one person mentioned to me the other day, after smoking a butt, let it cool to room temp before placing in cooler or it will be tough. anybody know about this? i havent yet tested this theory intentionally.
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
I know snokin' will have the exact answer since he has done soooo many experiments that I read about.
I always pull it warm - hot and I either leave it out or put right into the fridge or freezer with some finishing sauce or extra mop.
People always say how tender and tasty it is. I never found it to be tough once.
I would like to know just like you if anyone has done a side by side comparsion of the two methods and can relate to the validity of this....
Thanks
I always pull it warm - hot and I either leave it out or put right into the fridge or freezer with some finishing sauce or extra mop.
People always say how tender and tasty it is. I never found it to be tough once.
I would like to know just like you if anyone has done a side by side comparsion of the two methods and can relate to the validity of this....
Thanks
There are reasons NOT to do this, first would be food safety. If you want to cool for storage then I would pull and place in a frige uncovered till it was cold.
If it is to be served with in a few hours then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and foil and place in the dry cooler or warming oven and keep it above 140�.
By wrapping in plastic and foil you need to understand that the internal temp of the meat will continue to rise for a period of time before it starts to drop. I can't think of any reason why it would toughen up.
Jim
If it is to be served with in a few hours then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and foil and place in the dry cooler or warming oven and keep it above 140�.
By wrapping in plastic and foil you need to understand that the internal temp of the meat will continue to rise for a period of time before it starts to drop. I can't think of any reason why it would toughen up.
Jim
You need to get to this person and have him explain, because for the life of me, I can't imagine why it would "toughen up".
Cooling actually makes it harder to pull apart.
And Jim is right. Room temp is in the danger zone (40 to 140) and doing that in a restaurant is NOT a good thing.
Besides, you do enough butts, why didn't you challenge him to explain.
Maybe he knows something we don't
Cooling actually makes it harder to pull apart.
And Jim is right. Room temp is in the danger zone (40 to 140) and doing that in a restaurant is NOT a good thing.
Besides, you do enough butts, why didn't you challenge him to explain.
Maybe he knows something we don't
Mornin',
In the '70s,there were some prominent restaurant pitmasters around the south that used to argue about when to cooler shoulders.
Straight from the pits,or after cooling for a while.
The arguments had to do more with the souring of meats,I believe.
In the '70s,there were some prominent restaurant pitmasters around the south that used to argue about when to cooler shoulders.
Straight from the pits,or after cooling for a while.
The arguments had to do more with the souring of meats,I believe.
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 
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.
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.