How long is it safe

[Roget]

to store a butt in the fridge before smoking (after thawing from the freezer)?

I removed this butt from the freezer last Sat. night, rubbed it yesterday, expecting to smoke it today.
Weather forcast was "clear/47 degrees".
Reality  is snow/36 degrees. same for tomarrow

First decent day is coming Friday/Sat.

Will it be OK for that long?

Thanks for any advice.

[beefmann]

ummm im thinking that is a bit long , depending on the expatriation date

[classicrockgriller]

Did you thaw the butt in the frige or cold water?

[devo]

I say whats wrong with snow/36 degrees???  I smoke/cook/BBQ in a lot colder weather than that!! A little snow won't hurt your BUTT  ;D ;D

[Waltz]

I say it depends on the answer to CRG's question and how much salt is in the rub but either way it is getting towards the edge of OK.

[Roget]

I thawed it in the fridge.
Just had it out long enough to rub it.
Not really a lot of salt in the rub, mostly just other spices.

[GusRobin]

if you thawed it in the fridge it should be okay to freeze again.

[Roget]

I actually wondered about that.

I have refrozen other foodstuffs before, but was a little concerned about doing meat after this long. I think it got completely thawed out.

I don't want to poison my better half.

[classicrockgriller]

If it were me I'd smoke it either one of those two days,
but would try to shoot for Friday or start it Thursday nite.

[Roget]

I can't start it Thursday nite. 80 % chance of rain.
With a little luck I might get it smok'en early Friday morning.
That is about the earliest.

What do you think?

[classicrockgriller]

Again if it was me, I would smoke it either day. Earlier the better.

[Waltz]

Do you feel lucky? But seriously, if the meat has been at temperatures below 40F since you took it out of the freezer, other than when you applied the rub, and I was doing it for my own family consumption where I knew how it would be used, I would be happy to leave it until Friday. If it has been sitting on the counter top at room temperature then it is not fit to feed to the dog.

[TedEbear]

to store a butt in the fridge before smoking (after thawing from the freezer)?

I don't even thaw mine out before smoking.  I smoked a 10 lb butt last weekend.  It had been in the freezer for over a month.  I took it out, rubbed some molasses on it with a sprinkle of dry rub and set it right into the Bradley at 220*F.  22 hours later it was done.

The only thing I do differently when I'm smoking a frozen butt is I wait until the initial 4 hour smoke session is done before inserting the meat probe.

[Roget]

I think some of mine have been partially frozen when I started the smoke. (the very center of the butt maybe)

It's good to know that I can smoke from completely frozen.

I'm going to put it in first thing tomarrow (Friday)

If I die I'll let you know.

Thanks to everyone for your input.