Help wanted with a cold butt

sllofoot

Hey guys.  

Got a quandary for you.   Smoked a butt last night, FTC'd 3 hours, about to pull it apart... And bam.  Gotta drive four hours (round trip) to the doctor instead, then work work. I stuck him in the fridge, foil and all.    So now, eight hours in the fridge later, what's the best way to get at it?   

Do do I warm it in the oven before I pull it apart?   Do it cold and heat then?   It's still safe to eat isn't it? (Please say yes)

Thanks in advance for the advice.   Apologies, also in advance, for any incoherency.   I'm driving a tractor as I type this and my phone occasionally interprets what I'm saying quite liberally at times.   

saluki2007

If it were me, I would leave whole add a little apple juice or cider vinegar to the foil and reheat in oven then pull. 

lousubcap

No worries with the butt.  As above, put in the oven foil covered,(lowest setting, mine's 170*F, oven safe pan and some apple juice) on a rack til you hit around 130-140*F- then pull.
Haven't been down this recovery road in around 5-6 years but I  recall it worked.
 And if not, then audible and enjoy.

sllofoot

Thanks for the tips.   How long should I expecting to take to get to 140?

lousubcap

I figured you were gonna ask and I have given the above post some thought-as long as the butt is foil and liquid protected then I would dial the oven up to around 350*F for a good hour and then check the temp of the butt.  They key here is not to burn/overcook the outside.  See where you are in around an hour and go from there.  Basically tease it into the finish-line.

Little Steven

Just a though here but it already has all the smoke and goodness. Why not pull it and reheat in a pan on top of the stove with some apple cider? I've heard Dr. Pepper or Coke work too. 

SmokeyPitt

I haven't ever tried this but I suspect it might be hard to pull when it is cold. 

I found this when searching:

http://www.killerhogs.com/KHreheatporkbutt.pdf

...and it is very similar to the advice given above.  325 in a pan with some liquid until 145 or so.  These instructions say 30-45 minutes but depending on the size it might take a little longer.  The instructions also suggest to speed things up you can cut the butt into smaller portions before reheating.  

badinfluence

If you have a vacuum sealer pull the chunks of meat off the bone vacuum seal it and put it in boiling water for a hour remove open and shred away.

Little Steven

SmokeyPitt said:

I haven't ever tried this but I suspect it might be hard to pull when it is cold. 

I found this when searching:

http://www.killerhogs.com/KHreheatporkbutt.pdf

...and it is very similar to the advice given above.  325 in a pan with some liquid until 145 or so.  These instructions say 30-45 minutes but depending on the size it might take a little longer.  The instructions also suggest to speed things up you can cut the butt into smaller portions before reheating.  

It will be easy to pull when it gets hot in the pan. 

billt01

Little Steven said:

Just a though here but it already has all the smoke and goodness. Why not pull it and reheat in a pan on top of the stove with some apple cider? I've heard Dr. Pepper or Coke work too. 

If it still has the fat cap on it, it will help the butt to retain moisture and flavor whole.

Little Steven

billt01 said:

Little Steven said:

Just a though here but it already has all the smoke and goodness. Why not pull it and reheat in a pan on top of the stove with some apple cider? I've heard Dr. Pepper or Coke work too. 

If it still has the fat cap on it, it will help the butt to retain moisture and flavor whole.

If he reheats it in an oven that is dry heat. In a pan with liquid is moist heat. Believe we are overthinking this thing.

Thatgrimguy

Reach in the foil, grab a chunk. heat said chunk with microwave, stove or oven, eat the chunk. 

You really can't mess it up.

Smokin_Trout

I would use a large electric roaster with chicken broth. Warm it to at least 140, pull apart and serve.