Frozen Butts

[Armando]

I have a couple of Pork Butts in the freezer. I know a lot of you say you put frozen butts in the smoker without thawing. I have never done that but I would like to put these on for an overnighter this evening. Anything different from the usual? I'm curious how the rub adheres to the frozen pork. Any suggestions?

 

[E Mann]

I've never cooked a butt right out of the freezer. It seems to me that it wouldn't work out too well since you'll be defrosting and cooking at the same time. You're also going to drop your temp quite a bit since your meat is frozen so make sure you have a pretty good fire going. I don't know how rub will stick either but put a thin layer of mustard on the butt before putting your rub on, that should help it stick. I still don't like the idea of going straight from the freezer to the smoker but if others have done it...

 

[TravisH]

Never heard of straight from the freezer to the cooker.

My new bride cooked her first roast dinner for me. I came home to a wonderful smell and a gorgeous roast ready for me to carve. On my first stroke, the knife went in about 1" and was stopped hard by a block of ice. "Defrost? Yes I defrosted. A good 30 minutes."

 

[JimK]

I've noticed no difference between cooking a thawed or frozen butt, other than a slightly longer cook time. As others have mentioned, rub doesn't stick to a frozen hunk 'o meat very well. So slather with mustard, then rub.

 

[Paul H]

Armando, I cook frozen butts all the time. All I do is put a mustard slather on just like you'd do if they weren't frozen and put the rub on. I find the internal color is a lot deeper by doing it his way. I really don't know how much longer it takes to do it this way then a normal unfrozen butt. You have to wait a bit until the meat thaws sufficiently to put your temp probes in. That is the only downside if any. Good luck