Thawing Pork Butts

[rabbithutch]

I've got 3 boneless pork butts that have been in the freezer for a few weeks. Got them when Aldi's had them for 79¢ a lb. Cooked one in the Instant Pot because I needed pulled pork to make Brunswick stew.

I'd like to be able to put these on my OC Brazos tomorrow along with a rack of ribs and have Friday to deal with bagging and freezing the PP. I've got them soaking in the sink in cold water but I doubt they will thaw in time for me to get them on and done tomorrow. They are approximately 12 lbs each, give or take.

Has anyone ever thawed pork butts in the microwave successfully? If so, how did you do it? We have a GE unit that has a defrost function that asks for the weight then chooses how long to process it. It generally takes between 10 and 15 minutes a pound for fully frozen cuts. I don't want to mess up these shoulders but I'd really like to be able to smoke them tomorrow. I hate to fire up the Brazos and not do them all. Seems a waste of wood and smoke.

Would appreciate suggestions.
rh

 

[kruizer]

I have the same Micro-wave and I would suggest you monitor temp as you defrost. I have had some larger cuts start to warm up as they defrost.

 

[mike243]

Leave in the water and change every 30 minutes,get it as close to thawed as possible then put it on,put a temp probe into the center and start cooking,

 

[SmokinAl]

Yes as said above I have put meat on that was still partially frozen, it just takes a little longer to cook.
Thaw it as much as you can then put it on, I find that if you keep the water running into the bowl that the meat is thawing in, it will thaw faster.
Al

 

[zwiller]

Never had much luck with nuking, especially anything large. Water bath as mike243 works better and faster than many think. I don't bother to change water but it does speed things up. Use largest sink or tub you can and witness thermal mass exchange at it's finest. 3-4 hours per butt from memory. I bet an hour or so if you did change the water. Best is to park in fridge a week prior instead rushing it.

 

[noboundaries]

This thread is about 18 hours old at this post. What did you decide to do?

 

[rabbithutch]

I kept the butts in the kitchen sink for about 3 hours yesterday then moved them to the reefer overnight. They were still partially frozen but I rubbed them down (with Jeff's rub recipe, of course) after trimming them and put them in the smoker at 225°F where they have been cooking since 10:30 this morning. I haven't checked IT yet but will in a bit to see where I stand.

Thanks for the feedback, folks!!!