Super Bowl Butt question

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geremyg

Newbie
Original poster
Oct 10, 2014
8
10
Frederick, MD
Just finished a 10 pound, bone in, Boston Butt and hour and a half ago. It's been resting in a cooler for an hour and a half and the IT, right now, is 176. I am guessing that in half an hour it'll drop below 170 and I will commence to pulling it. I have done some research and I am not sure how I want to go about serving it tonight. It would be a shame to throw it in the fridge and then reheat it but what do you guys think? Leave it in the oven at 170?? Crock pot on low or warm setting?? Party starts in 7 hours and don't want to dry out my butt, but also don't want to lose that fresh flavor! Qview to come later!
 
You didn't say what kind of smoker. If your smoker can hold 140°ish wrap it in foil and put it back in the smoker. It will act just like a proofer oven. The oven will be a little hot but you can rest it in a Ice chest wrapped tight in foil filled with towels for say 5 hour then into the crock pot on low.

Happy smoken.

David

PS 
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Even if you have to pull it, put in the fridge and reheat, it'll be fine. I'm of the opinion that pulled pork actually is better after a day in the fridge. The flavors meld and the texture actually improves. If you just leave it in the cooler it'll likely stay warm right up to the time the party starts, so that's an option too. You could wrap a couple bricks in foil and heat them up in the oven for an hour then toss them in the cooler with the butt to hold heat a little longer if your temp drops too fast.
 
I have a BBQ Pro vertical gas smoker and it runs at like 240 degrees on low. Am I wrong about needing to pull it at 170? I think I remember reading something about don't let it get below 140 degrees also, memory is a little fuzzy though. Currently it is wrapped up tight in a cooler with plenty of towels.
 
Even if you have to pull it, put in the fridge and reheat, it'll be fine. I'm of the opinion that pulled pork actually is better after a day in the fridge. The flavors meld and the texture actually improves. If you just leave it in the cooler it'll likely stay warm right up to the time the party starts, so that's an option too. You could wrap a couple bricks in foil and heat them up in the oven for an hour then toss them in the cooler with the butt to hold heat a little longer if your temp drops too fast.
That's interesting about the bricks, don't have any but thanks for the tip. Maybe I'll go buy some. And you think the temp could possibly hold that long in the cooler? It is a nice cooler, but 7 hours?
 
Qview as promised...


Fresh hunk of love!
Rubbed 12 hours in advance with sea salt, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, brown sugar and paprika. Started smoking at 6pm
7 pm, mopped with 3 parts apple juice and 1 part spiced rum. (Saw that mix from somewhere and it sounded good)
8 pm
9pm
10 pm
11 pm
Midnight, IT was 150ish. Figured it soaked up enough smoke, placed it in the oven at 225, went to bed!
8:30 am, IT 203 degrees, bone is wiggling around nice a loose. Off to the cooler.


It was pretty awesome waking up to the intoxicating smell of smoked pork. Yummo!
 
If you wrap the fouled butt in towels and fill the entire cooler with towels or blankets it should easily stay hot for 7 hours. Think about how long it holds ice. Heat transfer works the same way whether hot or cold.
 
If you wrap the fouled butt in towels and fill the entire cooler with towels or blankets it should easily stay hot for 7 hours. Think about how long it holds ice. Heat transfer works the same way whether hot or cold.
It is 2/3rds full with towels and I put the butt in a dutch oven and covered it with foil. I guess we'll see. Thanks for the replies!
 
 
It looks very tasty. You broke the 
Rules.gif
 by opening the door every hour to take pics 
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.

As for the holding Give the ice chest a try and reheat it a little if needed.

Happy smoken.

David
lol, it doesn't take but a couple minutes to get back up to temp in this smoker plus it allowed me to mop it/check the wood. Plus how could I resist not looking at it, makes me feel like a kid again, lol!
 
as somebody else mentioned, it's amazing how hot it will stay if you have it wrapped up in foil and then wrapped in towels and sitting in a cooler.  Another trick from my homebrewing days is to boil some water and dump that into the cooler and swish it around to sort of preheat the cooler and then dump the hot water out and place it in there all wrapped up.  it will stay plenty hot for a long time.  or I would also put it in the oven on the warm setting and keep a thermo in it just to make sure it doesn't heat up too much because when you set an oven to 200 it fluctuates up and down quite a bit normally.
 
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