Pulled pork storage time?

[Mark D]

Hi everyone,

How long is it safe to keep leftover pulled pork refrigerated before freezing? I cooked a bunch of it Friday night into Saturday to bring to the Patriots game Sunday, and have a bag leftover which I'd like to freeze. Long story short is it has been refrigerated since it was pulled, though about 15 hours of that time was in an ice filled cooler.

Here's the details. It was removed from the cooker, foiled in a towel filled cooler for about 3 hours then pulled and freezer bagged (not vacuum sealed, but I removed most of the air) at about 8:00 PM Saturday, at which point it was immediately refrigerated. It made the trip to the game Sunday in an ice filled cooler and was returned back to the fridge at about 8:00 PM Sunday. The bag in question never was opened or left the cooler at the game. Try getting 16 guys to coordinate a menu, we had waaay to much food!

I wish I could say we could eat it all now, but the bag has a full 8 pound butt's worth of meat in it, and there's only 3 of us here at home. We have been making sandwiches with it, but we've hardly made a dent.

This was my third butt cook, and with all the great knowledge here, it was once again a big success!

Thanks as always,
Mark

EDIT: I would be freezing several meal size bags from the big bag, and they would go from the freezer to boiling water to reheat, so they wouldn't be in the danger zone for very long post freezing

 

[Bill Hays]

This is what has worked for me and may not be in conformance with the powers to be..

I’ve gone 3 days many times in a colder fridge (33-36º) so I think that under your circumstances, you would be ok. When I freeze, I always do so in meal sized vac pac bags (1 to 1.5 lb for our family) and reheat in the microwave although most do so in simmering water ~ Never had an issue.

 

[D Reinknecht]

If you had some ice left in the cooler when you removed the bag you should be fine. If your unsure...drop it at my house and I'll eat it

1 Weber Genesis Silver C
1 Weber Smoker mountain
1 Weber Kettle

 

[K Kruger]

A critical control point in this circumstance is rapid cooling once the meat is pulled. This minimizes growth of any heat resistant bacteria left over from cooking and growth or outgrowth of any bacteria the meat might have picked up during pulling (an errant sneeze or handling of the meat bare-skinned can do this--especially in regards to the tranfer of Staph--as can placing the meat on a contaminated surface, etc.). Cooling pulled pork quickly is accomplished easily by putting it shallowly into shallow pans and fridging, placing it in bags and then flattening out the bags and fridging (in both cases you can spped cooling by placing the pan or packages in the freezer for a bit first), or by packing and placing in an ice water bath to start the process moving along.

If the pork is chilled quickly and kept chilled (it makes little difference if this is in a fridge or a cold cooler) growth of pathogenic bacteria is rarely a concern. (As time passes though, spoilage bacteria and oxidation are the issues. It's those that most contribute to off odors and tastes.)

Not that you necessarily would, but if the plan was to thaw and serve the pork chilled--as part of a salad, say--then you'd thaw, prep and serve. If the plan was to serve hot, then you'd heat thoroughly (all parts over 130F; the FDA says 165 and the food code reflects this and if you're subject to the code you have to follow the 165 temp but there is no scientific basis for this). In either case, serving chilled or hot, if you don't keep the cold food cold (in an iced bowl, say) or the hot food hot (in a chafer, e.g.) then this is wherer the 4-hour rule kicks in and the food should be consumed within 4 hours (less time, really, if ambient conditions--an outside summer picnic, say--means the food is going to end up in the 85-95F range rather quickly).