Frozen Pork Butt

[vandy]

Anyone had any luck cooking a pork butt right out of the freezer? I thought I read something about it on here but can't find it. I have about an 8 pounder that I trimmed, cleaned up and seasoned with MMD, vacuum sealed it then stuck it in the freezer because it will be this weekend before I can cook it. Should I thaw it out before I cook it or can I just take it out of the freezer and throw it on the smoker? I have done some ribeye's and some chicken that way but not a clod of meat this big. Any tips would be appreciated.

[Huskee]

Yep, it can be done. Just add an hour or two total time. You can add your rub after it's been on a few minutes and the surface thaws, or add some mustard or just water to get the surface tacky enough to hold the rub. Might be hard getting the probe in so you can wait until you can insert it later.

[AZRedneck]

Exactly what Huskee said. As for the temp probe, resist the urge to use a hammer to drive it in.

[lschweig]

How about drilling a hole for the probe? If your in a hurry.

[vandy]

Thanks guys but I think I will just thaw it first.

[scottranda]

Either way, you'll be fine! Have fun!

[MillerTime]

Interesting discussion... I've never considered doing this before.

I've always thawed before, but if I don't have to then taking it directly from the freezer would be easier from a planning standpoint. Although it "can" be done, would you say that there wouldn't be a noticeable difference in the finished product? Are you sacrificing texture or taste by going from frozen vs. thawing first?

[vandy]

MillerTime I have done some steaks and chicken straight from the freezer to the smoker and the results were great. I could not tell any difference in the taste or texture of the meat, I just have never done a piece of meat this big like that before.

[RonB]

MillerTime - if you are going to cook frozen, you might want to do your dry brine before freezing.

[vandy]

The rub I used to season the butt with had salt in it so I just seasoned it and stuck it in the freezer, I think next time I might put it back in the fridge for a few hours after seasoning it then vacuum seal it and put it in the freezer.

[Bob Benhardt]

Going to 'play' around with some frozen pork bellies this weekend. (rubs hands together while laughing nefariously)

[Steve R.]

It works just fine to go straight from freezer to smoker. The last one I cooked got brined/rubbed and then frozen for a couple weeks before going straight to smoker. Resist the urge to cook at a significantly higher temp to save time. A pretty good indication that it isn't done yet is when it is too frozen to insert the probe.

[vandy]

Thanks for the feedback fellas. I guess my biggest concern would be that the outside of the meat would be way overcooked before the center got done. What temps do you cook at, I was planning on around 250 on my Lang. Does anyone use a water pan in the smoker? This butt got injected and seasoned with Memphis Dust before going into the freezer. My plan was to just take it out of the freezer and go straight to the smoker but I have also never done anything like this before, I have always thawed them before cooking. This will be my first butt on the Lang and it likes to cook at around 250 to 275. I can hold the temp of the Lang at 225 but the results are just not as good as when I cook at 250.

[vandy]

Thanks, I think the only thing left to do is try it and find out what happens. Thanks again for all the input!

[edible hen]

My pleasure. I'm gonna do a side by side between fresh/frozen next weekend just to see how it comes out. I think the differences will be apparent only to me as the cook but(t) we'll see.

[vandy]

I would be interested to know the results of that test, as well as everyone else I am sure.

[MillerTime]

OMG... not only can I do a pork butt straight into the smoker from the freezer, but I can also brine and/or season before freezing? With no difference in taste? And I can also do this for steaks and chicken too? Oh my... I need to go sit down...Mind blown!

Don't know why I've never tried this, but it makes sense at low indirect heat. I've got a frozen chicken right now that's just dying to be experimented with now.

[vandy]

I have done chicken right out of the freezer and it works great. The only thing is if you have not seasoned it before you froze it you will have to cook in long enough to thaw it out then put the seasoning on it and then back on the smoker.

[lschweig]

This could be a game changer. We will see when the results come in with side by side comparisons.

[vandy]

I have not done a pork butt in over a year and it was thawed when I cooked it so I don't have a direct comparison to go by but I am going to try this one this weekend just to see if I can do it and what the results might be. I would love to do a side by side test with 2 butts to see which would be better or if there is any difference, but it would take me forever to get rid of that much meat.

[vandy]

Well, here are the results of the cook. I was going to cook it on my Lang but with temps in the low 20's I decided to go with cooking it on my Grilla Silverback instead. I like the way this grill cooks and the combination of this grill and the BBQ Delight apple flavored pellets gave me a very good smoke flavor, the temp reading on the grill varies about 10 degrees different than the probe at the grill grate reading it with the Smoke thermometer. The results were very good with a smoke ring that was out of this world as you can see in the photos. The bark was crazy good with the Memphis Dust, I cooked it for around 11 hours at 225 to 250. This has to be the best butt that I have cooked, it was very tender and juicy. I pulled it at around 203 and wrapped it in foil for about 30 minutes before pulling it apart. I think this is the way I am going to do pork butts from now on.