Best way to freeze smoked pork butt (whole or pulled)?

[jjdbike]

Hello everyone & happy Saturday,

I've got two 8 - 9lb Duroc pork butts on the KBQ. The're injected, rubbed, and will get glazed. I want to freeze the majority of them. Ultimately they'll get pulled for sandwiches, burritos, etc..
I have a vacuum sealer and a chest deep freezer. They'll be ready to pull from the pit within the half hour, then pan, fishing in oven, rest, glaze and eat - freeze.

I have always pulled them all, then vacuum packed and froze and been happy w/ quality. Recently I've read that they'll maintain more moisture and flavor if I keep them in large whole chunks instead of pulling. Pulling would make thawing, reheating and saving more convenient as it would eliminate the step of pulling. No big deal, but it is one more step.
Moisture, texture and flavor is my priority so I'll do whatever will maintain that the best.

What do you folks say, does it maintain better quality to keep in large whole chucks than to pull to freeze in vacuum packs or does it matter?

Thanks in advance!
JD

[DaveD]

I would say, do an experiment! Do part of it your usual way, and leave some unpulled to store whole. I've had great success reheating pieces like that in the sous vide, just dial in your preferred serving temp and give it a couple hours to equilibrate, and it's dang near as good as on the day. It does take more planning for sure, but it is so worth it IMO. Good luck!

[rickgregory]

I vote for experiment too. And let us know.

[CaptainMike]

Way easier to pull right out of the smoker rather than reheating (and drying out) later. I'm doing this tomorrow and will seal the pulled meat in 1 lb packages to freeze. When we want pulled pork for something we dunk them in a 165 degree SV bath for a couple of hours and viola!

Where going on a 2 week RV trip with friends next month and I'll bring along several packages for one or two of our cook nights.

[captainlee]

We do the same. We also freeze and reheat in a hot water bath brisket, fajitas and sloppy joe. Makes for a simple night dinner while camping for those full active days. Clean up ia quick and easy.

[heraldstorm]

So I've never had any experience freezing a whole butt. What I prefer to do is to pull the meat, stick it in a vacuum sealing bag, and vacuum seal it. I try to use boil-safe bags, because when I'm ready to use it, I take it straight from the freezer to a pot of boiling water. Let it boil 5-10 minutes, and when you unseal the bag, your pork is just as juicy and smoky as the day you pulled it off the pit. I cannot confirm, but my gut tells me it may not pull as nicely once it's been frozen and thawed out again.

[Ahumadora]

Have the water just under boiling temp. Boiling is 212f and may overcook the meat. You only need to re heat it enough to serve. Also roll the bags flat so they stack better in the freezer and re heat quicker.

[RonB]

I like the experiment idea too. But as long as you vac seal it, there should be little if any difference. I also thaw/reheat in hot water. Since I've never had a butt done below 200°, I don't worry about the water temp as long as it's above 140°.

[tbob4]

I typically do at least a rough pull and freeze. When I am using leftovers I am employing a sauce of some type or frying in some lard or butter. I have also been finishing all of my butts lately in Dutch ovens with onions, peppers and sometimes a little beer (I use it as an excuse to drink a third). So the pork is pretty moist.

[rlozinak]

What I do is pull it and then vacuum seal it. I would say not to pull after freezing.

[ILMsmoke]

I pull after the rest and vacuum seal. It's as good later as fresh...

[jjdbike]

Thanks all.
Thats what I’m gonna do…. Pull then freeze.
Best regards!
JD
PS. Here it is just before wrap.167 internal. That KBQ makes really nice bark!

[DaveD]

Photo did not come through...

[bbqLuv]

We freeze pilled pork in ~8oz zip lock bags. Works for us. Portion control don't you know.

[jjdbike]

Thanks all.
Thats what I’m gonna do…. Pull then freeze.
Best regards!
JD
PS. Here it is just before wrap.167 internal. That KBQ makes really nice bark!

Here it is

[jjdbike]

Way easier to pull right out of the smoker rather than reheating (and drying out) later. I'm doing this tomorrow and will seal the pulled meat in 1 lb packages to freeze. When we want pulled pork for something we dunk them in a 165 degree SV bath for a couple of hours and viola!

Where going on a 2 week RV trip with friends next month and I'll bring along several packages for one or two of our cook nights.

Sound perfect!
Def gonna do this.
Thanks!
JD

[RichardCullip]

I pull then freeze after dividing the leftovers into serving size bags. So nice to pull a bag already at serving size out of the freezer and reheat, either sous vide or microwave. That being said it's usually two, and sometimes three, of us for the meal so we get multiple bags of leftover pulled pork out of one pork butt.

[CaptainMike]

That's about as easy as it gets!

[58limited]

I pull, vacuum seal in 1-2 lb increments, flatten the packs so they stack nicely, and freeze. Freezing a whole one, since it is big and clunky, would take up more of my freezer space.

[fracmeister]

I do it both ways but put it in a sous vide bag, suck all the air out and seal. That way when i want to reheat I stick it in the sous vide on 140 and leave it there till ready to eat.