Is Smoking a Pork Butt at 210 Better than 225 Degrees?


225 degrees is already low and slow. But is there any advantage by staying just below the boiling point of water and cooking longer?  I believe so! Here are the advantages and possible disadvantages:

Advantages:

  1. More Tender Meat: When you cook meat at a lower temperature for a longer period of time, the collagen in the connective tissue has more time to break down into gelatin. This process makes the meat extremely tender. Therefore, cooking at 210F could potentially yield a slightly more tender result. This has proven true in my tests. It took 10 hours but the results were better.

  2. More Moist Meat: With a longer cooking time, there's more time for fat to gradually render and baste the meat, which could keep it moist.

  3. More Flavor Development: Slow cooking allows for a greater development of flavors as it provides more time for the meat to absorb smoke and seasoning.

Disadvantages:

  1. Longer Cooking Time: The most obvious disadvantage is that cooking at a lower temperature will take more time. If you're in a rush, this may not be the best approach.

  2. Possible Safety Concerns: When cooking large cuts of meat like a pork butt, it's important to get the internal temperature above 140F relatively quickly (within a few hours) to avoid the growth of bacteria. If your cooker isn't able to get the meat up to this temperature quickly enough at 210F, it could pose a food safety risk.

  3. Risk of Drying Out: While slower cooking can result in more tender, flavorful meat, there is also a chance that the meat could dry out if it's cooked for too long.


 

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