Another Butt holding question

[JeremyC]

So I opted to make some pulled pork for a holiday party tomorrow. I usually leave for work around 5:30 am. So, using a conservative 2 hrs/lb, I put two 6lb butts on at 5:45 pm today.

It is now 8:35, roughly 3 hours into it, and I'm sitting at 130*. It's extremely windy outside and my temps are fluctuating from 225-275. I fear I'll probably be around 190 a little after midnight.

The party doesn't start til 11 AM tomorrow, so I was hoping to pull these bad boys off at 5:30, foil them up real good, and pack them in my cooler until 11.

If they're "done" around 2 AM, I still have 9 hours to kill.

I've seen several methods described here such as foiling the butts, and putting them back on the smoker and closing it up til it's ready to come off. Also, I have heard about throwing it into my oven at 180* to keep them warm.

Which method would work best here? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[JeremyC]

PS. Don't mind the topic

 

[Clark Deutscher]

9 hours isn't to bad. Personally I would just pre heat a cooler, stuff it with towels, wrap the shoulders in foil and then towels and toss it in, then get some sleep! I'd take the cooler to work.

Clark

 

[JeremyC]

What do you mean pre-heat a cooler ?

 

[Jason Pedu]

Fill the cooler with hot water just before you put the butt in it. Otherwise the cool cooler will take the heat out of the butt as it heats the cooler.

You want the cooler to be warm when you put the butt in.

 

[Mike_M]

I had never read about pre-heating the cooler. What a great, yet simple idea.

Sorry, no real substance behind this post.

 

[Tony C.]

if doing a loooooooong hold i take it a step farther than pre heating the cooler. i take all the towels and sheets that will be going in the cooler and i run them in the dryer for 20-30 minutes before i pull and foil the butts.

 

[Tim C]

i put fire bricks on the wsm for awhile with my butts finishing in the oven, then wrapped towels aound them. worked very well

 

[Chuck R]

Why not just pull it after a 30 minute rest after they are done? Then reheat it at the party.

 

[Tom Chips]

My reasons why is it takes a long time to gently reheat the meat in large portions without further cooking it. It can be done, but a lot of care and attention are required.

 

[Rick Pruitt]

For a 9 hour hold I would foil and hold in a 140*/150* oven,then pop them into a pre heated cooler as listed above.

Rick

 

[JeffS RI]

eat the whole thing alone on the couch at 2am, and bring pizza to the party.
{oh wait, that's me.....}