I’ve Roasted, Smoked and Pressure Cooked and now Sous Vide’d Pork Butt’s… with all except Sous Vide, the ‘marbling’ or just plain Fat has more or less dissolved… I love the texture, taste and juiciness of Sous Vide’d Pork roast but the fat just stays there. I cook at 140 degrees for 24 hrs. then ‘oven smoke’ at 225 for 2 or 3 hours after painting on a liquid smoke & molasses coating followed by a dry rub… It’s delicious, but much of the fat’s still there. Any Suggestions? Longer cook time? As for temp, i’ve tried 165 and other temps but no difference…
HELP! PLEASE…
Hi Peter, what is the final product you are seeking?
All your techniques except SV are cooking at higher temperatures that will melt much of the internal fat, in the 190F to 195F neighbourhood. It’s not fair to compare as your results will be different. The loss of all that fat and connective tissue will result in fall-apart tender meat. I suggest you want to SV cook your butt for 24 hours as highs you dare, at least 175F. .
Hey, Chatnoir, thanks for the super-quick response…
Final Product?= Well, i’d like to have the best of all worlds;
No Fat, Slice able, Moist and Tasty.
The thing I liked least about previous methods was the fall-apart nature they produced.
One of the things I like most about using the Sous V. is that is holds the roast together.
If both are mutually non-do able, so be it…
On your second point… if i cook the butt at 175 for 24hrs, will i get ‘pulled pork’ or the ‘steak like’
consistency i’ve been getting?
If you’re after pulled pork you need time for the collagen in the butt to convert to gelatin. The does happen as low as 130F but at that temperature the process is very slow. The pullable texture you seek is achievable at 130F, but it would possibly take 4 or 5 days. At higher temperatures the conversion is almost simultaneous.
At 175F you probably wouldn’t need 24 hrs, but much depends on the dimensions of the piece of meat. I’m sure there is something in the forum archive that discusses the best time and temperature for your desired outcome.
As has already been pointed out, fat won’t render at sous vide temperatures. Many folk will sous vide to cook the meat and then smoke for flavour and finish.
Peter, since you enjoy your 140F X 24 SV oven-finished pork butt i suggest you should stick with it and not take the pulled pork path. Just know that to keep the juicy texture you enjoy you also keep the fat. However you don’t have to.
Sort of.
I cook various pork shoulder cuts in a somewhat similar technique only smoking first then SV cooking at 145F X 18 +/-. Just before service i break down the roast into its natural solid meat pieces while discarding all the visible inter-muscular fat. I slice the meat, attractively arrange it on a heated platter, and serve along with a smokey-tangy sauce made using the defatted meat juices from the bag.
Easy, tender and moist, and almost fat free.
Enjoy.
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