Frozen butt

[Ooaaronoo]

I'm sure this has been covered. I have a twin pack I had frozen it weighs almost 19 lbs. I took it out the freezer mid day tuesday. Is there a way to check if the middle is thawed? I wanted to cook Friday night but will go sat night if need be.

 

[noboundaries]

If it is mostly thawed, don't worry about the middle. I've smoked plenty of partially thawed butts, briskets, turkeys, and chickens. It adds a little time, but not much. The thaw finishes in the smoker.

A common misunderstanding is the thawed meat will cook and the frozen meat will remain raw. That might have a bit of truth for really high temp cooks, but not for low n slow cooks. It's all about heat flow, thermodynamics, and equilibrium.

 

[Ooaaronoo]

Sounds good.. it will be a solid 3 days in the friday. So I may just give it a go tomorrow night.

 

[chef jimmyj]

There is always a couple of hours in a stock pot under barely running water...JJ

 

[phatbac]

oh i thought this was thread about being out in the weather too long....

Happy Joking,
phatbac (Aaron)

 

[Central PA Cowboy]

Yep, what chef jj said. Give it a water bath. Always works well for me.

 

[forktender]

There is always a couple of hours in a stock pot under barely running water...JJ

This how I thaw almost everything, I seal it with the foodsaver then place it in a plastic tub weigh it down with a dinner plate and turn the water on to a cold trickle for a few hours.

 

[tomd8]

I've used the defrost setting on the microwave to help thaw 7-8 lb butts with good results.

 

[saltysandman]

can i smoke a frozen butt? was thinking of putting it into the MES at 225 till i could get a probe into center and then add smoke and prepare normally from there. anyone with experience here? should i or it be the guinea pig?

precursor: dry rubbed a butt a week ago, found out the party didn't need any more food. froze it. thawing now but.....

 

[noboundaries]

can i smoke a frozen butt?

Sure. I read once that a frozen turkey only takes twice as long as a thawed one. I don't think that same rule would apply to a butt, but it might add 6 to 8 hours to the smoke.

Water conducts heat 25 times faster than air. Throw that baby in a sink with gently running cold water and thaw it in a few hours instead of the smoker.

 

[MelonSC]

I've put a pork butt in the smoker after it's been out of the freezer for 12 hours or so. It added some cook time, but still came out fine.