Pork Butt - To Pull or Not To Pull?


 
Stefan B

Stefan B

TVWBB All-Star
Hello & TGIF!
So, i'm smoking a butt tomorrow that's not going to be eaten till the following weekend. I'm going to vacuum seal in Foodsaver bags and put in freezer once cooled.
Question - Is it best to freeze the butt pulled or un-pulled? Does it matter? Do i need to even freeze or will it hold okay in the fridge for ~7 days sealed>?

Sure this topic has been covered but I don't have much time to sift through threads.
 
I've never had to freeze. But I would think it would be best to pull it first. Maybe even mix it with the sauce then freeze it.
 
I would suggest pulling it but no sauce. Freeze it then reheat it in boiling water.

I would guess keeping it in the fridge for 7 days would be fine too. You could also reheat it in a crock pot.
 
Wouldn't the sauce sort of "protect" the meat. I don't know much about freezing in case you can't tell. Except for working in one all day....lol
 
I pull with it warm because it seems easier. Freeze dry and add just enough sauce for moisture in a crock pot. Let the guests add sauce to their taste

Mike
 
With it just being me and my wife at home now, I am smoking a butt fairly often. I pull it when I normally would but if I am going to freeze any I "shred" it more than I normally would and then add sauce. I let the sauce sit in the meat a bit then i put it in the container I am freezing it in and it always seems to come out good and even after freezing the small bits of bark seem good. If I left it at a normal pull it seems that the bits of meat with the bark, the bark is kinda soft so I like the smaller bits of bark.

The only time I add sauce is if i am going to freeze, other wise i like mine just how it is but I figure with freezing it doesnt hurt to get a bit more moisture.
 
I always pull the whole but and add finishing sauce (not bbq sauce). Anything left get portioned then vac sealed.

I reheat by placing the whole bag in warm, not boiling water to get the temperature to about 140-150 degrees. Then prep the way I want for the intended use. I find that doing this rather than using boiling water provides a better outcome, but boiling water is still better to me to heat it up than in the oven or microwave, which work - just have to be more careful not to over cook or dry out.

If I'm going to use large quantities of saved pp I use a combination of the water method then into the pan/warm oven.
 
Pull then freeze. There are two main concerns in freezing a whole butt. (1) Your temps may not get from the hot safe range to the cold safe range fast enough, which can cause bacteria to grow and people to get sick. The butt is large enough that it will retain the internal heat for quite some time even if you have it in the freezer. (2) It's much easier to re-heat already pulled pork rather than a whole butt. If you're using your vacuum sealer you can re-heat in boiling water or in the oven. Either way, make sure to grab a sandwich of the finished product BEFORE you freeze. You have to... uh... make sure it's good before you serve it!!
 
I'm with the pull then freeze group. It takes freezng pretty well. I usually add the dripping from the foil after pulling and a little more rub too.
 
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