Hi,
I have a preparation question, I hope this is the correct forum. I am going to be smoking some pork butts for our annual brewery party for about 75-80 people.
I am smoking on a Weber 22" fitted with an SNS and a Fireboard.
If I prepare the pork butt a couple of days ahead of time, what is a good way to store and reheat the meat to get the best flavor? The plan is to serve out of hotel pans over a steam table.
We have a sous vide system, sealed bags, and a circulator. My idea was that I would cook the meat, shred it and place it into vacuum-sealed bags ahead of time. When it is time for the party I would place them into the sous vide for reheating.
I have never done this before and my worry is that the meat dries out or loses its smokiness.
Portioning was the other area I am still looking into. Over here Pork butts are around 2-3kg and the meat is not butchered the same way as it is in the states. The meat tends to run leaner. The last time I cooked a full pork butt, in German the closest cut is called schweinehals, it fed about 5 people. Using that as a basis I would plan on cooking about 15 pieces.
I have done approx. 25 lbs of raw pork butts. 3, +8 lbers, bone in, each one cut in half on two Weber kettles with SnS and Smokenator.
I did the cook the day before the event. I catch the dripping juices in a foil pan, to be separated and added back into the pulled meat. I wasn't able to go to the party, so I don't know how many people it fed. I pulled when it was done and put in a double layered full sheet pans and wrapped. I was worried about the meat being dry, so I added a whole bottle of our favorite BBQ sauce with the separated drippings. The day of Mrs. H reheated in the oven to (?) wrapped in a blanket and put in a cooler. It was served immediately upon her arrival. Everyone seemed to like it.
Last edited by HawkerXP; August 28, 2022, 02:56 PM.
I like crock pots for reheating pulled pork. Do save some of the liquids and you might want to add a bit if you are not planning on saucing. If you are saucing, put some of the sauce in the bottom and some over the top. I like to add diced onions and peppers to mine which also adds moisture.
+1 on crock pots. We bought 3 of their cheap ones at Walmart and have had no trouble at all. If you keep a watch to see that the lids aren’t left off for a long period everything stays nice and moist.
I too have used a crock pot. I have not reheated as much as you might be, and it may take a liitle time, but I have found the crock pot retains the moisture so it is not dried out.
You could smoke them for 1-2 hours to set the bark, then finish them via sous vide up to 72 hours. Then save the drippings, and chill in the fridge once out of the bath. On the day of the cook, allow for 2-3 hours of reheating at least on the smoker to reach serving temp of 140.
QVQ chuckie.
I tried chuckies several times and was always disappointed. Too dry. I wrapped earlier and it was good, but basically a pot roast.
After hearing
Who says you can't get a nice smoke ring with SVQ...?:cool:
SV: nekkid @ 158x24, chilled in ice bath and refrigerated for 2 days.
Q: Dried off and rubbed with Killer Hogs, into the PBC for bark, using hickory and cherry, pulled at internal temp of ~150.
Added a very small amount of the purge back into the final pulled
Lang 48 inch Deluxe Patio Model (burns hickory splits)
PK 360 (burns premium lump charcoal with wood chunks)
28 inch Blackstone Griddle (propane)
Rubs I love:
Yardbird by Plow Boys
Killer Hogs by Malcom Reed
AP Rub by Malcom Reed
Meat Church (any)
Three Little Pigs Memphis Style for ribs
Would love to try Meathead's commercial rub
Sauces I love:
Gates'
Joe's
Pa & Ma's
Killer Hogs Vinegar Sauce
Disposable Equipment I use:
Disposable cutting boards
Tumbleweed chimney starters
Aluminum foil
Aluminum pans (half and full)
Latex gloves
Diamond Kosher Salt
Vice-President of BBQ Security, Roy
He's a pure-bred North American Brown Dog
He loves rawhide chewies
My wife calls me "Teddy" and I call her "Princess" and that's where "mrteddyprincess" comes from.
Great suggestions up above. My suggestion is smoke each butt you're going to smoke, pull it, and then season it. Use one of those oven bags people cook turkeys in at Thanksgiving, and put as much pulled pork in one of those that will fill up your warming pans. Add chicken broth to maintain moisture. Seal off the bag with the tie that comes with the oven bags and refrigerated until the day of serving.
On the day of your party, heat as many of the containers up in the oven at 350 F as you need to, tear the bags open, and serve directly in the pans. I've catered for weddings this way and it works really well. I warmed up 14 pork butts for a wedding, kept them in a cambro, and they got served at the wedding over the course of three hours or so.
I recently cooked 2 butts to transport to WI using the QVQ method. I fully cooked then pulled them, vac sealed them, froze them. Transported them in my Yeti and tossed them in a pot of boiling water when ready to eat. Worked great and tasted fresh over the course of 3 days.
22" Weber Performer
Kingsford Competition Briquettes
Weber Rapidfire Chimney
Char-Broil Big Easy - Infrared "oilless fryer"
Thermapen(s)
Fireboard original
Slow N Sear
GMG Jim Bowie WiFi
Englebrecht Braten Gen IV 1000 on order
Hi, late to the party. This may not be in time for the OP but it may help others.
On two occasions I made 80-90 pounds of pulled pork a day ahead of a party. I smoked and pulled it, then immediately vacuum packed into three or four pound bags. I put them in a quick ice water bath and then refrigerated them overnight. The day of serving, I staged them in a large cooler adapted for sous vide and warmed them for
1.5 hours at 145. I kept adding bags into a couple of crock pots for serving in which I mixed a little bbq sauce with the pork. The pork off the smoker was tender and juicy enough that I didn’t add sauce when I vacuum packed them.
Incidentally, I have used the same technique with leftovers and just froze the bags, then heated them with sous vide.
Hey All,
I wanted to thank you for all of the excellent advice. The event was canceled due to inclement weather. We ended up freezing the meat for use at a later date.
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