On Jul 4, 12:11*am, Grant Erwin > wrote:
> Tim wrote:
> > My first attempt at pulled pork was disappointing - tasty, but
> > disappointing because the pork was not very tender. *Thanks to you, I
> > tried again today with the following changes:
>
> > - One 8# Boston butt ( instead of 2 6 1/2# )
> > - Sand instead of water in the water pan, pan covered with foil ( I
> > have to admit, I still don't understand why sand - but it worked )
> > - Final internal temp of 188 instead of 165
>
> > It only took me about 10 minutes to pull it apart using two forks.
> > The only bad thing - it's not being served until tomorrow dinner, but
> > I had a few samples pulling it ...
>
> > One question: what should the smoker temp be if I I want ~190 for the
> > final internal temp? *I didn't let it go above 225 or 230 for the
> > first 10 hours and the internal temp wouldn't go past 175. *Then I let
> > it go up to about 280 for the last hour and a half, and I finally got
> > to 188.
>
> I suspect your temp measurements. Possibly you are measuring temps up high but
> the meat is down low where it's cooler. Or maybe your thermometer is out of
> calibration. You can test this latter by sticking it in a cup of ice water,
> where it should read close to 32, then in a pan of boiling water, where it
> should read close to 212.
>
> Most guys use a real cooker temp of 225-250.
>
> I take pork shoulders (butts) to 195 minimum.
>
> GWE

Thanks - I will check my thermometer. I had a probe in the meat
itself, and then there is a second probe about 1/2" above the grate
where the meat is. My wife bought be a really nice thermometer that
will check both food and smoker temp, and has a remote readout so I
can wander a little while the meat smokes. So the temp should be
accurate assuming the thermometer is accurate.

I appreciate the feedback.