Longest hold in a cooler?

[JSMcdowell]

This weekend I am cooking two pork butts for Sunday. Total precooked weight was 21 lbs when I got them this morning. I am putting them on Saturday evening to be finished Sunday morning.

I have to travel with them to the family lakehouse, and they won't be pulled for serving until around 4 pm Sunday. I need to leave at 9 am Sunday to get to the lake and then visit with family in town before the Falcons start at 1 pm.

The longest I have held in a cooler was a little over 5 hours. This would be 7. Anyone done it this long ? When I held the 2 butts for 5 hours, they were still extremely hot when I pulled them.

I am going to double foil them before they go in the cooler, and then put some towels for insulation. I was also going to leave the probes in so I could check them around 2p and make sure they are still hot.

I was thinking if they are too low at 2p I could throw them in the oven until time to pull.

 

[Don Cash]

The longest I've ever had to go is 6 hours (many times). With one butt in the cooler it is usually just above 140 deg internal at that mark. One time when I had 2 butts it was well above the "140 danger zone" at 6 hours. Probably could have gone a few hours more...

I always leave the probe (ET-73) in the meat when in the cooler. I unplug it from the meat plug and put it in the smoker plug and then set the low alarm to 145. Then I know when it's getting time to pull.

I'd make sure the cooler is preheated before putting the butts in and maybe run the towels in the dryer for a while before putting them into the cooler so they're warm too.

Good luck!!

 

[TravisH]

Make sure the cooler itself is warm, at least at outdoor/indoor temp, whichever is warmest. You could always heat up some foil-wrapped firebricks in the oven (30 min @ 500º) and put them into the cooler as well.

As someone else recommended, newspaper makes a better insulator than towels.

Remember, it's not just under 140º but it's time under 140º. An hour or two under 140º should still be safe.

 

[Marc]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I always leave the probe (ET-73) in the meat when in the cooler. I unplug it from the meat plug and put it in the smoker plug and then set the low alarm to 145. Then I know when it's getting time to pull. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Wondering. Wouldn't one want to place the temp probe "on" the meat and not in it?
The outside will cool faster then the inside. The inverse of why we put the sensor inside
(the center) when cooking...

 

[Clark "Harbormaster" Hodgson]

I once put a buch of butts in a cooler and forgot about them

for about 8 hours. When I took them out they were almost to hot to pull.

 

[JSMcdowell]

Thanks everyone.

The wife would appreciate me using newspaper instead of towels.

I will let you know how it goes.

 

[Marty M.]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Marc:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I always leave the probe (ET-73) in the meat when in the cooler. I unplug it from the meat plug and put it in the smoker plug and then set the low alarm to 145. Then I know when it's getting time to pull. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Wondering. Wouldn't one want to place the temp probe "on" the meat and not in it?
The outside will cool faster then the inside. The inverse of why we put the sensor inside
(the center) when cooking... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Very good question, and, yes, that would be best for two reasons: 1. The outside of the meat will cool faster that the inside and 2. Bacterial growth happens much faster on the outside of the meat than on the inside.

 

[K Kruger]

For intact red meat cuts (whole roasts that have not been Jaccarded, slit, probed - wait to place a probe in the meat till well after cooking has commenced) there is little danger of bacterial growth in interior portions at all. (This does not apply to chicken and turkey.)

 

[JSMcdowell]

Well, this weekend went a little crazy.

First, if you go to a beer festival on Saturday, go ahead and plan not to get your meat on the smoker on time. And if 10 people come back to your place after the festival, they are not there to speed up the process. They want more beer and food.

So I got the meat on about an hour or so late. I ended up foiling the butts around 7am to finish them up a little faster. I put a second layer of foil around them when I took them off.

I took them off the smoker at 1030. The butt that started out at 12 lbs was at 195, and the 9 lb butt was at 199 when they went into the cooler. I put a hotel pan in the bottom to save a mess. I had meant to stop and grab some newspaper, but completely forgot in my rush from leaving late. I did at least pre-warm the cooler & pan with hot water.

I checked on the meat at 3 PM, 12 lb was at 165. 9 lb was at 161. This was the only time the cooler was opened during the hold.

I took them out of the cooler at 5:15 PM (we ate later than planned as well). The 12 lb was at 154. 9 lb was at 151. I pulled the probes to the outer section of the meat and it only dropped by 2 degrees each.

So my hold ended up having to be 6 hours 45 minutes, with 2 butts and no insulation, but a pre-warmed cooler.

Sorry no pictures (I know, I know) but my camera was dead when I left for the beer festival, and then afterwards I never remembered to put it on the charger. I am thankful the meat got on the smoker and the cooke went fairly well.