Reheating pulled pork


 

Wayne Ficklin

TVWBB Fan
My wife is wanting pulled pork Saturday evening at an event she's hosting out of town. I was going to cook it Wednesday because she's leaving Thursday. I was going to go ahead and pull it and tell her to put it in a crock pot for 4-ish hours to reheat it (after adding a bit of extra rub and liquid before it gets dumped in the crock pot.

Now I find out that she'll either be able to reheat it for 12 hours (because she's leaving early in the morning) or ...about 25 minutes, once she's gets back and its already dinner time. Will the crockpot dry it out? If so, is there any feasible, low-maintenance way to have it reheated REALLY quickly without it suffering because of it?

I'm starting to think she may should reconsider pulled pork in this scenario, but I'll take all the tips you have.

Thanks
 
Assuming that the pulled pork is not frozen I would lean towards reheating it in the 25 min window. Many times I have reheated pulled pork in a sauce pan on the stove using a little apple juice and/or BBQ sauce. The results have been fine. The 12 hours would concern me for fear it might dry out as you mentioned, even on the lowest setting. I am sure the guests will like the pulled pork even if it is not quite as good as when it is freshly pulled.
 
Vac seal it in whatever quantities you prefer, we bag about two cups per bag. Freeze it, and at dinner time, place however many bags you need for the guests in boiling water (bags remain sealed for this of course. Should be ready to go, piping hot, in around 10 minutes.
 
I vacuum seal all my PP leftovers. I weigh them out in 1# bags since most sandwiches are 1/4#. Once sealed all you have to do is boil the unopened bag in water. The bag retains the juices.
 
I don't have a vacuum sealer, or I'd definitely go that route ...as it seems universally recommended.

My wife's decided to handle her event differently because she's not likely to be able to get the meat heated without additional stress, but thanks everyone for offering your tips.
 
I use an Instant Pot to reheat mine. It's ready in 10 minutes and retains moisture. Useful kitchen tool as well.
 
Here's another option: get a lamp timer (and make sure you/she know how it works!) I do this frequently for cooking steel cut oats overnight in the crock pot. 5-6 hours on low is the sweet spot for them, so before bed (~10 PM the night before), I set up the crockpot and plug it into the timer that's set to turn on at midnight and off at 5:30 AM.

I've done it during the day, as well, for reheating chili, cooking roasts, etc.
 
I use an Instant Pot to reheat mine. It's ready in 10 minutes and retains moisture. Useful kitchen tool as well.
You're a day late. If I'd had this suggestion yesterday I think I may could've pulled it off. At least now I'll have an opportunity to test it before I let it loose on the masses.
 
Here's another option: get a lamp timer (and make sure you/she know how it works!) I do this frequently for cooking steel cut oats overnight in the crock pot. 5-6 hours on low is the sweet spot for them, so before bed (~10 PM the night before), I set up the crockpot and plug it into the timer that's set to turn on at midnight and off at 5:30 AM.

I've done it during the day, as well, for reheating chili, cooking roasts, etc.

That is one cool idea. Never would've thought of it.

Also like the Instant Pot idea. My GF just bought the Presto version . . .





BD
 
Vac seal it in whatever quantities you prefer, we bag about two cups per bag. Freeze it, and at dinner time, place however many bags you need for the guests in boiling water (bags remain sealed for this of course. Should be ready to go, piping hot, in around 10 minutes.

I've got a question regarding this method. I vac-sealed about 2 pounds of pulled pork before a party last fall. The party never happened (called off due to weather) and I just left it in the freezer in one large sealed bag. I usually eat about 4 to 6 ounces in a serving for lunch. My question is, can I safely thaw this large bag out, portion it into smaller bags and then re-freeze? I'm of the impression that re-freezing is a dangerous process.

I would only want one or at most two portions a week, and I think I could get about 6 servings out of this one block-o-pork.
 
If you can partially thaw it (will still be mostly frozen but you can sort-of break off chunks), do that, break/cut off a portion and re-freeze the unused part.

It's usually uncooked meat that shouldn't be re-frozen.
 
Here's another option: get a lamp timer (and make sure you/she know how it works!) I do this frequently for cooking steel cut oats overnight in the crock pot. 5-6 hours on low is the sweet spot for them, so before bed (~10 PM the night before), I set up the crockpot and plug it into the timer that's set to turn on at midnight and off at 5:30 AM.

I've done it during the day, as well, for reheating chili, cooking roasts, etc.

I like this idea for something stable at room temperature like oats, but I'm not sure I'd like the idea of leaving cooked pulled pork sitting out at room temperature for 6-8 hours before starting to heat it.
 
I just made a bunch of Taquitos last night with pulled pork. My first attempt,and man they sure were tasty. Their gonna be REALLY good when i doctor them up with stuff like chiles,and or fried onions,and really get the hang of it. Put them in an oven at 425,and they are done in 12 minutes.
So they definetly qualify as a quick way to heat pulled pork:) Would work with chicken,or beef also.
They say you can freeze them also,and throw them in the oven. I havn't tried that yet,but probably will.
 

 

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