How long is it safe to keep a butt in the cooler ?
Date: 2007/06/23 01:42
By: Keith W.
Status: Visitor
Well, not how long, but what temp is safe to fall to before it needs to be refrigerated? It looks like the butt I have on right now will be done a bit earlier than it will be served.
How long is it safe to keep a butt in the cooler ?
Date: 2007/06/23 04:18
By: calibrad
Status: Visitor
Keith W., health dept regs typically say food must stay above 160 if held for later serving. i did a brisket today that rested in cooler (wwrapped in foil, then towels) for 4 hours...falling from 200 to 165 (kept the remote probe in to be sure) it was great...most things i've read say two hours below 145 or so is the max before you run the risk of bacteria spiraling out of control...if you scroll down a few posts there is a thread on this topic that has some good suggestions...look for "pulled pork served safely?"
Keith W., You can wrap it in heavy duty foil and a couple of large towels and stick it in a decent cooler for up to five hours. Maybe longer if you warm up the cooler first. Fill it with very hot water and let it warm up until you're ready to put the butts in.Don't worry, they will still be very hot when you get ready to pull them.Spring "Somebody Has To Be Up At 3:20 AM" Chicken Spring Texas USA
How long is it safe to keep a butt in the cooler ?
Date: 2007/06/23 11:07
By: 20stone
Status: Visitor
Keith W.,Here is a fairly detailed writeup by the Naked Whiz (of lump charcoal database fame). The punchline is 5 hours by his methods.http://www.nakedwhiz.com/coolerholding.htm20stone
Keith W., I've kept butts for up to 7 hrs, way to hot to handle (165º) by using HD foil, wrapping in about 4 large towels. First put one towel folded in the bottom, then the butt wrapped in HD foil and two towels, followed by another folded towel on top. So far haven't needed to warm the cooler at all. Mike
How long is it safe to keep a butt in the cooler ?
Date: 2007/06/23 13:38
By: Keith W.
Status: Visitor
Thanks for the replies. Put the 7lb butt on last night at 10pm and the alarm was ringing at 7:30am. This was one of those fast ones! So it stayed in the cooler til it fell to 162 and then pulled it. Turned out good, just way earlier than expected.
