I am preparing pulled pork for a thirty person party for this coming Sunday but, due to time constrainst, will have to smoke the butts Friday night. I plan on pulling the pork immediately and refrigerating in foodsaver bags. My question is about reheating. Should I simply boil the bags before the party on Sunday or should I remove the pulled pork and reheat slowly in the oven? Is there any consensus on which method, or for that matter any other method, that produces the best quality. Thanks.
Consensus on Reheating Pulled Pork
- Thread starter Sean Ruff
- Start date
Clark "Harbormaster" Hodgson
TVWBB All-Star
Sean,
I have always placed mine in a crockpot and reheated that way. Not sure if this is the best way, but it works for me.
Knock their socks off with the pork!
I have always placed mine in a crockpot and reheated that way. Not sure if this is the best way, but it works for me.
Knock their socks off with the pork!
Doug D
TVWBB Hall of Fame
Microwave, crockpot, boiling bag or oven: the key is gentle reheating.
A crockpot or a warm oven are simple. Keep things covered and they stay moist.
Microwave a pound or so a minute at a time on low (30%) power, checking for acceptable warmth as you go. Add a tablespoon of broth, juice or even water, per serving, to help retain moisture.
Boiling bags: Frozen, pack bags with pork, seal and flatten out as much as possible before freezing. Bring water in a large pot to boil, place bag in pot, remove from heat, let stand for 10-15 minutes before opening. Refrigerated, about 8-10 minutes should be sufficient.
A crockpot or a warm oven are simple. Keep things covered and they stay moist.
Microwave a pound or so a minute at a time on low (30%) power, checking for acceptable warmth as you go. Add a tablespoon of broth, juice or even water, per serving, to help retain moisture.
Boiling bags: Frozen, pack bags with pork, seal and flatten out as much as possible before freezing. Bring water in a large pot to boil, place bag in pot, remove from heat, let stand for 10-15 minutes before opening. Refrigerated, about 8-10 minutes should be sufficient.
Joe McManus
TVWBB All-Star
If faced with your situation, I'd probably use the crock pot. Add a little apple juice with a little vinegar in it to the croc pot, heat for about two hours, you're good to go.
I might consider heating the oven too. Using some Al half pans, i'd add a little moisture, place in a 300 oven, cover, and heat til warm.
Personally I think the bag thing works better for smaller batches.
I might consider heating the oven too. Using some Al half pans, i'd add a little moisture, place in a 300 oven, cover, and heat til warm.
Personally I think the bag thing works better for smaller batches.
When I have made pulled pork, I always knew that there would be tons of leftovers, so I had read up on how to best reheat it. The most common one was to add some apple juice before you heat it up in an oven or microwave. I found though, that if I skipped trimming off a lot of fat before cooking the pork, the fat will get the meat juicy when you reheat it.
Lou Tarnay
TVWBB Fan
If you have a vacuum sealer you can seal fairly large portions and keep in the fridge for a long time! Reheat by simmering the whole bag in water. I think it is better if the water does not boil. It takes longer, but it's worth it. No one in my fam can tell from fresh pulled.
WARNING: Do NOT microwave! The fat breaks and the whole thing seems to come out much more greasy tasting. A shame after you spend so long trying to render that fat out of the pork.
Good Luck
WARNING: Do NOT microwave! The fat breaks and the whole thing seems to come out much more greasy tasting. A shame after you spend so long trying to render that fat out of the pork.
Good Luck
I still prefer the good old boilin' bag method, myself. If I'm cooking one butt, I usually see no reason not to go ahead and cook four. I usually remove the bone, put the cooled whole butt in the bag, seal it, smash it down a bit so that it's a bit flatter, and then chill it fast in ice water.
30 - 45 minutes per bagged unpulled butt in slowly simmering water at the max. If you've already pulled it, it won't take that long, like Doug said above.
Keri C
30 - 45 minutes per bagged unpulled butt in slowly simmering water at the max. If you've already pulled it, it won't take that long, like Doug said above.
Keri C
M D Baldwin
TVWBB Super Fan
If the pork is a bit dry I may add some med-dark beer like Killians or Bass and gently boil it off.