Mon Sep 09, 2013 6:49 am
Alright, fellow swine eaters, give me your input. I've got 38lbs of shoulder that I'm smoking from Friday night til Saturday evening. It is currently frozen, and I'd like it to be thawed by Thursday evening so I can truss, rub and wrap it to sit until it goes on smoke Friday. I don't have fridge space to pull them out and let them thaw in the fridge, however. My current thoughts:
#1: Brine them by mixing up a big batch, dump the shoulders in coolers and cover... frozen meat should keep the temp low, but I reckon it'd take a few days (when should I start?) to fully thaw since the water isn't being changed, but solutes in the brine may keep it from icing over around the meat and speed things over sitting in water for the same amount of time.
#2: Fill cooler with water and purge every 30 min or so to get them thawed (or mostly thawed), dry and rub. This would be done Thursday.
Some combination or other plan I haven't thought of? If I don't get something going soon, it will probably end up being option #2, but wondering if anyone has done something similar.
Spiderwrangler
PFC, Arachnid Deployment Division
In the cellar:
In the fermentor: Belgian Cider
In the works: Wooden Cider
