Hold Butt Without Pulling?

[r benash]

Just wanted to check. I have the opportunity to cook a couple of butts today or tomorrow. One will stay here for my son and friends while we are away for a few days. The other is going up to Cape Cod with us. Question is for the one going up to the Cape is it absolutely necessary to pull and pack or has anyone traveled with the butt cooled and whole to be pulled later? I automatically was going to go with "it has to be pulled for the trip" but was wondering what others might think or have tried. Seems to me it MIGHT be better left whole thinking the juices will stay inside and would dry out less. But then might be harder to pull?

I have always pulled once the butt has cooled to about 140 then bagged and into the fridge/freezer for later use. Wondering if I should deviate in this case? The "traveling butt" wouldn't be used until about 1 or 2 days after the cook.

 

[Tom Barineau]

I have let one or two cool before pulling. Best I recall, I let them approach room temp., pulled apart the sections, cut them up into chunks 2-3" long, then pulled it with little problem. The general consensus of the eaters was that they were plenty juicy when heated up.

 

[r benash]

Thanks Tom - thinking I might give it a shot. Mine will be totally cooled/cold. I'll be pulling then warming. I'm thinking this might be a good experiment. The crowd won't be that critical anyway.

 

[Shawn W]

Hey Ray,

It pulls best when it's hot, but go ahead and try it cold. Context: When it's hot the segments (muscles) come apart well, it's easy to scrape off cartiledge and membranes and shred it to your preference.

If you don't care about that stuff (some don't) just chop it up cold, no problem. I know what you mean though about it seeming dryer after being pulled.

If it were me I'd pull hot, cool, vac pac then reheat.

One thing you could do is compromise. Pull the segments apart and scrape the guck off. Cool and package. Then reheat the segments in tightly wrapped foil with perhaps some liquid in a 275ºF oven or boil the FS bags. Then finish pulling.

 

[P Hopkins]

I have traveled with whole butts cold and will place it in a 200 degree oven for about an hour to reheat and then pull it.
PLH

 

[Bryan S]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Shawn W:
If it were me I'd pull hot, cool, vac pac then reheat. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Agree. Ray, I did 4 butts last weekend for a grad party of 40 this Sat. I let them rest in a cooler for a few hrs and pulled the first 2 and mixed some rub in and the finishing sauce just like I would if eating them hot off the rest period. Cooled the meat down and placed the pulled meat into 4-1 gal vac bags and placed in the freezer with the ends facing away from the cold blasting air from the bach of the freezer. While the first 2 bags were in the freezer I pulled the second 2 and repeated... They froze up pretty quick under an hr and I wiped the condensation off the inside and outside of the bags where they get sealed. They sealed up nice, no moisture came out of the meat and into the seal zone and got perfect seals. They are in the freezer awaiting their boil bath on Sat. I'll take the bags out Friday after work and let thaw in the fridge. HTH and good luck.

 

[Jerry Pollard]

Bryan, how did you seal the bags? FoodSaver?
I'm looking to get some way of sealing to freeze my cooks, but the foodsaver is kind of out of reach right now $$.

 

[Bryan S]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jerry Pollard:
Bryan, how did you seal the bags? FoodSaver?
I'm looking to get some way of sealing to freeze my cooks, but the foodsaver is kind of out of reach right now $$. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yeah Food saver. There's been talk about the Handi Vac or something like that being decent. Side note. My BJ's has the older V1080 or90 or? for $70.00

 

[r benash]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bryan S:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Shawn W:
If it were me I'd pull hot, cool, vac pac then reheat. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Agree. Ray, I did 4 butts last weekend for a grad party of 40 this Sat. I let them rest in a cooler for a few hrs and pulled the first 2 and mixed some rub in and the finishing sauce just like I would if eating them hot off the rest period. Cooled the meat down and placed the pulled meat into 4-1 gal vac bags and placed in the freezer with the ends facing away from the cold blasting air from the bach of the freezer. While the first 2 bags were in the freezer I pulled the second 2 and repeated... They froze up pretty quick under an hr and I wiped the condensation off the inside and outside of the bags where they get sealed. They sealed up nice, no moisture came out of the meat and into the seal zone and got perfect seals. They are in the freezer awaiting their boil bath on Sat. I'll take the bags out Friday after work and let thaw in the fridge. HTH and good luck. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Bryan/Guys this is what I do typically. Pull mist with a little apple juice/vinegar then vac seal. Was wondering if keeping it whole for a few days (I would vac seal the whole roast) until I get to the Cape, then pull there.

So you guys think pulling or keeping the whole roast and pulling later is a wash? If it's not broke don't fix it? I was thinking that keeping the roast whole would keep more juices intact, but if I would be vac sealing right after the pull, guess it really doesn't matter and would just be eaiser to pull at 140 deg anyway. Otherwise Shawn's idea is a halfway compromise. Just pull into large chunks and vac seal and break it down once I get there.