William Schmitz
TVWBB Fan
I was facing a dilemma. I had agreed to provide pulled pork for the potluck lunch for my daughters' ski race team. It seemed like such a good idea when I made the offer, but as the day approached I started to get worried about how I was going to pull this off.
I knew that I was going to pull my pork butts off around 7:00 AM and would not be serving until about 1:00PM. During that interval I was going to transport them in the back of my SUV over an hour in below zero temps. Then it would have to sit in the cooler in the chalet (not the warmest place) for several more hours, until I finally removed it to start pulling around 12:45. I also knew I would not have access to any heat source once I arrived.
I know the trick about double wrapping the cooked pork butts and holding them in a warm cooler, but I didn't think that would be enough to keep them as warm as they should be for that long a period of time. I solved the problem by pulling three softball sized rocks from my garden (that was a little bit of a trick- they were really frozen together), and heating them to add a separate heat source in the cooler.
After the rocks had thawed out, I washed them and wrapped them in tin foil and placed them in a 300 degree oven for 3 hours-to make sure they were warmed to the core. Then I wrapped them in old towels and placed them in the bottom of the cooler making sure they didn't touch the bottom or the sides (I didn't want to melt my cooler). I then set the double wrapped pork butts on top of the hot rocks, and filled the cooler the rest of the way with more towels.
Then I prayed. Fortunately, when I started opening packages up this afternoon to begin pulling the pork, they were still piping hot-enough so I had to keep my silicone gloves on as I removed the butts from the tin foil. Success!
Side note: when I got home at 4:00 this afternoon, I opened up the cooler to take out the towels and rocks, and the rocks were still very warm! I think this could extend the holding time by several hours, even in tough conditions. Hope this trick helps others. Definitely something I'll use again.
Bill
I knew that I was going to pull my pork butts off around 7:00 AM and would not be serving until about 1:00PM. During that interval I was going to transport them in the back of my SUV over an hour in below zero temps. Then it would have to sit in the cooler in the chalet (not the warmest place) for several more hours, until I finally removed it to start pulling around 12:45. I also knew I would not have access to any heat source once I arrived.
I know the trick about double wrapping the cooked pork butts and holding them in a warm cooler, but I didn't think that would be enough to keep them as warm as they should be for that long a period of time. I solved the problem by pulling three softball sized rocks from my garden (that was a little bit of a trick- they were really frozen together), and heating them to add a separate heat source in the cooler.
After the rocks had thawed out, I washed them and wrapped them in tin foil and placed them in a 300 degree oven for 3 hours-to make sure they were warmed to the core. Then I wrapped them in old towels and placed them in the bottom of the cooler making sure they didn't touch the bottom or the sides (I didn't want to melt my cooler). I then set the double wrapped pork butts on top of the hot rocks, and filled the cooler the rest of the way with more towels.
Then I prayed. Fortunately, when I started opening packages up this afternoon to begin pulling the pork, they were still piping hot-enough so I had to keep my silicone gloves on as I removed the butts from the tin foil. Success!
Side note: when I got home at 4:00 this afternoon, I opened up the cooler to take out the towels and rocks, and the rocks were still very warm! I think this could extend the holding time by several hours, even in tough conditions. Hope this trick helps others. Definitely something I'll use again.
Bill