waiting two days before pulling a butt??

[graybeard]

I would like to smoke a butt and keep it intact for two days before pulling. What can I expect? Will it be hard to pull? Should I maybe heat it up first?

Thanks,

beard

 

[irishteabear]

Why would you want to do that? Is it a deliberate choice or is it a scheuling issue? Once you've smoked the butt, what would you be doing with it?

 

[Dutch]

First off-why do you want to keep it intact? Most butts I do are usually falling apart after they have sat in the holding cooler for a couple of hours.

What I do is pull it while it's still hot, let it cool down some then vac-seal it in gallon bags adding some pan juices and finishing sauce to the meat before sealing it up. To reheat it I either cut a corner of the bag to act as a vent and toss it into the microwave or leave the bag sealed and then drop it into a pot of boiling water to reheat.

 

[bigbaldbbq]

I agree with Dutch on this one.

 

[pineywoods]

I have pulled one cold butt and since then I always pull them while warm just seems much easier for me. Of course thats just my preference

 

[wutang]

I would pull it after the normal resting period then reheat the pulled pork a couple days later. I think that would be easier overall than trying to pull a cold butt or reheating an entire butt back to pulling temp. Just my opinion though.

 

[graybeard]

It would be more of a presentation thing.

 

[Dutch]

If it's for presentation then, tie your butt as you would a boneless pork butt (or have your butcher do it). It will help to hold things together. Smoke it as you normally do and wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. To reheat, take a roaster pan, put a wire rack in the bottom of the pan and place your tied butt on the rack (remove the plastic wrap) add any saved pork butt juices to the pan or pour some low fat/low sodium chicken broth (canned is fine) in the pan. Cover and seal with aluminum foil and place into a 350* oven reheat to an internal temp of 145-160*. Remove from pan to your platter cut the stings and begin pulling as usual. Add juices from the pan or use Finishing Sauce to keep the meat moist.

 

[swkegelguy]

The last Butt I smoked I got interupted with a whole bunch of things that prevented me from pulling it at the point it was ready. I wrapped it in foil and placed it in the fridge (4 days) till we were able to enjoy it. I heated it in the oven till it reach about 160 degrees and much to my surprised it was as good as the day it was cooked. So from now on my plan is to precook the week meals such as I did with this one.

 

[rio_grande]

I have had to pull them cold it is tougher, and I know this is blasphmey but I usually take a cleaver to the bigger pieces. when it is heated I roll it around in the bag and it breaks up fine