7.5lb Frozen Pork Shoulder - thaw time?

[DougCA]

I have had a 7.5lb pork shoulder in the freezer for a too long (years) and I figure I'll use it as my sacrificial first cook on my new Hunsaker. Any suggestions for how many days it needs to be in the fridge to thaw enough to go on the smoker?

 

[Elf@shore]

Do you have a pot or bowl that will fit the 7 lb pork shoulder? Even a bowl that just holds the meat?
Make sure the pork is sealed up: cry vac/ziplock , before placing it in the water.
Place it in the bowl and add water.
Replace the water after 30 minutes and rotate roast.
You can do it outside of the fridge for about an hour or so?
The water will draw out the cold.
After about 2 hours?
Put back in the fridge.
I would say 2 days, might take longer.
Keep changing out the water!
You will reach a point where most of the cold is drawn out.
The very middle might still be frozen!
Before you start to cook?
Might want to do a final water change out @ Room Temperature?
You will know, by the water Temperature?
Hope that helps you?
Later. ELF

 

[DougCA]

I'm in no hurry - this isn't for the holiday. Can cook when it's thawed, just want to know how long to plan for it to thaw in the fridge.

 

[Elf@shore]

I'm in no hurry - this isn't for the holiday. Can cook when it's thawed, just want to know how long to plan for it to thaw in the fridge.

NOTHING IS A STUPID QUESTION !
Find a vehicle to place it in the fridge. (Bowl, Pot ?)
Use the water method to give it a head start on thawing. And Rotate the meat .
Otherwise you see frost on the meat. for almost a day !
I would plan on 3 full days ? Then cook it that day? Not to mention if yur going to Dry brine it ?

 

[cptnding]

Give it 3-5 days in the fridge. At 5 it should be completely thawed. Depends on your fridge temp of course. If I give one 3 days it's still somewhat frozen in the center for me but it's no big deal. It will finish thawing real quick at 250 plus. Comes out great every time.

 

[DougCA]

No dry brine, just going to toss it on with a bit of BBQ port seasoning I have opened.

Thank you both for your replies!

 

[Elf@shore]

HI! Glad to hear its time to BBQ that Monster !
Think about adding a Water pan ,off of Yur cook? Juice of Yur choice ? ( APPLE) ?
For a few hrs ? To help with the moister ,to prevent drying out ?
Can ditch it later, to get a bark ?
Just did a Top round last night ,came out GREAT!
In the Oven @ 250 , on rack, with apple cider juice.

 

[DougCA]

I'm just going to toss it on with a bit of rub on it. Nothing fancy with this one.

Unfortunately, my smoker did not arrive on Friday as planned. Now schedule for late afternoon on Wednesday. I took the meat out of the freezer last Wednesday and it's thawed. Still in the vac pack but I don't remember how close to the "use by" date I froze it. Hesitant to let it sit until Thursday to cook. Not sure if it'll be safe until then?

 

[mcokevin]

Something that size would take 5-6 days in my fridge.

 

[DougE]

Don't do this (or do it at your own risk!)! It goes against current food safety rules, but my mom and granny always thawed meat this way.

It was fairly common to see a frozen turkey sitting on the counter during the day and put back in the fridge at night, around Thanksgiving and Christmas, when I was growing up.

I'm old school, so I pull them out of the freezer and let them sit at room temperature a few hours, back in the fridge overnight, rinse and repeat until thawed.

 

[bill1]

It's been a while, but I've gone direct from freezer to smoker with that size pork butt. Adds a few hours to the cook, but that's more time in the smoke--woo-hoo. After an hour or so, you'll be able to get your salty rub to stick...the salt is what you want to get working its way in first. Every hour after that you should probe with a skewer until the center (bone can complicate things, so the last section to thaw may not be the center) is soft. At that point, insert your internal temp probe to the coldest section (don't be surprised if it still reads 32F) and it's a normal cook after that.
Pretty sure I'm not the only one who's smoked frozen butts.

 

[DougCA]

Smoker arrived last Tuesday and I put the meat on Wednesday about 10a. It was done by 4 ish. Surprisingly old meat tasted just fine! Thanks for the info, everyone. On to the next cook!