-On my Large BGE-
I'm used to removing pork shoulders and shredding w/in an hour because I always seem to be behind even when I give myself an extra couple hours. (Damn you plateau! )

What is the length of time you find you can leave your whole pork shoulders wrapped in say, foil, towels, placed in a preheated basic igloo cooler (I think you have some higher end coolers?)
I got the impression you wrap and dwell yours 4+ hours after removing from the heat when they hit *200+. I know it depends on the temp. danger zone for meats but for this event I'm trying to get ahead of the game.

My plan is to do 1.5 hour spatchcock chickens while the shoulders dwell. Depending on how long the shoulders can rest and my horrible timing, I might do even more chickens.

TIA.

I rest my pork butts for a minimum of 1 hour, wrapped in foil and packed tightly with towels inside a cooler. 2 hours is even better.

But up to 6 hours (or more) is very doable. Even after 4-6 hours packed in the cooler, they'll still be too hot to handle when you first take them out of the foil to pull them.

I had one finish early and spend 3 1/2 hours in the cooler. It was still too hot to comfortably handle when it came out.

Nice. I've never had the chance to monitor the temp. degradation over time because, like I say, it's go time usually when I remove them, transport them, and then do the shredding. 4-6 hours offers up many possibilities for what I'm planning on.
All depending on the shoulders making their own schedule, that's a large window to do some chickens, wrap and tuck them in w/ the shoulders, and maybe do some more.

I’ve only held briskets for a long time. But I’m sure pork is similar. Brisket can easily stay above 140 for longer than 4 hours. Another option is wrapped and held in the oven at lowest setting. Many ovens go down to 170. Mine will go to 150. I can hold all day if needed.

Apart from that the danger zone is much less a concern for cooked and wrapped meat. All the bad bugs are dead. New contamination and growth isn’t that likely on a wrapped piece of meat.

The best answer is the longer the better. But a minimum of several hours. I have several insulated cabinets designed for keeping food warm or cold. They are called Cambros. I hold pork butts in them overnight. I’ve gone as long as 14 hours and they are still hot. I’m not saying they benefit more after that long it’s just nice to be able to deal with them at your leisure. Hope this helps.

Using the cooler method takes the pressure off you for timing the meal, but I usually plan to leave mine in there for about 2-3 hours. No sweat when guests are arriving late, etc, the meat comes out when everyone is there. I have also recently been wrapping baking potatoes in foil and dropping them on the smoker at 275 for 3 hours before meal time. FWIW, I get these 2.5 gallon ziplock bags to seal the pork butt or brisket while they are in the cooler, less hassle than wrapping in saran wrap

Thanks everyone. The event I'm cooking for goes three days and while I'm sure there is an oven on site, I'm not sure if I can tie it up.
At this point I'm not even sure if I'm going to smoke them at home and transport them, or bring my Egg out there for the weekend (that will be a new experience)

As for the finish time, I think I'll aim for 6-8 hours before dinner. I seem to always go long. I only recall them finishing early once.

With my pork butts, I usually aim for ~4 hours before dinner. That way, even if it stalls for a few hours longer than expected, I still have enough cushion to get an hour's rest in before pulling. And if it doesn't stall much and I finish early, they can just chill in the cooler for 3-4 hours.

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
I had one finish early and spend 3 1/2 hours in the cooler. It was still too hot to comfortably handle when it came out.

This has been my experience as well. I think you could easily go 5+ hours in a pinch.
Mine's a bit ahead of schedule today as well.