Butt done early - how long can it sit wrapped in cooler

Erichschwinn

Put an 11 lb bone in butt on the egg yesterday at 1 pm - at 6 am temp was 179. Will soon be done - how long can i leave it in cooler wrapped up? Max i have done is 4 hours, but any thoughts on going longer? Happy long weekend!

lousubcap

If you FTC well you can get to 6 hrs with no issues.  That said, don't know when you plan to pull and eat but you can slow the cook down to give you more time.  I have seen very slow temp rises from the mid 180's to the mid 190's so you may be just fine.

robnybbq

Did 5 hours yesterday in a cooler. Still burnt my hands.

TonyA

I started at 8pm but I've been at 170 since at least 630. Slow your cool down a little and all will be fine.

SmokeyPitt

Personally, I wouldn't risk holding it longer than 4 hours in the cooler.  If it is more than 4 hours until eating time, then I would wrap it in foil and put it in the oven on the lowest setting to hold it for a while if that's an option for you.  My oven will go down to 170, which is a safe temp to hold it but won't cook it any further.  

...or just try to slow it down like others have said . 

Erichschwinn

Thank you all - eat time is around 3. Guessing done by 10 so i am going to put in cooler wrapped and trust it will all work out

EddieK76

Just had the same issue with my brisket.  One brisket is done already and we aren't planning to eat till 3.  It's definitely fork tender....I guess I'll put it in the cooler for 4-6 hours and then in the oven at 170 assuming I can get it that low....

Put some apple juice in the foil with it?

SmokeyPitt

EddieK76 said:

Just had the same issue with my brisket.  One brisket is done already and we aren't planning to eat till 3.  It's definitely fork tender....I guess I'll put it in the cooler for 4-6 hours and then in the oven at 170 assuming I can get it that low....

Put some apple juice in the foil with it?

My brisket knowledge is weak ...but I wouldn't think a little extra moisture would hurt.  I have heard of using beef broth for extra moisture.  

FanOfFanboys

I have a Yeti cooler so it's holding abilities are better than most but I wrapped two butts in HD foil and the towels and sat for just over 6 hours once. When I took out was still too hot to pull and I had to let sit on counter for a bit. Plenty of other coolers can hold that long too but part of the answer to your question depends on your cooler. The worse the insulation the shorter the period of time. That said even a mediocre or old cooler can easily get couple hours. I would have felt comfortable in mine going much longer bc I know the meat temp will not be dropping any time soon. The size of the cooler also matters. The more open space the quicker the temp will drop. I use a 50qt for FTC and between the butt and towels I put I on top of it I fill most of the air.

SteveWPBFL

I let a butt rest yesterday in a lunch box cooler for six hours before pulling and IT was 145F. IT was 200F when it went in.

NJ_BBQ

I am 8 hours away from our BBQ so I moved the butts to the gasser to hold. I can control the temp down to 170 using the tank valve.

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