Help with prepping pulled pork to freeze


 
B

Brad L

TVWBB Member
A friend's annual 4th of July party is coming up and has asked me to do pulled pork instead of his usual shredded turkey (purchased). I will not be able to make up this much pork fresh for the party. I have about half of the pork smoked now and the another half on the smoker now. I plan to freeze it in food saver bags to re-heat with boiling water.

I would like to add a sauce to the meat to help keep it as moist and juicy as it is when it comes off the smoker, but don't want a BBQ sauce as I prefer my pork sauced once on the bun. In the past I have added apple juice and still wasn't able to get the desired effect. I have been considering a sauce made from all of the pork trimmings, drippings, water, and some vinegar (possibly more rub to) and just simmering it all together on the stove to get the flavors out of the waste, run it through the fat separator, and add it back to the meat before freezing it. Has anyone tried this or have a similar sauce recipe to keep the meat moist.

I got the idea for this when a relative brought me some pulled pork from B's BBQ in NC. The meat had been chilled and traveled quite a distance but was still very moist when re-heated - a few days later.

Thank you in advance.
 
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Hi Brad,

Your process looks to be spot on. And your results will be excellent !
We typically do something similar for any leftovers and it has worked very well.
Also keeps the stress level low prior to the party... ;)

Bob
 
Try a search on a "finishing sauce". I would find you some links, but this search and me don't work well together.:rolleyes:
I do something similar when I unfoil the butts. Separate the fat from the drippings and add a little butter, chicken stock and a few pinches of rub.
Add that to the meat as you're pulling it and it always stays nice and moist even after several months in the freezer.

Tim
 
Here is a sauce that I have been using for sometime, you can keep it thin, or cook it down to make it thicker. It's really great on pulled pork, but I also use it on chicken.
Ingredients:
1/4 lb bacon, chopped
medium onion chopped
2-3 tbls. chopped garlic
cup ketchup or chili sauce
cup apple cider vinegar
14-15 oz. can beef broth
1 tbls. hot sauce (Franks or Texas Pete's)
liquid smoke (optional)
salt & pepper to taste

In saucepan saute chopped bacon until a bit browned and remove bacon, saving the grease. Add onion in grease and saute till soft, then add garlic, and stir for a couple more minutes. Add vinegar and bring to a boil. Add ketchup or chili sauce, broth, and hot sauce and stir and simmer for an hour on low, stirring about every 10 minutes or so. Add liquid smoke if desired, and salt and pepper to taste. You can cook this down to a consistency to your liking, keeping it thin for finishing sauce, or cook down further (another hour) for thicker sauce for pork or chicken.
A simple yet excellent sauce that has gotten me many compliments.
 
I have not tried this , but a friend of mine who owns a butcher shop says they use grapefruit juice in their pulled pork to keep is moist.
 
I always figured a finishing sauce was more of a bbq sauce for those that like pulled pork served in sauce. A search brought up a lot of different types of sauces that were worth reading. I was happy to read that I am not the only one who notices pork drying out when pulling it compared to when it is fresh out of the foil/rest period.

I used a combination of water, vinegar, rub, Worcestershire sauce, trimmings, drippings, and bones. The sauce tasted excellent and moistened the pork very nicely. The meat took a lot more sauce than I expected, I will use this on all butt smokes from now on, whether frozen or served fresh. Knowing how well pork usually reheats in foodsaver bags I expect the meat to be just as great for the party.

Thanks for all the great replies.
 
No sauce necessary in my experience.

I recently opened up a package of frozen pulled pork that I made when I first got my WSM back around Christmas. It was vacuum-packed in a Food Saver bag and frozen. It's just as good as it was when I made it.
 
I place my pulled pork in a big foil pan and place in the fridge to cool it down for about 30 minutes. I then cover it in foil and freeze. When I am ready to reheat at the get together, I'll pull the block of pork out and flip it over in the same pan. The juices and fat that settled at the bottom are now at the top. I'll let it thaw and place it in the over at 300 degrees for an hour or so. The juices and fats drains down through the meat as it heat and moistens the whole pan. I have traveled 4-5 hours with the frozen pan of pulled pork in a cooler and cooked it at my deer lease or at my brother's 40th birthday party as well.... It has been great every time.
 
I just had to do the same thing and the results were amazing! (all the guests thought so) The pulled pork bark wasn't as firm as it was fresh but the flavor/moisture was spot on. I (just) have a gold and performer kettle so I ended up doing 2 shoulders at a time on each grill. This is how I did it:

I smoked my pork and followed the famous Mr Brown recipe but used 1/2 the salt and a little less cayenne. I made both the Southern Succor Rub and mop sauce. I wrapped the pork when it hit 160 degrees. When the pork was done, (temp and poke test) I pulled it and placed it in a tray, let it cool, and then put the pork and remaining drippings in vacuum sealer bags and froze the pork. I did not separate the fat. I guess since I wrapped it while cooking there was a lot of liquid in the tray.

For the party I heated the sealed bags in hot water and served it on steam trays. The pork ended up being warm; however, it was very juicy and moist. I did not have to add any finishing sauce. I put out both tomato based and vinegar based BBQ sauce and both were a hit. I filled two trays with pork and I had one left over after the BBQ. The rest of the pulled pork went home with the hosts of the party. Each tray had about 13-14 lbs of pulled pork.

Yesterday, my sister just called up and had some and she said it was still delicious. Hope this helps.
 
I usually pull the pork and reserve the big fat pieces off to the side. I then put chunks in with the pulled meat in a Food Saver bag. When it is reheated, the fat renders a bit to moisturize the meat.
 
All good advice above. I make a lot of pulled pork at a time so I can hold some. I do the finishing sauce after the pull to taste and keep it to the wet side but not swimming. I seperate into 1lb zip locks and set in the freezer until semi solid. Then I vac seal. I prefer setting a tray of water in the oven to 150 - 200 degrees to reheat, or a pot on the stove and leave it there for awhile. I prefer this more than simple tray in the oven as it keep things moist and never over cookes. I try not to let the pork get much past 150 degrees finish temp. Always moist and fresh tasting.
 
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