Freezing/reheating the butts


 
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Frank S.

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Is it OK to freeze butts wrapped directly in aluminum foil? Will it affect the taste (metallic) at all? Or, would it be better to put the whole butt in a FoodSaver, then defrost, re-wrap in foil, and throw in the oven?

P.S. I cooked a rack of BB this weekend, they were 'enhanced' with some solution... tasted a bit on the salty side, and were tougher around the bone. Needless to say, I won't be buying those again.
 
No, you shouldn't have any problem freezing in foil as far as taste goes.
Usually, unless I'm only going to keep something in the freezer a few days, I'll vac-pack it.
As far as "enhanced" goes, I've become more and more irritated as more and more grocery chains offer "enhanced" products.
They are a profit maker for the meat packers and for the grocery chains, but a rip-off for consumers.
At Safeway, I saw chicken breasts that were 20% "enhanced," which means that for every pound of chicken breast the consumer is buying they're only getting 12.8 ounces of meat, the rest is water, salt, and preservatives! Now, that's a rip-off.
Turkey breasts are almost as bad; most being "enhanced" upto 18%.
I've found that it's cheaper and better to buy the whole turkey. If you don't want the dark meat, vac-pack it, and make dog food out of it.
Hope you have better luck on your next rack of ribs.
 
Hi Frank.

I’m not clear on your question. Is the butt still raw and you want to freeze it for later use? Or, have you already smoked it and you want to put away the leftovers?

If the butt is uncooked, simply wrapping it in HD foil would work, but I’d cover it first in plastic wrap as an extra precaution against freezer burn should the foil get punctured as other foods are put into and taken out of the freezer.

If the butt is already smoked, I’d recommend pulling it now, dividing it up into several serving sized portions and using the Food Saver. Then you could quickly reheat what you’ll need by simply dropping a bag or two into a pot of boiling water. Reheating a whole butt in the oven (whether it's stored in a Food Saver bag or wrapped in Texas Chrome) is going to take a long time.

I understand your desire to save money. Food Saver bags are expensive and foil is an attractive alternative. However, over time, any acids in your rub, mop, or sauce could react with the foil and affect the flavor of the meat. Wrapping in plastic first before freezing would be cheap insurance against this possibility.

And, I agree with avoiding so-called “enhanced” meats for a number of philosophical and economic reasons. If nothing else, I liken it to paying for a six-pack of premium beer and only getting five cans of swill.

Hope this helps.

Ken
 
Thanks guys. My intention was to cook a few butts, freeze them, and bring them to my folks & friends up north the following week.

If I freeze the cooked butt whole, wrap in saran wrap + foil, what temp is it safe to set the oven to, and how hot should the butt get in order to be pulled/shredded?
 
Frank,

This advice is worth exactly what you’ve paid for it, but here goes!

To reheat a whole butt, put it in a 200 – 220-degree oven and take it to 150-ish. My guess is that it’s going to take at least 2 hours to bring its internal temperature up from 30-something in the refrigerator to high enough to melt the remaining fat that re-solidified after your initial cook.

In a low oven, there’s no need to remove the foil or plastic wrap and they will collect the juices from the butt as it comes up to temperature. Don’t worry about the plastic wrap melting. It can withstand temps of 260 or so before you need to be concerned about laminating your meal like a drivers license.

Unless you’re absolutely determined to present whole butts for reheating, I’d still suggest separating the meat at least into its individual muscles groups after pulling it off the smoker before freezing. That would give you a chance to remove the bone and excess fat and connective tissue (you’re going to have to remove them anyway) and the time to reheat the smaller pieces of meat would be much less without sacrificing any quality or moisture. There would also be virtual no waste in the meat bundle you deliver.

Either way you choose sounds great. A flavorful pile of fragrant pork is a great way of impressing people. Have fun and be prepared to field lots of compliments.

Ken
 
Frank, I think Ken's right on the money,when he suggests to pull the pork first, vac-pack it with a little rub and water, then reheat it in boiling water at the relatives' house.
This is the surest way of getting pulled just about the way it was cooked.
 
OK, I'm convinced. I'll smoke it, pull it, vac-pack it, and freeze it. Putting the wrapped frozen chunks in a pot of boiling water sounds a lot better than worrying and waiting. Thanks again folks... you guys rule.
 
Sounds good, Konrad, I'll have to try that next time I vac-pack some pulled pork.
 
I thawed some of that yesterday and did a 9/11 fundraiser at work. Suggested donation for a pulled pork sandwich was $3 we had people pay up to $20 for one sandwich and the average was $6.81. We had them coming back for seconds and thirds. It was great and the Widows and Orphans of NYC firefighters will be getting $300 we raised plus $300 from our employer /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

I spent a little more than that the day before buying professional catering gear like Cambro's. My wife feels she had to push me to buy Cambro's /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif Yeah honey and I need to spend a lot of time tending those WSMs, that darn Jim Minion
/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
 
We do a massive amount of pulled pork for tailgaters. Because of time problems we always cook and pull ahead of time. We have been putting pulled pork in aluminum pans, covering with foil and freezing for a week to ten days. When needed we put in pit for about an hour or so to defrost and reheat, put some fresh sauce on it, toss and serve. Comes out great with little hassle. Lets you spend more time on ribs, salmon, brats and chicken.

We have acquired two Cambro's this year. They have helped balance the food flow from the pit to the chaffing dishes. It is great to pull ribs when they are done and be able to hold them for several hours before serving.
 
Well, I picked up 2 butts from Sam's Club yesterday evening, and rubbed 'em down with the Renouned Mr. Brown mix last night. One was 6.3Lbs, the other 5.9Lbs. They'll be in the WSM by 8:PM tonight, and probably off the WSM by 11 AM tomorrow (all hail the Minion method). I'll pull 'em and Vac-Pak 'em for my trip next weekend.

I'll let you all know the reaction from the peanut gallery next weekend.
 
I take cooked butts off the smoker and wrap them whole in heavy-duty foil, making sure to fold all the seams numerous times so they are completely sealed. If I have big freezer bags handy, I'll put the foil package in one and toss it in the freezer.

To reheat, pull a frozen pork butt out of the freezer and let it defrost in the fridge for two days. Pop it in a 350 degree oven for about 2 hours.

Reheated pork butts pull fine. They fall off the bone.

Easy and delicious.
 
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