Need some butt advice

[GusRobin]

This coming Labor Day weekend I plan on doing a butt and brisket starting Friday night, throw in a couple of corned beefs to ake pastrami on Saturday. When all those are done I plan on puttin in an 11 lb turkey. (Practicing for Thanksgiving - while my wife loves the results of my smoking so far, she refuses to let me do the Thanksgiving turkey without a dry run (smart woman). Guess she doesn't want to end up giving everyone pizza. So this is a good weekend to practice. The weekend after that will be a practice ham from scratch as a dry run for Christmas.

Anyway I digress -- my question is that I bought the pork butt today. Will it be okay in the fridge until Friday or should I freeze it? If so how, long will it take to defrost in the fridge (it is an 8 lb butt)?

Thanks

[KyNola]

Check the "sell by" date on the butt and see what it tells you.

[Smokeville]

Friday is several days too long, in my opinion. Smoke on Monday/Tuesday at the latest. Then pull and freeze, re-heat in roasting pan at 250F. I do this all the time for church lunches.

Or freeze now. To defrost, put it in a big pot and put it under a cold water tap that is slightly running. It will defrost in about 6 hours (or so).

If you freeze it today, start the defrost late Wednesday or early Thursday so you can get the rub on it on Thursday night.

Rich

[Smokeville]

Yes, KyNoal.... I didn't think of the sell by date. I always buy my butts at a local Chinese Superstore and they just put them in a plastic bag, heave them on the scale, put the price tag on them and off I go...

[KyNola]

And I'm just assuming it has a "sell by" date on it because I can only get meat at a local grocery.  It very well may not have the date on it.

[FLBentRider]

I'd probably go with the freezer.

[squirtthecat]

Ditto.

Freeze now, start thawing Wednesday.

[ArnieM]

Well, this is just my opinion but that's what you get here.  ;D

Cook the butt ASAP.  FTC for a few hours.  Take off the bark and chop it up.  Pull the pork.  Mix the two together.  Put it in either a vac or zip bag into the fridge for a day.  It helps to even out the smoke.  Freeze it.

You can reheat in a crock pot, slow oven or by putting the bags in 180-190 degree water for a while.

Works for me.

[Habanero Smoker]

If they are cryovac then I would go with KyNola's suggestion. If not, then I would throw them in the freezer for a couple of days.

[GusRobin]

it has a sell date of 9/11/10 so I think I will just leave it in the fridge till Friday.

[classicrockgriller]

it has a sell date of 9/11/10 so I think I will just leave it in the fridge till Friday.

I couldn't sleep at nites knowing I had some Butts in the fridge ready to be Smoked! ;D