Pork Butt long rest

[Newglide]

Anybody ever do a long rest on a butt?
I am going to smoke a couple of butts on Saturday and server on Sunday afternoon.
I'm on the fence do I try to do a long rest or put it in the fridge and warm it up on Sunday afternoon

 

[gmc2003]

I'm in the camp of pulling it when it's cooled down enough to use my fingers. Then reheat the pulled pork on the day of the gathering. I'd be worried about getting mushy pulled pork if you try to keep it warm that long.

Chris

 

[JLeonard]

I've long rested in the oven. Cook on the smoker til probe tender, let rest on the counter til temp drops, then into the oven (foil wrapped) on your warm setting until ready to pull. Beats the heck out of a all night cook and being dog tired while trying to visit with guest.

Jim

 

[uncle eddie]

I would pull it on Saturday. Put it in a sealed container in the fridge. Warm it up in a crock pot on Sunday - low heat. Add a little water, if necessary, to get to the proposer moisture level. It doesn't take much.

 

[thirdeye]

Anybody ever do a long rest on a butt?
I am going to smoke a couple of butts on Saturday and server on Sunday afternoon.
I'm on the fence do I try to do a long rest or put it in the fridge and warm it up on Sunday afternoon

So, how long will the butt be resting? Will you do a hot hold, or hold in an insulated cooler?

I help with an annual BBQ where we smoke 8 to 10 butts that go on about 5pm. I come in at 5am the next morning and wrap, then they cook for another 2 or 3 hours. These are held in a cooler until 1pm. They are still very hot.

I did a hot hold using a Nesco roaster in this THREAD.

All that said, pork reheats really well, and I break butts down in to larger muscle goups, and do more pulling after the reheat.

 

[Newglide]

I'd be worried about getting mushy pulled pork if you try to keep it warm that long.

Yeah didn't think about it getting mushy. That's a good point

I've long rested in the oven

I was thinking about putting it in a cooler.

I would pull it on Saturday.

I am thinking this is probably the way to go.
Putting it in an aluminum pan and wrapping with some sauce and warming it up in the oven may be the ticket.

So, how long will the butt be resting? Will you do a hot hold, or hold in an insulated cooler?

Probably anywhere from 8-12 hours. After reading some of the posts and thinking about it I think I'll pull it Saturday, put it in the fridge then warm it up.

Thanks for the replies and getting me in the right direction

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

8-12 hours I’d just finish it the day before. Do you have a vacuum sealer? If so you can seal it, put it in the fridge and reheat it in boiling water. Id recommend JJ’s finishing sauce also for Pulled pork regardless of eating right off the smoker or the next day.

JJ's Tangy Pulled Pork Finishing Sauce

Tangy Pulled Pork Finishing Sauce Reposting by itself to make it easier to find...JJ☺ This is a popular Finishing Sauce to enhance the flavor of Pulled Pork, pulled Chicken or Shredded Beef. It is similar to an Eastern North Carolina style Finishing Sauce, but more complex... 2 C Apple Cider...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[Carbon1960]

I tried something new for a camping trip last week and it worked great. Long smoke for about 20lbs of butt, 2 hour hold/rest then broke it down to the larger muscle groups as noted about. By then it was getting late so into the vacuum sealer then freezer, no more shredding.

At camp, I heated a large pot of water to 150 and put the bags in, making sure they stayed above 132 or so. When it was time for dinner I took a bag out and thought for a minute. What if I just kinda knead it in the bag? Worked like a charm. Bark was pretty much lost, but the tradeoff was an easy mess-free meal for a bout 24 people.

Had 2 quart mason jars of my sauce to serve on the side and some vinegar sauce to put over the pork when it was ready to serve. No leftovers.

 

[chp]

I also typically smoke it, rest it, then into a fridge or freezer. I finish it in a crock pot. That seems to be the most reliable for me. What doesn’t get eaten goes into vac seal bags and that gets heated up SV. There is usually a frozen smoked pork butt in the freezer. It’s pretty easy to smoke up extra when the offset gets fired up.

 

[801driver]

I also typically smoke it, rest it, then into a fridge or freezer. I finish it in a crock pot. That seems to be the most reliable for me. What doesn’t get eaten goes into vac seal bags and that gets heated up SV. There is usually a frozen smoked pork butt in the freezer. It’s pretty easy to smoke up extra when the offset gets fired up.

For larger gatherings the next day I do similar, smoke, rest, pull, mix in finishing sauce, then I put it in the crock pot innard and set that in the frig with the lid on. Next morning just set the crock into the heater part Transport cool if needed and then let it simmer on warm for about 3 hrs to get back up to serving temp. Chicken broth works well with PB for me if a little more liquid is needed as it is warming. Yep any left overs gets put about 3/8 inch tick layer in a quart zip bag to break off frozen as needed for a sandwich, topping for a baked potato, mix an omlet, or what ever. I am still using the old suck the air out with a plastic straw method to seal, quick easy clean up.

 

[JeffShoaf]

I bought an electric smoker just to do long heated holds; I did the first overnight hold of pork butts this week as a test. I did a hot and fast smoke on my insulated gravity feed smoker (275° for about 9 hours), wrapped them in foil, and then put them in the electric smoker for about 23 hours. I monitored the temperature in between the shelves holding the butts (the temperature in this smoker tends to be higher on the each night shelf) and it swung between approximately 147° and 165°.

One butt was for my sister and one was for me; we both agreed that the butts were pretty much the same taste- and texture-wise as we remembered my earlier butts that had a more conventional 2-4 hour cooler hold.

My goal this long hold is to be able to smoke butts and briskets overnight so I can smoke them one day and serve them the next day so I can get a good night's sleep before the event and not be so exhausted, without having the additional steps of packaging, refrigerating, and reheating the meat. I tested the same process a while back with a brisket and it seemed like the brisket was improved by the long hold; my hope was that I could do the long hold with minimal impact to the taste and texture and think this week work!

 

[chp]

I bought an electric smoker just to do long heated holds; I did the first overnight hold of pork butts this week as a test. I did a hot and fast smoke on my insulated gravity feed smoker (275° for about 9 hours), wrapped them in foil, and then put them in the electric smoker for about 23 hours. I monitored the temperature in between the shelves holding the butts (the temperature in this smoker tends to be higher on the each night shelf) and it swung between approximately 147° and 165°.

One butt was for my sister and one was for me; we both agreed that the butts were pretty much the same taste- and texture-wise as we remembered my earlier butts that had a more conventional 2-4 hour cooler hold.

My goal this long hold is to be able to smoke butts and briskets overnight so I can smoke them one day and serve them the next day so I can get a good night's sleep before the event and not be so exhausted, without having the additional steps of packaging, refrigerating, and reheating the meat. I tested the same process a while back with a brisket and it seemed like the brisket was improved by the long hold; my hope was that I could do the long hold with minimal impact to the taste and texture and think this week work!

Sounds like the long hold worked for you. I will leave it to the guys that know the food safety numbers to address if those temperatures are safe for that long. I just know it needs to be above 140. It certainly is nice to get some sleep though.