# Keeping pulled pork warm



## bpinmi (Mar 27, 2015)

Figured it would take 15-16 hours for this shoulder and it only took 12. I need to keep the pulled pork warm for 3-4 hours until guests arrive. What the best bet. Throw it in a crock pot on low setting?

Thanks.


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## sota d (Mar 27, 2015)

If you didn't pull it yet, you can double foil wrap the butt, then wrap in towels and put in small cooler. It'll keep for 4 hours easy and still be steaming hot when you pull it. If it's pulled a crock pot on low sounds good. Mix in some of the drippings to keep it moist.


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## frog1369 (Mar 27, 2015)

If you haven't pulled, SotaD has you covered.  Our kitchen oven's lowest setting is 150 so for me, pulled or unpulled I put it in a foil pan , cover it up and let it set until it's time to pull or serve.  Just be careful if using a crock pot you don't get it so hot that it continues to cook, you could turn it into mushy pork pretty quickly.


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## bpinmi (Mar 27, 2015)

I had already pulled it when I started this thread. I separated the pork and put it in the crock pot on "Keep Warm" setting with drippings from the foil pan I had it in for the last 4 hours of the smoke. I'll keep an eye on it and make sure it's not getting too hot. Wish I could go back and set my alarm for 5am in stead of 3am


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## sota d (Mar 27, 2015)

It's about impossible to plan on a butt being done when you want it to be. They're gonna do what they wanna do! You actually had the best plan-try to have it done early and hold it till dinner time. Most folks here will wrap it in a cooler, then pull it at dinner time. It really does stay hot a long time and keeps the juices inside. But you'll be fine in the crock for today. Enjoy your pulled pork, I'm sure it will be great! David.


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## bmaddox (Mar 27, 2015)

Sota D said:


> If you didn't pull it yet, you can double foil wrap the butt, then wrap in towels and put in small cooler. It'll keep for 4 hours easy and still be steaming hot when you pull it.


In the future, this is a great method. It always surprises me at how long a large cut will stay hot in a cooler.


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## bpinmi (Mar 27, 2015)

bmaddox said:


> In the future, this is a great method. It always surprises me at how long a large cut will stay hot in a cooler.


Good to know, thanks guys! I'm still a relative newbie. I went out to fill the water pan and stuck the thermometer in the shoulder and when it read 203 I panicked and yanked out. Didn't know what to do so I started pulling it all apart while it was still hot and tender.


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## bmaddox (Mar 27, 2015)

BPinMI said:


> Good to know, thanks guys! I'm still a relative newbie. I went out to fill the water pan and stuck the thermometer in the shoulder and when it read 203 I panicked and yanked out. Didn't know what to do so I started pulling it all apart while it was still hot and tender.


I let butts rest for at least 30 minutes regardless. You want to give it time for the heat to even out and everything mingle (the outside is always hotter than the inside when it first comes off). I generally let a butt drop to around 170 before I even think about pulling it.


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## sota d (Mar 27, 2015)

I hope your dinner was good, glad we could help. But next time-post pics!! We're all smoke addicts here and can't get enough! Enjoy your pulled pork, David.


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## hdflame (Mar 31, 2015)

bmaddox said:


> I let butts rest for at least 30 minutes regardless. You want to give it time for the heat to even out and everything mingle (the outside is always hotter than the inside when it first comes off). I generally let a butt drop to around 170 before I even think about pulling it.


I now do the same thing.  When I first started making pulled pork I would pull the butt while it was hot...just off the smoker.  I couldn't figure out why my meat seemed to be so moist and juicy while I was pulling it, but later seemed to have a kinda dried out texture.

Letting the meat rest covered for 30 minutes to an hour or even longer will improve the quality of your puled pork.

BPinMI, you're much better off having it done early rather than have to try and rush getting it done at the end.  I cooked a whole hog for a function last year.  I started about 11 pm the night before in order to be ready for lunch (12 noon) the next day.  What I didn't realize was that my thermometer on the cooker was registering about 75 degrees hotter than it actually was.  So I was cooking at around 175* rather than the 250* that I wanted!  I figured this out when my IT on the hams wasn't getting hotter.  I ramped up the temp and changed to another thermometer and I was able to start pulling meat at 12 while I let it continue to cook in order to finish the hams.  This was a free cook I was doing and there wasn't a lot of people standing in line, but I was sweating bullets for a while!


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