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cooling your butts

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daveshannon
daveshannon Posts: 4
edited January 2012 in EggHead Forum
i have read a lot of blogs on Boston butts.why do you cool them in a cooler or fridge after coking, and whats the best way to season it be for cooking.thanks for any help.do you pull the bone out before you cool ?
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  • bhugg
    bhugg Posts: 317
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    I am a new egger, so take this for what its worth.  From all that i have read and experienced, you do not "Cool" it in a cooler.  You put into the cooler to let it rest and let the juices re-distribute throughout the meat.  Wrap it in some HD Aluminum and then pack it in with some towels to hold the temperature.  
    Large BGE Dallas, TX
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  • Buckdodger
    Buckdodger Posts: 957
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    I am a new egger, so take this for what its worth.  From all that i have read and experienced, you do not "Cool" it in a cooler.  You put into the cooler to let it rest and let the juices re-distribute throughout the meat.  Wrap it in some HD Aluminum and then pack it in with some towels to hold the temperature.  
    Ditto and leave the bone in.

    Bob
    Alex City Al

    Opelika, Alabama
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  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
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    It allows the juice to re distribute throughout the meat.

    The cooler allows the meat to cool slowly while maintaining a humid enviroument that stays at an appropriate serving temp.

    Season to taste. I like equal parts ground pepper, ground sea salt, and garlic powder. 

    I leave the bone in until after I take it out of the cooler. I like to keep my butt in a cooler for about 1 hour. Mostly so its not too hot to pull with my hands. I have left a brisket in a cooler for 4 hours. It was still warm enough to serve.
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    edited January 2012
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    call me crazy... i don't put it in a cooler.  the majority of any juices are long cooked out of it.  you'll see that PP goes quickly dry if you pull it and let it sit out for any time.  when a chunk of meat is at 200, 205, that moisture is fleeting.

    when you rest a roast, it's a much different thing.  the 'juices' don't so much redistribute anywhere (juices don't travel in the meat), what happens is that while the meat rests (on a counter, and for as long as an hour) the meat actually cools a bit.  the cooling means it will be firmer, and less prone to squeezing like a sponge when you cut thru it.  the cutting of hot meat will mean it can compress easily. that compression squeezes out juices.

    some liquid is freed up when the proteins (NOT the muscles fibers themselves) initially contract under heat, but when they denature and loosen,  (again, the proteins, not muscle fibers), they can trap juices among them again.

    lots of online talk about 'redistributing' juices, and tightening fibers and all that.  but when in doubt, check with McGee

    link>> On Food and Cooking, p. 165  (scroll down midway to "Resting, Carving, and Serving" )

    daveshannon; you are right about roasts, they should be allowed to rest and cool.  but the 'juices' thing just isn't happening in a coolered butt.  especially if the idea is to keep it hot by wrapping it in towels.  i pull the thing fairly soon.  never any regret over lost juices.  frankly, if there ARE any juices left, i'd want them to be free running, so i can mix them in the meat. PP is overcooked and dry meat by definition, it's rewetted with melted gelatin (from collagen).  there's actually very little water-related 'moisture' left to be had
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
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    Stike, way to ruin my fantasy. Now wont be able to use the cooler anymore without feeling dumb.

    So, I guess the only reason to use the cooler is to hold temp to delay serving????????? 
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
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  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
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    Travis, that's the only reason I use a cooler, fwiw.
    The Naked Whiz
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
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    @travisstrick:
    whiz has (i think, right whiz?) a graph showing how long a butt can be kept hot in a cooler.  ridiculously long.

    i'll risk being a p.i.t.a. even more than i am when i say i think the cooler alone is fine.  towels, in my mind, don't seem to make any sense.  on the counter, towels might act as insulators because they trap air.  but in a cooler, they serve to wick heat from the butt.  it's already surrounded by air, and the foam of the cooler.  wrapping on towels only makes for extra laundry.  you might wanna wrap the butt in foil or plastic to keep the thing from messing up the cooler.  i had a butt in a small cooler (sized not much bigger than the butt), and it smells like bbq to this day.  kept it warm forever though
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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