How Long ??

[bigheavyone]

Hi guys
Quick question , have a couple butts in the smoker now that won't be done till close to Midnight , I'm beat and don't want to wrap for an hour or two in towels and rest in cooler. How long would it be ok to leave them wrapped in towels in the cooler in the garage so i can hit the hay ? Will the be ok until Thurs morning ? Taken them to 200* then wrapping.
Thanks in advance
Marc

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Longest I've kept a pair of butts foiled/towel-wrapped to rest is around 6 hours in warm weather, and they where still above 140* I/T, but that was mid-day resting. Resting overnight could get a bit more on the chilly side depending on your location/weather, so I'd say no more than 5 hours to get them pulled. More meat bundled together will stay hot longer due to having more mass...if you had some bricks to heat up to around 200* or so and pack into the cooler before you add the butts would add to the thermal mass and extend the resting time before I/T drops too much...some extra towels will help insulate it better...just some thoughts to ponder.

Wish I could give you a more definitive answer, but there are a lot of variables which can effect how fast it will cool-down.


Eric

 

[bigheavyone]

Thanks ! I just went and checked em and they were at 200* so they are foiled & toweled resting now in the cooler. Couple hours and i can pull em & clean em up and still hit the hay by midnite. I forgot that i had wrapped em this time at 170 so it got to temp much faster , usually never foil so i am anxious to see how they turn out. Were already falling apart when I rewrapped for cooler so thats a good sign. But I prefer them really barked up and these look to be super moist. Thanks again.

 

[forluvofsmoke]

You're welcome.

Not sure whether you caught this yet or not, but with your mention of liking bark on your butts, this may help you create better bark and preserve it during resting, among other things:

Wet-to-Dry No-Foil Smoke Chamber Method for Smoking Meats - SmokingMeatForums.com Community

Hope your pulled pork went great!

Eric