How long have you held food warm.

[Greenenvey]

Hi, like the title says I'm wondering  how long you can actually hold food warm in a cooler or in the smokin it that the food won't be cold or overdone.  For example I'm going  to be doing a butt and a brisket Soon, and I see on here sometimes certain meats go longer or get done alot sooner than planned. So if I need to hold something  resting in a cooler what is the longest I can hold it. Also I have the pid, would I be better off cooling the cabinet after the meat is done then programming  it to hold it at 140? If so how long can i hold it without  drying  it out?

 

[old sarge]

You are correct about the different meats and different times. I have had butts in the 8 to 9 lb range take upwards of 16 hours to reach 190 deg.  And smaller butts take 12 hours. If I remember correctly they averaged about 1 1/2 to 2 hours per lb at 225 deg. As for brisket, I am new to it but have done a flat and a whole packer. They averaged 1 to 1 1/2 hour per lb to reach 190 at 225 deg. Both had a stall that was very long.

You could do the butt first and at the 140 to 150 internal temp, wrap in foil and place back in smoker with the probe still attached, then load in the brisket, some more wood, and proceed. The foil would prevent the butt from taking on more smoke and becoming bitter. Pull the butt when it reaches the IT you want and place in cooler till the brisket is done.

Just a thought. Not very scientific. With luck, others will be along who have been there and done that. You can always do one on one day and the other on the next day and use a crock pot to reheat.  I have not yet used the keep warm feature.

 

[40 caliber]

I have done 2 hours wrapped in foil and wrapped in towels in a cooler. when I pulled this 7.5 lb butt out, it was as warm as when it came from the smoker.

I have been told 4 hours is easily feasible.

 

[DivotMaker]

Laura,

If you're smoking the butt and brisket at the same time, it's a little trickier.  They smoke at different rates, and I encourage folks to get both down, before attempting to do them together.

Now, onto what I think you were really asking about...holds:  You can hold briskets and butts in a cooler, double-wrapped in HD foil, surrounded by towels, for a long time.  I've held them for as much as 5 hours, and they were still almost too hot to handle with bare hands.  If you choose to hold in the smoker, you definitely want to leave the door open for awhile until the box temp is below 140.  Do this while you are double-wrapping your meat.  It's OK to leave the wrapped meat out while the box cools.  Put the wrapped meat in the smoker, and set the box temp to 140, and time for however many hours you want.  You can hold it almost indefinitely, as this is the "food safe" temp, and the meat will no longer be cooking.  Hope this helps!

 

[jcboxlot]

+1

Butts double wrapped in foil in a cooler will last a long time being hot.  Plan ahead and don't think you have to time it to serve in 1/2 hour or so.


Let them rest, take time to pull apart and then serve.

 

[Greenenvey]

Lots of good imfo and help , thanks a bunch

 

[40 caliber]

5 hours? even better...learning all the time

 

[va_rider]

It wasn't ideal, and I wouldn't like to do it again... but on our lake trip last year, I pulled a 18# packer off the smoker at 9AM. I double wrapped in foil, then in two bath towels. We had it for dinner at 5pm, and at that time, I was getting a reading of 155 degrees.