Freezing pork butt to use this weekend...


 
Jason Smart

Jason Smart

TVWBB Member
I've done a lot of reading on this so far and there are several different theories. I'm usually a smoke and eat it type of guy but I'm smoking two 10lb pork butts as we speak to be frozen and eaten at our annual dove hunt this weekend. This will be a first for me. I want to freeze it tonight and reheat it for the group Sat. We will have access to a stove, oven, gas grill and fire pit at the lease. Here is what I am thinking based on what I have read. Tell me if I am headed in the right direction.

After foiling at 165ish and taking it to 195 or probe tender, I will rest in the cooler for an hour or two, pull it and place it and all the juices in a deep pan while mixing. Immediately I will cover the deep pan in foil and place into fridge to get the meat to cool down. After it cools down, I will place in food saver bags, vacuum seal and then freeze. It will travel for 6 hours in a cooler Friday and be placed in a camper fridge.

My plan for the reheat, is to bring a pot or pan of boiling water to temp and drop the vacuum sealed bag in it so as not to dry it out.....and serve....maybe adding a little BBQ sauce if it dries out for some reason before serving.

Does than sound good? any other suggestions or changes to the above?
 
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Jason, this is right in line with how I handle the same scenario. You shouldn't have a problem with it drying out either. At least I never have when reheating in the Food Saver bags in boiling water.
 
It all sounds good except for the cooling process. Once pulled you want to get it cooled as quickly as possible. By placing it all in one large mass and sealing the deep pan, it will greatly slow the cooling process as it is one large mass. I have learned it here to put some cookie trays in the fridge or freezer before pulling, as I pull I throw it onto the cool sheet in a thin layer with some finishing sauce and put in the fridge or freezer to cool. Once cooled then you can pack into the bags and vacume seal.
 
I would just foil the top of that pan and freeze it and then reheat it in the oven in the same pan. Easy peasy
 
Went with Bob's suggestion to keep it simple. Poured the juices from the foil over the top of the meat while in pan and let it cool in fridge followed by putting it in the freezer.

When it was time to reheat, I popped the meat out of the aluminum pan like an ice cube and turned it over in the pan with the bottom now at the top. I figured since all the juices and fat went to the bottom when cooling, that as I reheated it, they would heat up and keep the meat moist as it drained down through the layer. Man it worked like a champ. Pulled pork at camp was a huge success!
 
Has anyone frozen the whole butt and then reheated in a slow (200-225) oven or smoker and then pulled ???

G.
 
Thanks for bringing this up.

I've been freezing my pork "differently" then mentioned above. I'll try cooling it down quicker next time.

Normally, I'll thaw it in the fridge for a day or two in the foodsaver bag. Then throw it into the crock pot w/some bbq sauce, as it seemed to be a tad dry, so the sauce helps.
 
George Roth said:
Has anyone frozen the whole butt and then reheated in a slow (200-225) oven or smoker and then pulled ???

G.
Click to expand...

Yup. I did this for butts that I smoked on a Saturday and stored in a tupperware container in the fridge to serve on a Wed. I saved and separated the au jus as well. To reheat, I put both butts in a deep half sheet, mixed the au jus with 1/4 cup of water and poured it in, foil wrap the pan and placed in a 250F oven. I spritzed the butts with apple juice (used apple/cherry wood for smoke) every 90 mins or so until at holding temp (145-150ish). I pulled it, placed the meat back in the pan, covered and placed in a towel lined cooler. Thirty min drive later, the meat was tasty and very moist.

I don't think I had to spritz so much.

Storing in a freezer? Same concept, just longer re-heat time. I discovered it is "hard" to screw up Costco butts or butts in general. The meat is pretty forgiving.
 
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