Re-Heating Pulled Pork


 
S

SteveB

New member
Wow, this site is amazing. I can't believe how much info I've gained just surfing through the topics.

I picked up my new 18.5 last weekend and preparing for my first smoke. I'm making pulled pork for 35 people on Saturday. From what I've read so far, I'll need three Butts overnight using the Minion Method. My only other experience was using a larger Brinkman grill which required a lot of temperature control. So it makes me a little nervous to do my first smoke overnight, but I'm counting on the steadiness of the WSM and the forgiveness of the Butt. It also helps that I have an ET-73 so I can have some temperature alarms bedside.

Getting to my question... if the meat comes off early, I understand I can wrap it in foil and towels and place it in a cooler. Do I pull it just before serving? And what is a good way to re-heat without drying it out?

Thanks in advance for your help.

-=Steve
 
It will stay warmer longer if whole,
to reheat already pulled pork , I put in a pan slash sone apple juice ( orange works in a pinch)cover the pan tightly with foil & reheat @ 250F in a oven>
 
Steve, you have arrived, Welcome. The butt will stay hot for 2-3 hrs perhaps more if wrapped in foil and bath towels and put in a warm cooler or Cambro. I would time my service with these times in mind and pull you pork prior to service. If you need to rewarm meat then an oven at approx 250 degrees will do it. For longer storage I highly recommend a food saver. Food saver packages can be re heated by placing in a pot of hot water.
Enjoy your cook. The guests will love it.

Mark
 
Great! Thank you!

I understand that the top grate runs hotter than the bottom. With three Butts, should I put two on the top or the bottom?

-=Steve
 
Steve, welcome. I've done the "double foil, towels, cooler" maneuver for over five hours before and pork was plenty warm when I removed it from the cooler. It'll be warm to slightly hot to the touch even after that long.

I would allow for plenty of time to make SURE that you can wrap the butts and allow them to rest, rather than bumping up against serving time with butts that aren't ready to come off the smoker yet. And don't worry about them cooling off if you take them off early.

If you're really worried about them not being warm after an extended period, I would just remove them from the cooler and towels and throw them in the oven at 175 or 200 in their foil wrapped state about 20-30 minutes before pulling to serve. I wouldn't pull them until you're ready to serve.

That's just me though. I wouldn't pull the pork early. As someone said, it stays warmer as a whole butt. And especially if wrapped in foil as a whole. It's also part of the spectacle to reveal and pull the perfectly cooked butts before your friends and family.
 
As already mentioned, foiled/toweled/coolered butts will keep for hours. My longest was about 4 hours and was still a bit hot to pull by hand.

If you're going to refrigerate, pull first. I reheat large amounts in covered foil pans in a low oven with a little finishing sauce.

It doesn't really matter which grate you use. Not all butts will cook the same, depends upon the amount of rendering needed.

Figure about 2 hrs/lb for the heaviest butt @ 250º + about 2 hrs hold time and you should be fine.
 
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