Struggling with pulled pork, help!

[crphillips]

Hi all,

Done a pork shoulder a couple of times but it's not pulled very well at all. I did one yesterday and it tasted great after i tipped the juices back onto the shredded meat but it was a little tough and chewy.

What is the best internal temp for pulled pork? I took it to approx 87 deg C which is around 190F. If it's still tough should i take it higher?

How do i get it to just fall apart? I've had much better results with a simple roasting joint done in the oven at 180C!

[LM600]

Get it to 190°F then wrap it in foil then wrap this in a towel and put into a coolbox / bag for a few hours....I did six this way overnight Friday and pulled them about half two for serving at about three-ish yesterday with whatever juices were in the foil and some AJ and a little cider vinegar added once pulled.

[wade]

The additional resting will certainly help. Also at what temperature were you cooking it? Maybe it had just reached temperature too fast. Once at temperature (anything over 70 deg C is cooked), if you can keep it there for a while it will continue to tenderise - wrapping in multiple layers of foil is a great way to do this if you don't have a warming area in your BBQ. Another option maybe was that it was just a tough old piece of pork and whatever you did it would have been tough! I have had a few occasions where I have cooked joints together in seemingly identical conditions and one has been significantly less tender than the others. Don't give up.