boston butt questions

[dabuddha]

Hi all, first time poster, long time lurker

I have a couple of questions for some boston butts I'm going to be smoking. 

I purchased the butts last Friday and I dry rubbed them Saturday @ noon. 

They're going to be served at our company christmas party on Thursday.

My plan was to start smoking them Sunday morning @ 11:00PM so they'd be done by midnight.  But after reading online, I've been finding folks are recommending keeping smoked pulled pork for 2-3 days in the fridge at most.  If I smoke it today, it won't be served until Thursday @ 11:00AM.

So onto my questions

1) Will it keep that long in the fridge? 

2) If not, will the raw rubbed boston butt keep in my fridge till about Wednesday morning?  Or will the dry rub I used toughen up the meat in some way?  I was thinking I can throw it on the smoker before I leave for work Wednesday morning and my wife can keep an eye on it throughout the day. 

I will be pulling it and bbq saucing it before storing it after it's cooked.

TIA!

 

[forluvofsmoke]

I don't rub it until the day before the smoke, or the day of, myself. Salts in the rub will draw some moisture out of the meat after rubbing...I think this will pretty much stop after 18-24 hours, but without knowing how much salt is in the rub and how heavily it is applied, I can't say how long it will keep rubbed and resting in the fridge. Also, sell-by-date comes into the equation...how many days until it expired when it was opened and prepped. I wouldn't fridge the pulled pork more than 2-3 days, but you could smoke it up now, rest and pull, bag and freeze for a fridge-thaw the day before you reheat it. Bark won't be as prominent with any reheated PP, whether it's frozen or just chilled in the fridge and then reheated, it won't compare to freshly pulled pork.

Think I'd just get it smoked-up and frozen, myself.

Good luck and have a great party!

Eric

 

[dabuddha]

Thanks for the info! I decided to smoke it today. Smokes for about 6 hours then stuck it in the oven now @ 250. Question. After pulling it, should I sauce it before freezing it or should I freeze it unsauced and sauce it when I warm it up for Thursday?

 

[s2k9k]

Freeze it unsauced and then serve the sauce on the side. Not everyone (like myself) likes a lot of sauce mixed in.

 

[fliptetlow]

I always freeze a couple of bags right after I pull it, stays nice and fresh. 

Sauce??? whats that? :)

 

[chef jimmyj]

I don't know what Sauce you plan to use but if it is Sweet, I would recommend a Tangy Finishing Sauce to reheat with and then offer the sweet sauce on the side. This sauce of mine is popular and very tasty...JJ

JJ's Finishing Sauce

2C Apple Cider Vinegar

2T Worcestershire Sauce or more to taste

1/4C Brown Sugar

1T Smoked Paprika

2 tsp Granulated Garlic

2 tsp Granulated Onion

2 tsp Fine Grind Black Pepper

1 tsp Celery Salt

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper or Chipotle powder. Add more if you like Heat.

1/2 tsp Grnd Allspice

Combine all and whisk well. Let rest, at room temp, 30 minutes for the flavors to meld together.

 

[parman]

The sell by date is important. The piece can stay in the fridge but be aware of when it has to be cooked. I don't rub mine till I decide to fire the pit. I'll inject the day before so the marinade can be

absorbed. I'll rub the day of and start the fire. The meat can rest with the rub as the the fire stabilizes. I'll leave my pork on the pit till it hits 190 then pull it off. I'll wrap in in foil, leave the thermostat probe in the meat and then wrap it in towels. I'll then put it into a soft type ice chest and let it simmer in its own sauce. When it drops close to 150* I'll open it up and pull it. Truly Amazing!