Safely cooling pulled pork


 
PeterD

PeterD

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Hi all,
In anticipation of my first butt cook something else cropped up in that which passes for my mind. After watching a couple of episodes of Kitchen Nightmares a big no-no seems to be refrigerating hot food after preparation, risking infection as it cools through the danger zone.

How should I treat my Q in this regard. As mentioned in an earlier thread, I will be doing a butt on Monday but only eating about a pound's worth of meat between my better half and me; the rest is to be portioned-out to foodsaver bags, a couple left in the fridge for the next day or two and the rest frozen.

Once the butt is finished, I will allow it to rest in foil or a cooler for about an hour or so, then pull. After setting aside the portion to be eaten for supper how can I safely handle the leftovers in preparation for food-savering? I'd have thought they'd go straight into the fridge but if I understand correctly, that's not a Good Thing. How should I proceed?

Thanks in advance once again.
 
I wouldn't put it in the fridge hot, but I think you're fine if you put it in warm. After you're done pulling it, let the batch you're going to put in the fridge cool down for maybe 20-30 min or so. After you pull it, the heat will dissipate rather quickly.
 
It should cool pretty quickly once pulled since there's a lot of surface area to dissipate heat. You'd have more of a concern unpulled, like I did last week when a cook ran really long. I ended up using my bear claws to rip a 10 lb. butt into 4 or 5 chunks so I could refrigerate it and go to bed.
 
Agree with what everyone else said just with the addition of make sure it is in a nice thin layer and not a bowl so it cools evenly, spreading it on a sheet pan to cool before tupperware is a good idea.

Clark
 
So to understand correctly, these best thing I should do is spread the pulled pork out on a tray (in a cat-free location such as an un-heated oven) until it's only slightly warm to the touch, then put it in tupperware in the fridge, yes? Packing in for deep storage would likely occur the following morning or last thing that night.

Also, is budgeting 2-hours per pound a good starting point? I'm going to look for the smallest butt they have, but I'm guessing that's still in the 7 to 8# range, so about 16 hours in total? I'm planning for dinner at 6 or 7pm, give or take a bit.
 
Sounds fine, I probably wouldn't want to use the oven (just because they are insulated), the counter is ok (for an hour or two until it is cool) assuming it's clean and the cats can't get at it! Then just toss it in the bags and fridge or freeze it.

That would be a good plan, you'll probably be done early but that's a good situation, just foil, wrap in towels and toss it in a cooler, the microwave or the oven (All off of course!).

Clark
 
I really have to disagree here. The longer food sits at a "warm" temperature, the greater chance you have of bacteria growing.

The board of health calls leaving food out a "Critical Violation" and will be more than happy to fine or shut down any restaurant they find doing that.
 
As per the above, lay the pulled meat on sheet pans no more than about an inch high. You can put the sheets in the freezer for a while to cool them. Leaving an inch or so layer of pulled pork out for, lets say, an hour is perfectly fine. Then package and fridge or freeze. Not enough time for the meat to get tainted. Just handle it with clean utensils
 
Not entirely true Phil, check out the USDA.

Basically they are saying it is safe to leave freshly cooked food out for two hours before refridgerating it. This is also the advice given here as a maximum, with the goal of having the pork spread in a thing layer to cool it faster and get it in the fridge.

Clark
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Phil S:
I really have to disagree here. The longer food sits at a "warm" temperature, the greater chance you have of bacteria growing.

The board of health calls leaving food out a "Critical Violation" and will be more than happy to fine or shut down any restaurant they find doing that. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Phil,

You're exactly right, but the problem you're trying to avoid is keeping food in the danger zone* for an extended period of time in your refrigerator. (The danger zone is 40-140 degrees for 4 hours or more.)

Think of a sealed kettle of hot soup put directly in your fridge. It will stay hot at the center for hours.

On the other hand, if you split the soup up into open quart containers they will dissipate heat much more quickly, and then you'll be able to chill them rapidly (and sealed) in the fridge.

In case you were wondering, I'm really no expert but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express recently.
 
As for cooling on the counter, America's Test Kitchen did a test on cooling down hot meat on the counter and in the refrigerator. In their test, it took the EXACT same amount of time for the meat to get to 85 degrees via either method. However, in doing so you raise the temp of your refrigerator thereby possible raising the temp of other foods in the refrigerator.

If you have an extra refrigerator with nothing that would spoil, you would be fine to put it in there. Otherwise, lay it out in a thin layer to cool quickly. If you are putting it in a pan, place a cooking rack / cookie rack underneath the pan to allow air flow below.
 
I like to just get the job done so I pack the meat in a inch thick or so layer in a ziplock gallon bag and submerge it in an ice water bath while I pull the next butt. By the time I'm done the meat is ice cold and ready for the fridge or foodsaver, and being that cold makes it much easier to foodsaver.
 
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