Quality after reheating

[Ringer]

Ok so I have a big smoke that I'm going to start today.

Will the end result be drastically different in these 2 methods?

I am asking because staying up tending the smoker all night isn't what I want to do but I will if I have to.

The Cook is 8 butts and 4 brisket. I do plan to wrap in butcher paper when the stall hits.

Method 1. Cook today, reheat on the smoker tomorrow and hold in yeti cooler from noon to 5pm.

Method 2. Start the Cook tonight, tend smoker, finish up tomorrow morning, hold in yeti cooler from noon to 5pm.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Cooking today and reheating tomorrow sure makes life simpler. As long as you warm it slow and low it should be almost as good as the day it was cooked.

 

[smokerjim]

i find it taste better when cooked in advance and reheated, the only thing i noticed though is beef tends to dry out some( could be just me) so i usually slice it and reheat in some beef broth or some type of liquid.

 

[GATOR240]

I'm in agreement with the last two answers.....I usually add a finishing sauce when I reheat. Lately it has been Chef JJ's finishing sauce.

 

[tallbm]

Ok so I have a big smoke that I'm going to start today.

Will the end result be drastically different in these 2 methods?

I am asking because staying up tending the smoker all night isn't what I want to do but I will if I have to.

The Cook is 8 butts and 4 brisket. I do plan to wrap in butcher paper when the stall hits.

Method 1. Cook today, reheat on the smoker tomorrow and hold in yeti cooler from noon to 5pm.

Method 2. Start the Cook tonight, tend smoker, finish up tomorrow morning, hold in yeti cooler from noon to 5pm.

I'm trying to think how best to answer this but I'm stuck on what to say haha.
The reason? I see 8 butts and 4 briskets (whole packers) even if started at 8am today taking until like 6am tomorrow to finish if doing at like 275F. I mean I've never done that much meat in one go and I run mine naked the entire time so the timing is really throwing me off.

If this is the case then I would pull them at 6am tomorrow morning tightly double foil wrap them all and throw them all on top of each other in your yeti cooler and I think they should hold temp for 12 hours with that much heated mass.
So this is why I'm a little stuck.


Now lets say you can complete method 1. Reheating that much meat to 165-170F which would be needed to shred the pork and slice the brisket and it be nice and hot to eat would take a considerable amount of time. Like start at from fridge to 170F may take all that meat 6-7hrs+ is my guess. I know warming one 10 pound pork butt from fridge to 170F for pulling takes me like 4-5 hours at like 300F oven temp.
So to me Method 1 may not be saving anytime especially if they come off 5-6 hours before you have to put them back on.

So method 2 I again think would take so long in cooking that you would have to plan to put them on now and hope they come off in time to rest 4-5hours in the cooler before serving at meal time.

Again I don't know your smoker and I've never worked that much meat at once so I'm not sure I'm very helpful other than giving some food for thought to consider. If you know your timings with that much meat well and know you can reheat that much meat with no issue then ignore everything I'm saying here.
I just want to raise some points to consider so that you hit your serving time with well cooked meat which is the most important combination of factors to work with :)

 

[Ringer]

I'm trying to think how best to answer this but I'm stuck on what to say haha.
The reason? I see 8 butts and 4 briskets (whole packers) even if started at 8am today taking until like 6am tomorrow to finish if doing at like 275F. I mean I've never done that much meat in one go and I run mine naked the entire time so the timing is really throwing me off.

If this is the case then I would pull them at 6am tomorrow morning tightly double foil wrap them all and throw them all on top of each other in your yeti cooler and I think they should hold temp for 12 hours with that much heated mass.
So this is why I'm a little stuck.


Now lets say you can complete method 1. Reheating that much meat to 165-170F which would be needed to shred the pork and slice the brisket and it be nice and hot to eat would take a considerable amount of time. Like start at from fridge to 170F may take all that meat 6-7hrs+ is my guess. I know warming one 10 pound pork butt from fridge to 170F for pulling takes me like 4-5 hours at like 300F oven temp.
So to me Method 1 may not be saving anytime especially if they come off 5-6 hours before you have to put them back on.

So method 2 I again think would take so long in cooking that you would have to plan to put them on now and hope they come off in time to rest 4-5hours in the cooler before serving at meal time.

Again I don't know your smoker and I've never worked that much meat at once so I'm not sure I'm very helpful other than giving some food for thought to consider. If you know your timings with that much meat well and know you can reheat that much meat with no issue then ignore everything I'm saying here.
I just want to raise some points to consider so that you hit your serving time with well cooked meat which is the most important combination of factors to work with :)

Excellent analysis and commentary.

First thing I found is that the customer supplied butts are boneless. Never done that. They are getting done quite a bit faster than a bone in.

The brisket are in the 170 to 180 range right now so I'm going to keep them naked and see when they get done.

If they aren't done by 6 I'll wrap them and let em finish.

I really didn't want to stay up tending this but it looks like there's no way around it.

 

[Ringer]

Well butt #1 finished already, no wrapping.

7 hrs 210 degrees.

I gues I'll rest this one then keep in the oven until tomorrow morning on low with the door cracked.

 

[tallbm]

Excellent analysis and commentary.

First thing I found is that the customer supplied butts are boneless. Never done that. They are getting done quite a bit faster than a bone in.

The brisket are in the 170 to 180 range right now so I'm going to keep them naked and see when they get done.

If they aren't done by 6 I'll wrap them and let em finish.

I really didn't want to stay up tending this but it looks like there's no way around it.

Temp probe on briskets is crazy difficult to place and get the proper temp reading. Best spot to aim for is thickest yet center most portion of the flat muscle.
With that said, remember that with briskets they are only done when tender never by temp.
Let the temp tell you when to stab ALL OVER with a kabob skewer and if it goes in with no resistance it is tender and therefore ready.

So your briskets may have 4hours they may have 8 hrs... all depending on where that probe is put and when they get tender lol.

Keep at it man and I think holding that in the oven may be ok. There are guys here that swear by setting their oven to 170F and putting their briskets in such there to hold temp.
I think that if you do that with all your meat(if it can all fit) it will hold indefinitely! Just be sure that when you pull the meat you let it cool a little while double wrapping it in foil and then putting it in the oven.
I usually get enough cooling by bringing a brisket or pork but in on a baking sheet and setting that on the counter. Then I go and pull out the foil and tear 4 giant sheets to then splice into 2 giant sheets and set on the table. THEN I bring the meat over and put on the foil and wrap. This time usually takes 10-15 minutes so the meat stops cooking in that time for me and is good for me to start storing in towels or in your case the oven :)

I hope all this info helps :)

 

[Ringer]

Temp probe on briskets is crazy difficult to place and get the proper temp reading. Best spot to aim for is thickest yet center most portion of the flat muscle.
With that said, remember that with briskets they are only done when tender never by temp.
Let the temp tell you when to stab ALL OVER with a kabob skewer and if it goes in with no resistance it is tender and therefore ready.

So your briskets may have 4hours they may have 8 hrs... all depending on where that probe is put and when they get tender lol.

Keep at it man and I think holding that in the oven may be ok. There are guys here that swear by setting their oven to 170F and putting their briskets in such there to hold temp.
I think that if you do that with all your meat(if it can all fit) it will hold indefinitely! Just be sure that when you pull the meat you let it cool a little while double wrapping it in foil and then putting it in the oven.
I usually get enough cooling by bringing a brisket or pork but in on a baking sheet and setting that on the counter. Then I go and pull out the foil and tear 4 giant sheets to then splice into 2 giant sheets and set on the table. THEN I bring the meat over and put on the foil and wrap. This time usually takes 10-15 minutes so the meat stops cooking in that time for me and is good for me to start storing in towels or in your case the oven :)

I hope all this info helps :)

Thanks, I will do exactly this and just pull them 1 by 1 until there's nothing left.

 

[BB-que]

Ok so I have a big smoke that I'm going to start today.

Will the end result be drastically different in these 2 methods?

I am asking because staying up tending the smoker all night isn't what I want to do but I will if I have to.

The Cook is 8 butts and 4 brisket. I do plan to wrap in butcher paper when the stall hits.

Method 1. Cook today, reheat on the smoker tomorrow and hold in yeti cooler from noon to 5pm.

Method 2. Start the Cook tonight, tend smoker, finish up tomorrow morning, hold in yeti cooler from noon to 5pm.

If they do finish early I can tell you reheating in a bag in simmering water tastes like fresh off smoker in IMO. Be careful not to hold to long, can overcook in the cooler. Good luck

 

[Ringer]

If they do finish early I can tell you reheating in a bag in simmering water tastes like fresh off smoker in IMO. Be careful not to hold to long, can overcook in the cooler. Good luck

6 butts and 1 brisket done.

I'm going to rest them for 1 ish hrs on the counter then into the oven to hold at 170 with the door cracked.

At noon they will go into the cooler for 4 to 5 hrs. Then they will pull and slice.

Hopefully holding in the oven won't do any damage. Fingers crossed.

I smoked a little hotter than normal this time and the bark is definitely crispy. Hopefully the wrap and hold will soften it some.

 

[Ringer]

All done. Double wrapped in paper then foil. Resting in cooler. Here is a pic from earlier in the smoke

 

[smokerjim]

Looks excellant

 

[SmokinEdge]

Looks delicious. Waiting to see how it all turns out. Should be excellent though.

 

[tallbm]

All done. Double wrapped in paper then foil. Resting in cooler. Here is a pic from earlier in the smoke

Wow that all looks amazing!!!
Finished at 4am my time. I bet all those massive hunks of meat all resting together in a cooler will hold temp for a good long while!

I hope it all goes well and hopefully you got some rest :)

 

[Ringer]

Ok so here is the finished product. I didn't slice this and wasn't present for the eating but they said everyone enjoyed it. This is kind of a cross post so my apologies.

Thanks for all the help everyone

 

[smokerjim]

Looks mighty fine from here

 

[912smoker]

Yes sir that all looks great and I'm was enjoyed by all !

 

[JLeonard]

Yes sir! Darn good looking meal.
Jim

 

[SmokinEdge]

Heck of a nice job. That all looks fantastic.