That time an old pitmaster in Lockhart told me to pull pork at 195, not 203

I was down in Lockhart last spring at Kreuz Market and got to chatting with one of the guys working the pit. He insisted I was overcooking my shoulders by waiting for 203 internal temp, said 195 was the sweet spot for moisture. I tried it on a 9 pound butt the next weekend (wrapped in butcher paper, no foil). The pork came out noticeably juicier and still pulled apart clean, plus I saved about an hour of cook time. Has anyone else tried pulling early like that or am I just lucky?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason_chen14d ago

What temp were you reading the meat at - were you probing in the thickest part of the shoulder away from the bone? I ask because Ive had a few butts where one spot hit 195 and another spot was still at 188, and just pulling at 195 left some tough spots in the middle. Maybe your pitmaster friend meant to pull it when the whole shoulder hits 195, not just the first probe reading.

keith_henderson14d ago

Yeah, that's a really good point about the whole shoulder versus just one spot. I've definitely had that happen, where the probe slides in easy in one area but hits tough resistance just an inch or two over. Did you ever try wrapping and holding it longer when you got those variance readings, or do you just probe the whole thing until it's all around 203? Curious if you've found a trick for evening it out.