need help, butt finished 3 hrs early...


 
A

Anton

TVWBB Fan
My butt finished 3 hrs ahead of schedule. What do I do with it now?

Wrap it in foil and stick it in a warmed up cooler for 4 hrs (I had planned on letting it rest in a cooler for an hour or two, now I'm looking at 4 or 5 hrs)

Or pull it and cool it down, then reheat it at serving time?

Anton
 
what is done? 180F? 190F?

I have found leaving it in the smoker, it will not go up much in temp and certainly not dry out....maybe lower the smoker temp to 180 or similar.
 
Don't panic! It will taste great, you are doing everything just fine. Let it rest for an hour and pull. Reheat at dinner time and your guest will love it.
 
IME there is no problem in holding a butt tightly wrapped in HD foil in a cooler covered with towels for 4 to 5 hours. Personally, I would prefer that over Stogie's method of closing all vents in the WSM, wrapping with foil and leaving in the cooker. It won't dry out on you in the cooler, but there is a small chance it could if left in the WSM, should the fire not go out as you anticipate and the pit remain too warm.

Paul
 
Thanks for the quick response!

The problem with keeping it on the smoker is I just threw 6 slabs of babybacks on there. I had planned to finish off the butt while cooking the ribs, but looks like that wsn't in the cards for me today.

I'll cooler it. I'm sure it will be fine.

How low can the temp go safely for the meat?

Anton
 
I know it is confusing, but all the replys you have are OK. Just try one, next time try another and soon you will be giving youre thoughts to someone who asks. Its all good.
It will hold 4 hours if you insulate and keep lid closed.
 
Originally posted by Anton

How low can the temp go safely for the meat?
Click to expand...
After 5 hours of holding in the cooler, I've tested the internal meat temp as 150+. Apparently the danger zone 40-140 applies to the surface of unprocessed meat. I don't think you have a safety issue by holding this way. While the surface may be less than 140, it won't have been that way for sufficient time to cause a problem.

Paul
 
Well I wrapped it up in a bunch of foil, threw it in a 200 degree over for about a half hour to bummp the heat back up ( I also threw about 4 unglazed quarry tiles in there as well.

Wrapped everything up and stuck it in the cooler.

5 hours later time to pull. I didn't measure the internal temp, but it was so hot in parts it was difficult to pull with just latex gloves on.

Worked out perfectly, thanks everyone!

Anton
 
Looked and tasted great.

Is it normal for them (butts) to be falling apart by the end of the smoke? It came off in about 3 peices. I've heard talk of people tying them up, does anyone here do that?

I love when people who think they have had real bbq, finally get real bbq. I've been going around to a couple of popular local (seattle) bbq joints and some of the stuff they pawn of as bbq is unreal.

I guess it's probably not easy to produce large quantities of real bbq on a daily basis.
 
Falling apart is very normal. It'll usually hold together during the cook and only fall apart when you remove it from the grate. If you spray the grates prior to the cook and carefully remove it at the end of the cook you can usually keep the butt held together. Don't sweat it if it falls apart - you're gonna rip it apart anyway!
 
I've had a couple of stuck butts, but a wide SS spatula coaxes 'em right off the grill.

Is it hard to create a large quantities? Depends on "large". We have a place in downtown Phoenix that turns out decent Q on a large scale. They do their own rub, sauces, and smokin'.

I'm still picturing a row of 12 - 15 Bullets, all driven by a single wireless PC connection. That oughta make the pigs wear pants and order whiskey, eh?
 
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