Reheating Strategy

[gboss]

I've agreed to cook a pair of pork butts for a co-worker's wife's birthday. The party is Saturday, September 4th.

For scheduling reasons, I won't be able to cook overnight Friday into Saturday to be able to hold the pork until consumption on the 4th.

I've searched the Pit and read a lot about re-heating options and various pros and cons. However, I didn't see anything exactly related to my situation, so I figured it would be worth asking the Collective Mind of the Pit.

So, my two options are:

1) Cook the butts on Sunday August 29th. Wrap butts whole in butcher paper and vacuum seal. Freeze. Co-worker will re-heat in hot water bath on the 4th prior to pulling and serving.

2) Take Friday the 3rd off from work. Cook overnight Thursday into Friday. Rest, wrap whole, vacuum seal Friday, refrigerate. Co-worker will re-heat in hot water bath on the 4th prior to pulling and serving.

Obviously, #2 avoids the freezing step, so the potential for better quality pork is there.

Will there be a noticeable reduction in quality from being frozen for 5 days compared with in a refrigerator for 1 day? Is it worth taking a day off to cook closer to the consumption date?

I don't need much of an excuse to take a Friday off from work during the summer, however if there's no difference in quality, I might as well just do it ahead of time.

Thoughts?

[Spinaker]

As far as the drop in quality.......you might notice a difference between the two if they were side by side, but either way I think you will be fine.

I would do whatever is less stressful for you. Taking Friday off seem like a nice way to spend the day, if you ask me.

That being said, there really is no need to cook overnight for a few butts. (There is a joke in there somewhere) I would cook it on Sunday, then wrap in FOIL, to save those juices. Let them rest in a Faux Cambro for at least 2 hours, then dump the juices and meat in a bag and seal it up. When I am doing this, I tend to add more rub to the bag and a tablespoon of butter. Then seal and freeze.

I would go with the reheat in water and you are good to go. When serving, if it is looking a bit dry, add about a 1/2 to 1 cup (depending on how much meat you have) of HOT water to the serving tray or dish to help with moisture and to help heat up the meat.

[Spinaker]

There are no dumb questions here..........Your logic makes sense. In this case, you leave the meat in the sealed bag to reheat. Murdy

[gboss]

Thanks for the advice! In terms of quality, do you think there would be any difference between freezing whole on Sunday vs pulling then freezing (both vacuum sealed)?

[Spinaker]

I try to keep the roast whole as long as possible. gboss

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

I lean towards option 1.

That said, have you thought about sous vide? QVQ or SVQ?

I had the same issues trying to deliver butts for a work picnic and this let me completely control when I had the meat rest for service.

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/the-pit-mastery-program/sous-vide/1070568-planning-first-qvq-cook-for-work-picnic

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/the-pit-mastery-program/sous-vide/448657-sous-vide-chuckie

That would allow you to deliver ready meat to your friend at 135 direct from the bath for final smoking or let you smoke for a few hours right before shredding.

[gboss]

I've done Sous Vide and I've done BBQ, but I have not yet combined them. I will definitely look into this for the future, however I don't think I'll try a new technique for the first time when cooking for someone else.

Thanks and cheers!

[Joey877]

When serving, if it is looking a bit dry, add about a 1/2 to 1 cup (depending on how much meat you have) of HOT water to the serving tray or dish to help with moisture and to help heat up the meat.

I would argue for more butter. I used to do an annual "smokeout" for my employees (approximately 175 people) as an incentive program at work. Even with all my toys I had to do the cooking ahead of time, and over time the best trick I found to keep the pulled pork perfectly moist was a half to three-quarter stick of butter per aluminum pan of pulled pork. Tried water at first but the butter was much better. Completely agree, however, on adding more rub - if not when you seal it (which is better), then when you re-heat it.

[Spinaker]

Yuuuuuup. I mean, you can not really have too much butter.

[StrikeBBQ]

Smoke some pork lard or Crisco to add…

[gboss]

I hadn't thought about adding more rub before sealing it, but that's a great idea! Thanks to you and Spinaker!

[JakeT]

I think pulled pork is probably the best reheating BBQ around. Cook at your leisure the previous weekend, shred and vacuum pack with some extra liquid. If you've got a sous vide machine reheat to 140 for an hour to three hours and you're golden.

That said, I agree with Spinaker ...if taking the day off is an option...why not do it?

[Oak Smoke]

I cooked two pork butts last Fri for a neighborhood party Sat. The cook was pretty much as described by Spinaker. When it came time to warm and serve it I wrapped it in two foil packs with it spread out to let heat faster, placed it in a 200F oven. It was warm in about an hour and a half. I then put it in a large crock pot set on low and added butter. It stayed warm and moist all evening.