interesting, huh! well, i didnt want to question him further, as i was getting him around to other subjects. see, he is manager of one of the biggest bbq chains on the area. and, he thought my ribs and q were the best he has ever had! his company has 5 stores in the area. they use a central commisary that does all the cooking and trucks the meats to the stores. i did find out some other useful info that just made me smile
![Wink](/static/images/graemlins/icon_wink.gif)
back to the butts...with my limited cooler space, i dont like to put anything strait in the cooler while its hot cause its the other stuff i worry about. putting hot butts in the cooler could raise the temp of everything inside the cooler for too long. that is most dangerous. so yes, i cool everything for an hour (covered) before refrigerating. as for tuff butts, i have only experienced that with bryan brand. dont know why. best i ever used so far is smithfield. latest batch, i stabbed all but one. yea, makes a difference for me. about 2 hours longer cooking time for that one butt........ and it had less smoke flavor inside. maybe its all relative to the smoker unit.