Cooking for a large group


 
R

Rick Soliman

TVWBB Pro
Queston,
I have to cook 5 pork butts, and 4 briskets for December 14th work party. I am then cooking chickens on site with a large mobile cooker.
I want to cook the butts and briskets 4-5 days eariler so I dont have to worry about them the night before.
Should I.
Cook and refrigerate whole? Or pulled and sliced?
Or Cook and freeze whole or pulled
Also I was thinking of reheating in pans on the large cooker with apple juice and sauce.
Thanks
Rick
 
I'd pull the pork and vac seal. The brisket I'd leave in one piece and vac seal. Keep them vac packed and put in the fridge. You could freeze but by the time its frozen you'd have to thaw. The vac pack should keep them from spoiling while in the fridge.

To reheat, put the PP in pans with apple juice cover and put in your pit. The brisket I'd take out of the vac pack, wrap in double layer of foil and put in pit to re-heat.

Then again, if you have a turkey fryer, you could reheat in boiling water.
 
Rick,

Any time I have cooked a day or so early, I have pulled after letting the butts rest for a while but definitely before I refrigerate. It reheats a lot better that way. I usually do what you said and reheat in pans with some apple juice. My preference is to heat the sauce separately and then mix it with the warmed sauce in a bowl. Then, you don't have the sauce over all of the pork in case you want to switch sauces or put it away sauceless.

Hope this helps.

Bob
 
The key when reheating anything Q'd--but especially brisket--is not to take it to too high an internal during the reheat.

I prefer reheating pulled pork but whole brisket. Reheat to serving temp (~145-150) not finish temp. There's more leeway with pork and it can go higher but there is no benefit doing so. Ditto for chicken: Were you cooking it ahead and reheating, serving temp would be the best target--especially if reheating breasts or whole chickens. For legs/thighs you can reheat to a higher internal if time gets away from you but there is no need to do so.
 
Rick, I would say that depends on what size the briskets shrink down to. Also, how do plan on serving it.

If you plan on chopping the brisket, slice it in half and vac-pack each half.

If you plan on slicing, cut in half the long ways then vac-pack. After thawing you could slice each half and present half slices in the pan. Those would probably be the right size for buns.

Just my thoughts.
 
Steve,
What a great idea...the boiling of the vac packs in a turkey fryer when you are off site! I never thought of that. Getting a fryer and a sealer for xmas, and now I can cook pork/brisket ahead of time next summer for our camping trip and reheat that way. Brillent!
Todd
 
Turkey fryers are so versatile. At comps people use the burner to start their charcoal chimney, heat hot water for dish washing, fish fries, etc.

My wife was the one that suggested to me to get the fryer for heating the vac packs. She got tired of me using the stove when I'd have guests over for back yard parties. Lately we've been cooking for her family get togethers. We can cook the meat weeks before and reheat at the gathering. We'll set up 1 or 2 WSMs with ribs on them for effect and smokey aroma. They think we've been cooking our heads off.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top