Pork butt freezing conundrum....

[Michael_in_TX]

I like big.... (come on, I've been waiting years to quote that lyric....)



So I was at HEB today and wandered by the pork butts. They were on sale for $0.97/lb! I have not seen them that low in two years, if not more! So absolutely I snatched one up!

Then as I got home I realized something. This is a two pack. (Well, I knew that, of course, else we are raising some weird mutant hogs out there.)

I don't have a smoker with the capacity to cook two pork butts at once. (Well, I have my pellet grill, but if I am doing pork butt I am doing it on the PBC!) The moment I open that cryovac, I will want to freeze the second pork butt.

My vacuum sealer won't fit a piece of meat that size.

Let's assume I don't go the route of cooking two pork butts in two days, as alluring as that is. How can I best freeze this? Is freezer paper alone okay? Should I Saran-Wrap it before the freezer paper?

I know the principle is to get as much air away from the meat as possible...but how to do that without a vacuum sealer.....

[rickgregory]

My vacuum sealer won't fit a piece of meat that size.

An 11" bag will fit quite a butt, er, bit. Maybe divide each butt in two? Each looks to be about 10lbs, so four 5lb butt pieces? Or cook one whole and divide one in then vacseal those halves.

[RonB]

This is what I would do. You can then cook one or two as needed. If ya cook two 5 pounders, you will have more bark too.

[DTro]

I usually cut the plastic between the two butts and leave as much of the original packaging on one as I can- assuming it is still tight after cutting it. Then wrapped it very tightly in layers and layers of plastic wrap. No issues so far with this procedure. The second butt is usually cooked within a couple months.

[Steve R.]

DTro's method will work. What I do is get some Glad Press'n Seal wrap and wrap it tightly in that. I may or may not then put that in a big ziplock bag depending on whether I have one handy.

Also, take this opportunity to save yourself another mess and thawing time later, and apply your rub of choice to the second butt before wrapping and freezing it. Then you can just cook it right out of the freezer when the time comes.

[Jerod Broussard]

I got two in the freezer with a healthy dose of "Dust" waiting.......

[Thunder77]

I use expandable vacuum sealer bags.

[Andrrr]

I like DTros idea.
In a pinch (pre-sealer days) I've put it in a gallon Ziploc and zipped it except for the last inch or two. Then I fill up my sink or a pot with water and submerge the butt with the opened section still above water. This lets the water pressure force the air out, and you can get the end to just above the water line before you zip the last little bit. It's not perfectly void of air but it works well enough especially for odd shaped items.

[texastweeter]

Big vac bag. Put shoulder in bag, seal 1/2 closed at an angle with no vacuum. Cut off that dog ear. Now the open part fits your sealer. Vac seal as regular. I like to double seal all my bags by the way.

[jerrybell]

Seems like a perfect opportunity for an experiment. Cook one in each smoker and do a blind taste test.

[Michael_in_TX]

I almost want to do this at the low price I got it at......but I just know....as much as I love my pellet grill.....my PBC will beat it on flavor every time.

[Michael_in_TX]

Wow, some things here I never considered!

Keeping part of it in the remaining cryovac may work well and then Saran Wrap (or better, Press n' Seal) the heck out of it. And I like the part about pre-applying the rub.

I didn't realize this, but I apparently have a hang-up about cutting the butt in half and I have no rational reason for why. I mean, this is not a brisket, in which there is a flat and point. This is pork butt (and commodity pork butt at $0.97/lb at that)!

As rickgregory suggested, if I cut the butt in half, I might be able to get the halves, or at least quarters if I have to, into bags. That screams Tacos al Pastor to me!

Funny side note.....when my wife opened the fridge and saw this huge hunk of meat, she thought it was a brisket! And was happy for 2.5 seconds until she read that it was pork. :/

[rickgregory]

If you are using vacseal bags, look at buying the 11" wide rolls which allow you, obviously, to make a 'bag' as long as needed.

[smokin fool]

Nice score, butts a quarter of that size are going for $20 plus up here.

[CHNeal]

I freeze all my meat that I break down in ziplock bags. You can fit a butt in a one gallon but I prefer the 2 gallon size. I also thaw them then inject and soak in the same bag.

[RamaJama]

Maybe slice one up and use it for Al pastor cooks. You could freeze it in smaller bags sliced.