Frozen butts - Food Saver


 
R

Ron Hunter

TVWBB Member
Tonight I’m putting on two butts for the sole purpose of freezing them (winter supply). Like many of you, I have a food saver. I’ve noticed the food saver really squeezes the meat. I wonder if when it’s thawed – it’s practically like you never pulled it. The vacuum compresses it and makes it difficult to separate. I’ve used the FS to extend the refrigerator time, but haven’t frozen and thawed any – YET!

I’m wondering if it would be better to freeze it in a baggie for a day and then transfer the pork to the food saver. After it’s frozen the vacuum shouldn’t be able to compress it.

What has been your experience?

Thanks
 
Let the Foodsaver squish it. If you freeze first, there will be air spaces that will invite the chance of freezer burn. Foodsavered items, as a general rule, last best if they're as air-pocket free as possible. If you vac-seal at refrigerator temp, freeze, and then later simply thaw and open the bag, then, yes, residual liquified fat will make the pulled meat kind of congealed together and difficult to pull apart while still cool-- much like it would if you had just pulled it and stuffed it into a container and refrigerated it. If you take a frozen pouch straight to boiling water to prepare it for immediate serving, upon opening the bag, the reheated meat will be insignificantly different from when it was pulled just after cooking.
 
Never a problem freezing PP with a Food Saver. Does a great job with all food products IMO.
Just 2 butts for your winter supply?
icon_biggrin.gif
You know the wsm cooks in all kinds of weather; you won't run out.
 
As a rule I always cook way more PP than I can eat at once. Once the monster pile is pulled, some gets eaten that day, and the rest is in food saver bags. I portion a single meal per bag, and then bag the rest.

It then goes straight to the freezer with the cook date on the bag. Since the fat has no time to congeal, it looks just like fresh, less the squish it gets from the evacuated bag.

When its time to eat, I just move it to the fridge the night before and by dinner the next day its thawed.

As for cooking options, boiling works. My girlfriend likes to move it to a foiled pie pan, mix with sauce, and slip into the oven to warm as the yams are finishing up.

Last night, we both got home late, so I cut the corner off the bag just enough to sneak the bbq sauce in and then threw it in the microwave.

I agree with Doug as well that taking the frozen bag to boiling water works as well.

The Food Savr is an amazing thing, well worth the investment. I actually bought a second one since I liked it so much.

Get the air out!! I think its the key. I will testing the concept on the Apple Brined Turkey recipe tomorrow.
 
Not to thread jack, but on a related note - how long do you guys typically boil the bags to reheat (assuming straight from the freezer into boiling water, and assume a ~4 person serving size / portion)? In my experience, I find 15-20 minutes is about right, but I wonder if I could go quicker - hesistant to experiment too much and then open a still-cold-pork that I'll then have to oven heat.
 
I freeze any amount in bags large enough to flatten the pork so that it is not much more than an inch thick rather than cram a lot of pork in a smaller bag. This allowa it to freeze quickly, stack better in the freezer, and reheat faster. I put a bag in boiling water, cover the pot and wait a minute or two, then turn the heat off and let it sit in the pot. It's ready in as soon as 10 min--but I just let it sit there till I actually need it, usually 5-15 minutes more.
 
I concur, a 1" thick bag freezes and thaws quicker due to higher surface area. That's how I have been doing exactly this for years.

Another positive if you warm in the oven, run a few seconds of warm water over the bag, and the food will seperate easily. You get the added plus of the high surface area shape for quicker oven warming as well out of the bag.
 
I agree, freeze your pulled pork. What I like to do it plop the bag into boiling water and let it sit till it gets nice and hot. When you think it is totally heated up take it out of the water and open it up. Bada~Bing you have pulled pork like off the smoker. Well maybe not just like off the smoker but damn near close to it.
 
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