Serving whole Butts...


 
A

Andrew Wands

TVWBB Member
Hello all! I have a rerquest for 8 butts to be givin out as presents whole and frozen...This is not the method i would choose at all but it is what it is. What is the best method for letting them cool and them freezing/reheating for them to pull themselves? ugghhhh!

Thanks!
 
Andrew, If I had to do what you ask at home I would put the cooked butts after holding for an hr or so in a cooler in an a large container so that the butt could be completely surrounded with ice. I would have plenty of ice on hand so it could be replenished when it started to melt, take meat to 40-50 degress and freeze after food saver wrap. Reheating, I would thaw in fridge then put food saver bag in hot water. However it probably would be preferable for the butt to be shredded or sliced after thaw and before heating. If that were the case I would put the sliced and or shredded meat in foil and reheat in oven at approx 250. Probably adding some liquid before reheating. All that being said I would try to encourage the recipient of the gift to let you pull/slice the meat before freezing. This will facilitate more rapid cooling and hopefully keep the product in the safe temp zone as long as possible.

Mark
 
Thanks Mark! I dont understand why these old folks want it whole! They are used to getting shoulders from this guy who smoes them and gives them out this way. I have always thought his whole shoulders were tough as nails after thawing and reheating and they didnt even want to pull! I might just do some smoked turkey breasts for them. Would that be an easier food to thaw and reheat?
 
Not really. The same issues apply.

If a butt won't pull it was undercooked. It doesn't matter if it was cooked then frozen or not.

If you want to cook butts and freeze them whole (or turkey breasts) they need to be cooked till the pullable point (turkey breasts till safe). Rest on a rack over a sheetpan or piece of foil to catch drippings. When rested place in a Ziploc or FoodSaver bag and plunge into a pot containing water and lots of ice, keeping the bag opening above the water level and keeping the bag open to release heat. Cool completely. Then seal he bag, dry the outside, and freeze.
 
Ok cool. Im new at this and I just dont understand why I cant take off when done, wrap in foil, leave out on the counter for an hour or two, refrigerate overnight then freeze in foil and in ziplock bag...
 
You don't want to do it that way unless you are hoping to poison the people you are giving the butts to.
 
Change of plans...They want the whole butt fresh the next day unpulled. Would i still need to cool it off in ice or simply let rest and put in the fridge? Thanks!
 
Butts - anything really - need to be cool before being fridged. The butts will be too warm after resting and a fridge will not cool them quickly enough.

This is a food safety issue. Staphylococcus aureus is a common pathogen that can contaminate food after cooking. Hours of warm temps (which easily occur if you wrap a butt warm and put it in the fridge) are just what these bacteria need to grow. With enough of them grown they produce a toxin. This toxin is heat stable - it will not be inactivated when the butt is reheated.

Will Staph contamination automatically occur? Maybe, maybe not. But Staph are all over the place and warm condition over time are just what they need. Do you want to risk poisoning someone? No, you don't.
 
Thanks Kevin! So basically I cook then rest without foil for about an hour then put in a ziplock unfoiled and plunge into some ice water? How long do i cool the butts. I need to cool at least 4-6 at one time. Thanks. This is turning out to be more like a science project lol. I wish they just wanted it pulled but hey, Im gettin paid!
 
Yes, that's what you do. If you have a large pot or a deep sink you can do 2 or more at once. Have plenty of ice available.

Temp them. You want an internal temp of less than 70, the lower the better, before you fridge them. With plenty of ice they don't take a real long time. If you can go lower, do, like 50?. Marks suggestion upthread with the cooler and plenty of ice works well.
 
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