To pull or not to pull?


 
A

Andrew Wands

TVWBB Member
Hello all! I am going to give a few Boston butts for a Christmas gift this year. How should I give them out? whole or pulled. I'd like to give them whole butts but dont want them to dry it out reheating...any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
The only problem I can think of when it comes to leaving the butts whole is getting them cool and out of the danger zone fast enough. Pulling and then freezing or cooling would be more efficient. If you plan on handing them out right out of the cooker, then I guess it's up to the people who recieve them how they treat it.
 
Are you going to give them out right away? A hot butt will keep a good 4~5 hours if wrapped well.

If giving them out right away, I'd give them out whole (unless the recepient might not want to pull themselves).

Otherwise, I would pull while hot then add a bit of finishing sauce before storing.

As Shane noted, cool-down could be an issue as well as reheating.

Persoanlly, I'd prefer to receive it already pulled.
 
I always give away pulled pork since I usually cook a 15-18 lb shoulder. I pull it for people and give them a side of sauce to go with it so they aren't ruining my pork with some crappy sauce they bought at a store.
It's almost time to do another since people are asking about their next "gift bag". I'm having a brisket craving though.
 
Thanks! I will be pulling then freezing. Any suggestions on a good vacuum sealer? Foodsaver work ok if im going to have a lot of meat to give out?

Thanks
 
When I do pork shoulders I do at least 2 at a time. I pull it all and simply put it in zip lock bags holding a couple of pounds each. As I need some a thaw and add a little sauce to finish it. Just used this method Saturday for a party and everyone went crazy eating it. Some added more sauce and others ate it just as I had finished it.

I have found that it does not stay in my freezer long enough to worry about fancy vacuum bags.
 
Agree with Mike.

A Foodsaver is nice but it's mostly for long-term storage. Unless the recipients have one too, it won't really do much good since they'll most likely open it right away.

Just get some "freezer" zip-top bags and a nice box.
 
I also zip lock. Put it in and give it a good squeeze to get the air out and zip it. I've stored it for 2-3 months this way and never had an issue.
 
I would agree that zip lock is probably good for the length of time that my pulled pork stays in the freezer, however, I like the vacuum packing so that I can re-heat the pull pork by throwing it in a pan of boiling water. I wouldn't trust a zip lock bag for that.

I have a cheap foodsaver and it works just fine. I pull the pork and then bag it 1 pound to a bag. Then when I want to eat it, I take the bag out of the freezer and put it in a pan of water. Let the water come to a boil plus about 10 minutes and when you open the bag, it's pretty much the same as when I first pulled it.
 
ok, its official. I am supposed to cook 8 butts to give out and they DO NOT want it pulled first. what is the best way to give them out whole??

thanks a bunch!
 
Andrew,

While I much prefer to cook butts on my WSM, for a Christmas goodie to each of my employees, I give them a pit cooked butt.
I use my pull behind custom smoker pit, and cook 16 butts at a time, each averaging 10 lbs or close to it.
When ready, I pull them and double wrap in heavy duty aluminum, then return to the warm grill so they can get a butt right off the pit. When the guest takes the butt, I put each one in a plastic grocery bag in case it tries to do any leaking. Letting them get a butt off the pit makes it more special.
If you are hand delevering yours, you can always put the foil wrapped butt in a large zip lock baggie. A one gal bag may be too small, so the 2.5 gal big bags will work for sure. This ensures th foil wont leak since it always seems to make a mess.
 
Andrew,

Are you going to give them out whole & hot?

I agree with the above post about cooling it off fast enough to get out of the danger zone, alhough the amount of time you have is probably more than you think.

I always cook a minimum of 2 butts, and when I don't need the second one I cool off whole. I wrap them in aluminum foil, put them in a 2.5 gallon zip lock, put them in the bottom of a large cooler, and cover with ice. Check your ice after awhile and replinish as needed. This is going to cool them down as fast as possible. Just make sure you seal the zip lock up really well.
 
Also, I think the "zip locks" are readily available at 2 gallons. I use the "hefty" brand that I can always find at 2.5 gallons.
 
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