Pulling pork butt the next day

No it won't pull until it's heated up. All the fat will turn more solid just like any grease that cools off. Think about how hard the fat turns in the bottom of any meat cooked and then put in the frig overnight. The same thing happens inside the butt. Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.

I think doing it the way you normaly do it is the safest way. While talking to my local health department he mentioned that by pulling it (after the rest) and then getting it in the fridge is the best way to stay out of the danger zone.

I smoked my first butt last weekend (7 lb bone in). After too little research, I was under the impression it would take much longer to achieve fall apart tasty moist pork. Much to my surprise I reached 205 degrees at 10pm. I fretted over staying up another 4 hours letting it rest or taking my chances refrigerating it instead.

This being my first, I decided I could afford to come short of perfection and the refrigerator won out. I put the butt in a cake pan and poured the pan of apple juice and pork drippings from the smoker over it and covered with foil.

The next morning I couldn't even sleep in I was so worried about that damn butt!
So here is the plan I devised. I took the pan from the refrigerator and put it straight in to a 250 degree oven. I left it in for about 2 hours and checked the internal temp. It was up to 110 degrees and fear of drying it out prompted me to take it out and begin pulling.

To my surprise it was incredibly moist and fell apart just trying to de-fat it. It was absolutely delicious (if I do say so myself) and ready to eat! Unfortunately it was 9:30 am and dinner was at 6 pm. I pulled out my vacuum foodsaver and divided the tasty pulled tender moist goodness in to two bags. I vacuum sealed them both (adding what little juice was still in the bottom of the pan) and tossed them back in the fridge.

About a half hour prior to dinner, I heated a pot of water on the stove and tossed one of the bags in for about 20 minutes turning it every so often. Right before ringing the dinner bell I cut open the bag (started to drool once the aroma hit me) dumped it into a serving bowl and placed it next to my 3 sauce choices for my guests.

I immediately realized I would need to throw in the second bag! It was disappearing like snow falling on a hot grill. The best part was that very few people were even adding sauce to their pulled pork sandwiches! They said it was so flavorful that they did not want to cover it up. It was a huge success!

But I digress...my intent behind this post was not to brag about my butt (but I couldnt help it...being my first attempt) The moral of the story is: It may not be as big of a risk to refrigerate as opposed to following all of the resting procedures.

Just my newbie 2 cents worth! Hope it helps someone!

MEAT: Love the avatar...he looks guilty as charged...but I bet his tummy is full.

SMOKER: This sounds like a great idea. I sometimes get overzealous with my cook times and put it on too soon and don't know what to do with it hours before serving. Thank you for the run down and technique. Keep cooking...it only gets better and the smiles from your friends and family get bigger.

Thanks AMoor! I appreciate the kind words

Yup, you're on the right track with the advice above. Why go through a long re-heat to pull when you can just bag up/seal the pulled stuff and re-heat very quickly (without all the extra moisture loss).

There's also the approach of putting it in a cooler, wrapped in foil and then old CLEAN rags, towels, etc packed around it. It'll stay VERY warm for another 10+- hours.

Yeah that is what I was referring to at the beginning of my post for resting procedures. I had no idea it would be able to maintain the heat for around 10 hours! I could have skipped the whole process I went through (even though it was successful).

Thanks! That's why I joined...learn from people who know!