone tried a technique like this? Edited March 18, 2019 by Syzygies 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 I don't see why not, Syz. Give'r a go and see if it helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted March 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 I realize "pictures or it didn't happen". 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmallBBQr Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 (edited) I've starting cooking brisket and pulled pork at much higher temperatures (350-400) and have been very happy with the results. The stalls are much less an issue and you easily finish things in your electric/gas oven. I did a pork shoulder on the weekend - 3 hours at 350. 3 hours in oven at 350 with some liquid. 1 hour resting wrapped in towel. Melted apart and finish temp was 206 I believe after the oven. p.s. Nice vino selection!! Edited March 18, 2019 by SmallBBQr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 Strangely enough I have potato nails and use them in larger potatoes. Your concept is a decent idea. The potato nails are aluminum which I believe is a better conductor of heat compared to SS. The problem with potato nails for your suggested use is they are just not that long and you would want maybe 1 inch sticking out of the butt which would reduce their length even more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted March 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 19 hours ago, ckreef said: The potato nails are aluminum which I believe is a better conductor of heat compared to SS. Good point. That got me thinking. At first I wondered if the long time scale involved would lessen the advantages of aluminum. No: Each point along a metal spear would reach an equilibrium temperature, averaging the nearby spear and the nearby meat. The more conductive the spear, the greater the relative influence of nearby metal. A less conductive spear is less spear. Still, 80:20 rule. The stainless flat skewers are a $12 purchase. Do they close most of the temperature gap? If not, Home Depot or Lowes sells aluminum flats I could sharpen into spears. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuley Posted March 21, 2019 Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 I would love to see a pick of your pork butt with metal sticking out everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pearson Posted March 21, 2019 Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 I guess that would make it a porky pie pork butt Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
