Not So Great Frozen Butts results


 
LarryR

LarryR

TVWBB Diamond Member
Smoked a couple of butts that had been in the freezer 6 months (in cryovac packaging) and I was a bit disappointed in the results. Not as moist as I'm used to. Could have just been a couple of bad butts but I've never had problems with frozen butts, anyone else?

Upside, I get to smoke a couple more butts to replace these
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by LarryR:
Smoked a couple of butts that had been in the freezer 6 months (in cryovac packaging) and I was a bit disappointed in the results. Not as moist as I'm used to. Could have just been a couple of bad butts but I've never had problems with frozen butts, anyone else?

Upside, I get to smoke a couple more butts to replace these
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</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I cooked one partially frozen butt years ago and my results were the same as your's Larry. That's why I haven't done another. Sauce it up and give it to your co-workers, they'll thank it's good!!!!
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LOL
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Could have just been a couple of bad butts </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Not very likely. More possible, imo, was the placement of the buts in the freezer - if the freezer is 'frost-free'.
 
Kevin:

Could you elaborate on this? <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> More possible, imo, was the placement of the buts in the freezer - if the freezer is 'frost-free'.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just want to get a better idea of what you meant.
 
Not sure if it's Frost free, I assume it is as I've never had to defrost it. It's probably 8 - 10 year old Side by Side with ice and water dispenser. Butts were placed on the middle shelf the entire time.
 
Paul-- Freezing relatively slowly as home freezers do, especially with larger items, causes large ice crystals to form between the muscle fibers. Theses crystals can can sever, slightly sever or otherwise damage the muscle fibers. Though not often noticed if one cooks fairly soon after initially freezing, the repeated cycling on/off of frost-free freezers can affect quality after time passes, particularly if the items in question are directly subject to the warmer temps when the freezer goes into its melting mode. This is most noticeable in more delicately structured items (like fish) but can affect anything. Repeated damage to muscle fibers can make moisture loss occur more quickly during cooking.
 
I cooked 4 butts on Saturday/Sunday that had been in the deep freezer in my garage since February and they were just as juicy and tasty as the fresh ones I did last month. I rubbed and salted the butts and put them right in the smoker, frozen solid. My freezer is not frost-free; I have to defrost it periodically but it stays really cold!

I keep bags of ice out there for months with no problem but in my kitchen freezer, a bag of ice melts and refreezes into a solid mass over time due to the frost-free action Kevin describes.
 
Non frost-free chest freezers are about the best for long-term storage; non frost-free uprights would be in second place. Both need to be periodically defrosted.

Virtually all refrigerator freezers of standard sizes for the home kitchen are frost-free. To minimize the impact of cycling you can 'hide' delicate items (seafood, fish, pastry, et al.), uncooked meats, and cooked items that might be affected under other items where cycling won't be much of an issue - like bags or boxes of frozen vegetables (the only frozen vegs I buy are spinach, for fillings, baby peas, corn, and artichoke hearts - the bags are especially convenient because they can be somewhat molded around other things); 5-lb bags of flours (like others, especially in the south, I keep ground grains in the freezer); vac-packed rubs and ground spices; and vac-packed finished items like cook pulled pork.
 
If the butts are "cryovac" packed from the store, will they be less likely to get freezer burn in a frost free freezer.

If so how long will they last in a frost free freezer ?

Any info appreciated.

Thanks
 
If butts - any meat really - are cryo'd they will be less likely to freezer burn. Meat department packaging is much more porous than cryo is, and it's the porosity that leads to burn, not so much the type of freezer. Cryo'd meats can still be affected by the cycling of a frost-free freezer, depending on placement and the method/technique/timing the manufacturer uses to rid the freezer of frost.

Buried cryo'd butts can be frozen several years with minimal, if any, issues. More exposed cryo'd butts? Hard to say, really, because it depends on the variables noted, but at least a few months minimum - quite possibly many more.
 
Kevin Thanks.

So the idea is to bury the butts inbetween other packages in the freezer to protect them.

I going to buy a few cryovac packages of butts on sale this week and they will either be used this winter or nezt spring, I think I should be alright.

Kevin you and I were kinda posting at the same time on one of your posts.

I have a chest type freezer in the basement thats at leat 20 yrs old, I think it might even be a "Non" frost free freezer have to check. Thanks for all the great info.
 
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