What is best to smoke ahead of time

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Barry

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Hi all,

Looking for some expert input. I have been asked to smoke something to bring to work. Unfortunately, the event is being planned for a Wednesday and realistically I have to do the smoke on the weekend.

What would be best - ribs, brisket or pulled pork - to smoke on the weekend and bring in on Wednesday? How would I properly store it? Also, the reheating method will be sternos and I will not have access to an oven.

Thanks in advance
 
Its all good reheated, but my choice is always pulled pork for crowds. Love the stuff! If you can get your hands on a small microwave it will be perfect with the sterno to keep it warm, or a small hot plate will work well. Sterno is really for keeping things warm, not for reheating. Not saying you cant though. Good luck!
 
Thanks Dale.

If I understand you correctly, what I should do is heat the pulled pork in the microwave then transfer it to the sterno to keep it warm for serving? if that is the case, what recommendation would you give for heating in the microwave? I do have access to one and I was hoping someone would recommend pulled pork.

Also, should i leave it in the fridge between Sunday and Wednesday or should I put it in the freezer and take it out on tuesday and let it defrost at that point?

Thanks in advance
 
For work, I'd go with a crock pot. You can bring it in the morning to work and heat the pork during the day. (No one will get any morning work done.
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If you've vac packed the pulled pork, boiling water works great (leave the bag sealed).
 
If you use a microwave, I would heat in batches of 1-2 lbs at a time. It doest take much to heat Pulled Pork in one. Just a couple miutes will do. Then use a preheated chafer to serve the meat from. Works well. I have used ovens, crockpots, stove tops, and all of these work but foodsaver bags boiled in water is the best, and my 2nd choice is the microwave. But that is just my choice. Be carful if you use the microwave, PP heats amazingly fast in them.
 
Thanks Dale. The microwave is all that i will have access to so that is what i will have to use.

I don't have a foodsaver, so what would you recommend the best way to freeze it? I plan to freeze it from Sunday night to Monday night, then let it defrost in the refrig till Wednesday morning when i bring it in.
 
Barry, I agree with the pulled pork but you may want to consider beef. If you can get bottom round on sale it cooks up on the WSM in about 3 1/2 hours with minimal work.Rub it down with pepper,salt, onion powder,and garlic powder. Bring the internal to about 155. Let it sit for about half hour and you've got some mighty fine eating. You can slice it with a sharp knife or if you have an electric slicer make more uniform cuts.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I don't have a foodsaver, so what would you recommend the best way to freeze it? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

See here. Instead of packing and placing in the fridge the packs could go into the freezer instead.
 
Pork would be my choice. But I do catering for a living and many crowds prefer beef. Chuck roll is actually cheaper per pound than pork shoulder when you calculate on cooked weight not raw weight.

10+ Pounds of 200F pork should stay above 140f for 4+ hours if you use a small well insulated cooler.
 
If you are going to microwave it, I have had the best success using a low power (30%). I realize that you are giving up the speed benefit of a microwave at this power level, however, I find the heating more even.
 
When speaking of reheating a few portion's-worth, the microwave is both adequate and timesaving. Using a full-sized microwave oven, a pound or so of pulled pork in a Pyrex dish, nuked at 30% power a minute at a time, will be warm and ready to eat in as little as three minutes.
 
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