Resting Question...

evo 9 guy · Oct 29, 2009

I am going to be smoking just under 19 pounds of Shoulder for a work potluck. If I manage to get them done around midnight or so and then double wrap in foil, then towel, then sleeping bag, then into cooler, how long do you think I have before I would have to worry about getting it into a fridge. I work at 6 in the morning so I think that would be ok. But I am going to pull it at the office around 10 or so. Should that be ok or too long?

mballi3011 · Oct 29, 2009

You will be pushing it I think. But you should be alright to pull it after 6 hours in the cooler I have but not alot longer till you should seek some refrigeration soon after that.

olewarthog · Oct 29, 2009

I have let butts sit in a cooler with just a single layer of foil & and a couple of old towels for 5 hours & they were still almost too hot to handle with bare hands.

scpatterson · Oct 29, 2009

Try getting them done maybe 2 instead of 12..I know work early but I think you will be pushing it myself if you pull at 12....My 2 cents

raceyb · Oct 29, 2009

The answer to this kinda depends on your cooler... If you have a very well insulated cooler, one that will hold ice for at least 3 days before it all melts, you are going to be fine.

Use thick towels. Using this method with my Coleman camping cooler, I have held butts for 8 hours. I used masking tape to let everyone know NOT TO OPEN the cooler. HOT FOOD INSIDE.

When we got to our destination, the pork was too hot to handle. I had to let it set a bit before I could even work with it. You are looking at a 10 hour window though, which could be pushing it if your cooler is not well insulated.

I would do what was suggested earlier, time your smoke to wrap up around 2-3 in the am. If you double wrap in heavy foil, then wrap in a thick blanket and get them all in cooler at once, you should easily be able to go 8 hours.

Some competition BBQ guys claim that they have let pork shoulder hold up in a 5 day cooler for 10 hours. I have never pushed it that long.

evo 9 guy · Oct 29, 2009

My cooler should be alright. I have had ice last in there with beer for two days in havasu in the middle of summer so average of 110 degree weather and still had ice at the end of the trip.

the dude abides · Oct 29, 2009

That's a heck of a lot of meat. I would think that if well wrapped they'll keep each other plenty hot. My two concerns would be how many times you're going to have to open the cooler to add more meat since it won't likely all finish at the exact same time.
Also, not sure where you live, but it's getting cold out at night. Make sure that cooler stays somewhere warm. It might not hurt to find a way to warm up the internal temp of the cooler right before you throw the meat in. Maybe a few gallons of boiling water then sealed up tight for 10-15 minutes then dumped out right as you're adding the meat.

Good luck with this smoke. Be sure to keep us updated with some qview

raceyb · Oct 29, 2009

Also, put the towel in dry on high for 10 minutes. As soon as you pull it from dryer, wrap and shut. Every little bit helps.

meat hunter · Oct 29, 2009

I think you will be just fine. I have had a brisket rest for nearly 12 hours, and was still too hot to handle. I use an old down pillow on the bottom of my cooler, and one on the top with the meat in the middle. Works like a champ.

txbigred · Oct 29, 2009

Good ideas

Dave

blue · Oct 29, 2009

The longest I have had to rest them was 4 hours and they were still piping hot.

The nice thing about resting is that you can finish early and still serve fresh food. For your situation, you have a lot hours between removing from the smoker and serving the prize.

ronp · Oct 29, 2009

Why not keep them in the oven until you leave for work? Maybe I missed something.

evo 9 guy · Oct 29, 2009

Because I don't want to pull the meat until about 10 a.m. and when I leave there is still a four and a half out time frame from then. so I need to do the cool anyway and dont want to overcook in the oven. What temp would I have to keep the oven at?

evo 9 guy · Oct 29, 2009

The shoulders are about the same size at just over 9 lbs a piece. Found a local butchers that apparently has very large cuts of meat on hand at all times.

ronp · Oct 29, 2009

Ahh I see.

180' would be alright, I do it all the time with my MES overnight and pull in the AM.

Whatever you do good luck.

bman62526 · Oct 29, 2009

Great ideas here...

I think this is what Ron suggested, but the way I would do it is plan on getting them SMOKED to an internal temp of 170° or so - by midnight. Make that your goal...to hit 170° at the most, by midnight.

Then - plop them into a foil covered roaster (with some liquid in the bottom, of course) and set the oven temp at 225°

When you wake up at 6 am - they will be perfectly done (Ron, please chime in here if you think this is good advice.

I don't use an MES, but I've used the oven for over-nighters kinda like this.)

Then do all of the above advice as far as the coolering, and you will be the king once everyone eats it!

Getting the first 5-6 hours on the smoker will give plenty of flavor, so that no one would even be able to tell that they technically finished in the oven.

Also, that 4 - 5 hour window of time from when you leave the house to when you want to pull - that will be fine. If you are insulated well, it will still be VERY hot after 4 1/2 hours.

calculus · Oct 29, 2009

I smoked 2 9 pound Boston butts 3 weeks ago. One was for me and 1 for a friend. I took them up to 205. Then I took the 1 for a friend and wrapped it in the really heavy dity Reynolds wrap(from Sam's club) Then I put a blanket on the bottom of my old trusty Coleman cooler. Then I wrappred the butt in 2 big towels then I put it in the cooler and covered it with a folded up blanket. I left the temp probe in the butt. I put the probe wire inside the cooler and closed it up and left it in the kitchen. This was around midnight. I opened the cooler at 10am and plugged in the digital thermometer to the probe. it was 146 degrees. I took it to his house at 11:30 and it was 140 degrees. We pulled it then and it was great and very warm. I have always been told that 140 was the magic number to never go belowto keep from grwing bacteria. So 11 and a half hours worked for me.

pineywoods · Oct 29, 2009

Personally I would hold them in the oven foiled till I left for work as Ron suggested then wrap them in the towel and into the cooler.

jirodriguez · Oct 29, 2009

Another concern with keeping them in the cooler that long is haveing them get mushy. I did one for 6 hrs. in the cooler with towels, was still very hot when I pulled it out, but the meat was almost mushy in texture by then. Still tasted, good, but family didn't like it as much as other ones.

raceyb · Oct 29, 2009

More then likely it was in the high range of temp for too long. Of the four I just finished, and they all rested over 6 hours, 3 were moist and stringy when pulled, and the other was kinda close to mushing if overhandled. The entire coloring inside was pink. I'm guessing it was the one that was in the smoker the longest.

Some people prefer a more textured piece of pig, and should pull their meat at 170-180. That way you can still slice the pork, and only the meat closest to the bone will hand pull.

Resting Question...

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