Help! Speeding up butt thaw?

smokemonster · May 6, 2011

So I have an 8 lb bone in butt that I moved from the freezer to my refrigerator Wednesday morning. It has thawed to some degree, but is still pretty solid and I'm planning on throwing it on the WSM around 5am tomorrow. This is the first time I've had to thaw one, and i'm starting to get really worried it's not going to be thawed in time. Is there anyway to speed up the process without spoiling the meat? Not sure if I could rotate it from the counter to fridge throughout the day or not? I'd really appreciate any help you guys could throw my way.

Bbq Bubba · May 6, 2011

Float it in a sink of cold water. Change the water hourly and will be thawed in about 5-6 hrs.
Never thaw meat on a counter.

smokemonster · May 6, 2011

Bbq Bubba said:
Float it in a sink of cold water. Change the water hourly and will be thawed in about 5-6 hrs.
Never thaw meat on a counter.

Awesome! Will get the wife on it since she's home all day :-D Thanks Bbq Bubba!

Smokin'hoglegs · May 6, 2011

The fastest way I've found to thaw a frozen butt is to throw it on the smoker and cook it:shocked:

I'm not kidding! I recieved the advice a while ago, did some research on it and went with it. Even found a pictoral of a guy who had to drill a hole in a frozen SOLID butt to insert his thermo probe!

Comes out just fine:wink:

Smokin'hoglegs · May 6, 2011

Oh yeah, it does take a bit longer to cook that way!

Q-Dat · May 6, 2011

I always like standing with my back to a space heater or campfire

Jason TQ · May 6, 2011

I have done the the water thawing and that works great for me. Just start cooking it as soon as it is done thawing. Not a good idea to put it back in the fridge. I have also heard about smoking something that is only partially thawed. I remember seeing a show on the food network where a guy at a bbq joint actually smoked his briskets or something when they were partially frozen because it actually helped him better with the timing of smoking overnight and they came out looking like anything else smoked.

RX2006JE · May 6, 2011

fnbish, it was a turkey breast and it was Smokin Guns BBQ

Full Draw BBQ · May 6, 2011

Q-Dat said:
I always like standing with my back to a space heater or campfire

Now that made me laugh.:clap2:

zydecopaws · May 6, 2011

Another option if you don't want your sink out of action for several hours is to use a water-tight cooler and put the water over the butt. This has the added benefit of allowing you to use warm water, as the water will cool as the meat thaws and still keep it at a safe temperature. I find this works a bit faster than the sink method as long as you have a tight-fitting lid for the cooler.

Wallaby · Jun 21, 2011

Smokin'hoglegs said:
The fastest way I've found to thaw a frozen butt is to throw it on the smoker and cook it:shocked:

I'm not kidding! I recieved the advice a while ago, did some research on it and went with it. Even found a pictoral of a guy who had to drill a hole in a frozen SOLID butt to insert his thermo probe!

Comes out just fine:wink:

Thanks Mike

BBQ Bandit · Jun 21, 2011

Got a five gallon bucket of water?

CharcoalCowboy · Jun 21, 2011

Another option is you can put it in a brine of cold water (completely covered of course). This is a safe way to expedite it quickly and add some flavor from your brine. I just "thawed" 2 butts in 12 hours last week. As others have said just make sure you cook it once thawed vs. putting it back in the fridge.

Help! Speeding up butt thaw?

smokemonster

Knows what a fatty is.

Bbq Bubba

somebody shut me the fark up.

smokemonster

Knows what a fatty is.

Smokin'hoglegs

Guest

Smokin'hoglegs

Guest

Q-Dat

Babbling Farker

Jason TQ

somebody shut me the fark up.

RX2006JE

Knows what a fatty is.

Full Draw BBQ

Full Fledged Farker

zydecopaws

Babbling Farker

Wallaby

Knows what a fatty is.

BBQ Bandit

Babbling Farker

CharcoalCowboy

Is lookin for wood to cook with.

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