I’m planning on cooking a couple of butts for a crowd of 40 Memorial Day weekend. If I cook and pull the day before and reheat the next day, is this a good approach? I don’t like the idea of trying to finish cooking and pulling while there is a crowd. That said I want it to get lots of praise cause I have an ego 😎. I’ve cooked a couple of butts but that’s it. Thanks all!
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Smoking pork butt the day before the crowd?
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Club Member
- Aug 2017
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- TN
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I am not a vegetarian, but I eat animals that are
From my experience, if you cook them the day before and allow them to rest and then pull AND then mix in this finishing sauce, you will have some fantastic reheated pork the next day. All I do is reheat in a 250° oven for about an hour to an hour and a half covered and toss the pork about every 30 minutes during the process to help with even heating.
Finishing sauce:
3 cups apple cider vinegar
1.5 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp pepper
2 tbsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Makes enough for 2 butts

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First thing you have to realize is that most people are not real discerning. I've served up que that I wasn't happy with but the crowd thought was great. Guaranteed that whatever you produce regardless of when it is cooked will be better than most of the crowd would ever get from their local bbq restaurant.
What I have done many times in the past and has come out just fine is I cook it the weekend before, after resting it I pull it, bag it, and freeze it. Then reheat the next week. Takes the stress off and 95% of the people have no idea that was how it was done.
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I've got 2 butts/18 pounds going right now for an early Cinco De Mayo taco lunch tomorrow. I put them on at 8 pm, planning 12 hour cook. When they are done i will either wrap them and put them in a 170 oven, or if it is close to 9:30 I'll wrap and put them in cooler/ faux cambro and transport. I plan on serving at noon, so about 1145 I'll unwrap, pull, and season for tacos. This process has worked for me many times. In the past when I've warmed leftovers I've added Apple juice with good results. The suggestions above are great too. Pick one and go for it. You'll be fine.
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I used to stress about cooking lunch for a crowd...no longer!!! After years of losing sleep during an all-night cook I changed my methods...
Last year I did pork shoulders (for pulled pork) and cooked all day - started at 8am Friday for a noonish lunch on Saturday. By 10pm Friday the shoulders were beautifully black with a thick bark, and about 200°F (very nearly prove tender). I pulled, wrapped, and put in a warming oven at 170°F overnight. That was the longest and best rest ever!
I pulled the shoulders just before everyone arrived for lunch on Saturday - moist and delicious - it was truly the best pulled pork I’d ever done. That’s the only way I’ve done it since!
***also doing brisket the same way...the overnight hold at 170°F is money!!! Zero need to cool and reheat!!!
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Thank you for sharing this. I have yet to deal with serving anyone else besides my wife and I, but, now that I have started this process, I have friends that are itching for bbq invites. I have asked myself a few times why I have not read this approach of using our ovens as a natural warming oven, I am sure that stuff is just stewing in its juices and is so moist.
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You have a lot of suggestions that will work, so go with what suits you the best. IF you decide to cook the day before and refrigerate, I suggest either vac sealing or double bagging with zipper bags. Then reheat in hot water starting several hours before serving time. Some will add butter or apple juice, or their own concoction to help with moisture, but that is up to you.
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Sharing this concept again.
Smoke to probe tender. Bag whole in vacuum pack. Shock cold.
On day of service, give 3-4 hours in 140* sous vide. They should pull in the bag under manual manipulation. This method seems to retain more moisture in the pork.
I would not pull much before service. Sliced brisket and pulled pork dry very fast. If you're going to sauce, it doesn't really matter, I guess.
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I have a friend that has a restaurant and a history of bbq, and has won a few competitions tell me that, they never pull more then butt at a time, unless say a immediate crowdsizie could consume relatively quickly. She leaves them in the cooler wrapped and pulls them one at a time when the one before is almost gone, just for this reason.
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A couple of things that might help with suggestions that did not occur to me: If it matters at all I’ll be cooking on a WSM 18â€, no mods; I do not have a vacuum sealer; I do not have sous vide capabilities (yet), at least nothing like a Jules.
Also, I’ve known that Jack Soo does not use the water pan. Troutman recently posted that he gave up the water pan long ago. I’ll have to replay the the video interview with MH. I have used the water pan each time so far but will go pan-less this time. I’ve never wrapped while smoking either. Should I wrap at some point if not using the pan? Thanks.
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Wrapping is a technique, plain and simple. It's used to speed up the cooking process by inhibiting evaporation and the thermo cooling affect which slows that cooking process. If you hit a stall and don't want to wait for the meat to power through on its own, then wrap. That doesn't mean you have to. Using or not using the water pan shouldn't have anything to do with that decision.
And it's Harry Soo not Jack. Or were you referring to his baby brother ???
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Thanks Troutman I thought Jack was wrong but I was in too big of a hurry to look it up. Thanks for the correction and advice. Sorry Harry! Was it Jack that was on Barney Miller? Not looking that up either. A second ago I couldn’t think of my son-in-law’s name.
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Yes. Just store it in something you can toss back on your grill to reheat, like metal or foil pans or bowls. If you wrap in foil when smoking, save the jus! You might want it to add when you're ready to serve to ensure it's plenty moist. I have done this several times, and most often you can't tell you didn't just cook it.
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