Long heated hold for pork butts?

[JeffShoaf]

Murphy's law says that that cheap electric smoker will fail at the most inopportune time.

True, but if that happens I can fall back and use the gravity feed smoker for the hold; of course, that would be at the cost of 20 lbs or more of charcoal!

 

[nipster]

Pork butt is a much more fatty meat overall and different than brisket. I do about 1-2 hour hold but see no reason to hold longer for butt.

This... there's just zero reason to do it with butt. Especially if you are pulling it. Brisket is a lot more lean, but even a 5+ hour rest seems like there's a point of diminishing returns

 

[JeffShoaf]

This... there's just zero reason to do it with butt. Especially if you are pulling it. Brisket is a lot more lean, but even a 5+ hour rest seems like there's a point of diminishing returns

The reason isn't too improve the butt - it's to improve my sleep before a big family event with 3 or 4 butts. I normally smoke then overnight in my gravity feed but I don't sleep well since I'm keeping an ear out for a temperature alarm.

By smoking one night earlier and then holding 24+ hours, I would (hopefully) get a good night's sleep, get all the other prep work done, grill up a bunch of chicken, and not be so exhausted during the event. So the question wasn't so much about the long hold improving the butt, it was does the long hold negatively impact the taste and texture of the butt.

I've done these big gatherings twice and by meal time, I wasn't feeling very sociable and it was a struggle to get the minimal post-event cleanup done. I still enjoy it but I think I'd enjoy it even more if I could spread the cooking out across three days instead of two,

 

[DougE]

I've done these big gatherings twice and by meal time, I wasn't feeling very sociable and it was a struggle to get the minimal post-event cleanup done. I still enjoy it but I think I'd enjoy it even more if I could spread the cooking out across three days instead of two,

Been there, done that and why I suggested cooking ahead and reheating. With pulled pork, nobody will have a clue it was reheated unless you tell.

 

[JeffShoaf]

Been there, done that and why I suggested cooking ahead and reheating. With pulled pork, nobody will have a clue it was reheated unless you tell.

Reheating adds another whole batch of steps and equipment to the process. A long heated hold just adds one additional piece of equipment and (since I foil and hold in a cooler now) no additional steps - and that additional piece of equipment gives me a place to keep other things warm.

 

[Preacher Man]

I've done this before when catering for 400+

What I do is smoke my pork butts and then leave wrapped, without pulling, until it's time to serve. I then lower my smoker temp (It's a 500 gallon offset, so easiest to hold all my pork butts) to 150 and let it ride until time to serve. I've even driven to the site with the smoker rolling :)

The way I do it is pull my pork butts in front of the people in line (people like to oooh and aahhh). I've found them to stay more juicy this way rather than pulling ahead of time and then reheating.

 

[JeffShoaf]

Just to follow up, I hunted a few weeks for a used electric smoker and thought I found 2, but neither seller followed up on my questions. This seems to happen to me every time I try to find used stuff so I got aggravated and bought a new one. I ran some tests on it empty and it has a bit more temperature variation between the 4 shelves than I expected as week as a big bigger temperature swing than I wanted but I can live with both of those. I expect the to be less when loaded with a water pan and food.

Gotta brisket queued up for an overnight cook starting tomorrow and I'll use the electric smoker to hold it until dinner time Friday. I stocked up on Boston butts last week when they were on sale locally for 99¢ per lb so I have 7 in the freezer; I'll try a long hold on one within a few weeks just to check meat quality.

 

[richyy31]

I know this is an old post, but curious is you ever found your answer. I have a couple large events coming up this summer and want to do the same thing just for convince. I have purchased an Electric Cambro cooler that will hold temps right at 150. I just don't want to quality of the pork to suffer because of the long hold. Thanks

Just to follow up, I hunted a few weeks for a used electric smoker and thought I found 2, but neither seller followed up on my questions. This seems to happen to me every time I try to find used stuff so I got aggravated and bought a new one. I ran some tests on it empty and it has a bit more temperature variation between the 4 shelves than I expected as week as a big bigger temperature swing than I wanted but I can live with both of those. I expect the to be less when loaded with a water pan and food.

Gotta brisket queued up for an overnight cook starting tomorrow and I'll use the electric smoker to hold it until dinner time Friday. I stocked up on Boston butts last week when they were on sale locally for 99¢ per lb so I have 7 in the freezer; I'll try a long hold on one within a few weeks just to check meat quality.

 

[JeffShoaf]

I know this is an old post, but curious is you ever found your answer. I have a couple large events coming up this summer and want to do the same thing just for convince. I have purchased an Electric Cambro cooler that will hold temps right at 150. I just don't want to quality of the pork to suffer because of the long hold. Thanks

Yep, I bought a Masterbuilt digital electric smoker when it was on sale, tested it to make sure it held temp within an acceptable range, and have used it multiple times for overnight holds for both butts and briskets. I wrap the butts in foil and the briskets in pink butcher paper. The butts are indistinguishable from fresh off the smoker and I think my briskets are actually improved by the overnight hold.

My testing showed the smoker temperature swing is less with some thermal mass in the smoker so I use the water pan; I don't know if any added humidity from the water affects the meat or not. With a couple of big hunks of wrapped meat and the water pan, the smoker holds the top 3 shelves between 140° and 170° when set to 150°. The top shelf runs the hottest; I try not to use the bottom shelf (it has 4) since it's right over the water pan.

 

[912smoker]

It may help to fill the water pan with sand for the added mass.

Keith