British BBQ Society Forums

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!

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.

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.