Work Potluck


 
R

R.Graves

New member
I was planning on making pulled pork for a work potluck next week. Was going to get the two pack from Costco as the meat source. My question is:

If I were to pull around 11 a.m. and serve for two hours in a covered aluminum foil pan, would I have to worry about the meat going bad? Or should I buy a food warmer with the gel cans? I don't want to get any body sick.

Thanks,

Ryan
 
Do you have access to a Nesco roaster or a crock pot Ryan? Those are good ways to make sure you keep the food in the safe zone.

Another idea would be to keep one of the butts whole, wrapped in foil and held in a cooler until you need it and pull it then.
 
From a strict food safety perspective, pork pulled and left out in aluminum pans for service will sit in the "danger zone" of 40-140 degrees F for quite some time so there is cause for concern.

Practically, I think if you keep it hot until service, pull on the spot, and serve from there, there's not a lot to worry about re: getting people sick in the 90 minutes to two hours the food sits out for service.

I'm a little looser with food safety than some on this site, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Also, once the food sits out for x hours you probably want to either make sure all of it gets eaten, or don't try to save the leftovers, because that's where you will really get into trouble from a bacteria/toxin perspective.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">From a strict food safety perspective, pork pulled and left out in aluminum pans for service will sit in the "danger zone" of 40-140 degrees F for quite some time so there is cause for concern. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
If pork is pulled while hot them immediately served there isn't a concern - even if not held hot - for at least 2 hours (actually, likely, more), as long as proper safety precautions are taken from the moment the pork is done till the moment serving is completed. Any uneaten food must be discarded at that point, as you correctly note.

The problem here isn't so much one of pathogens, as I see it, but one of quality and palatability. As the pork cools it's less desirable.
 
It's been a while since I took the Serve-Safe class, but the rule of thumb for unsafe food is 4 hours in the 40-140 degree danger zone. I imagine if you pull them one butt at a time then you shouldn't have any problem.
 
"If I were to pull around 11 a.m. and serve for two hours in a covered aluminum foil pan, would I have to worry about the meat going bad?"

Pulled and directly out for service for only 2 hours? IMO, no problem.

As already mentioned, it's not just 'below 140º' but 'below 140º for X hours'.

As Clark noted, one of those $50 18~22qt electic roasters would work well. I got one of those Crock Pot BBQ PIT Roasters a couple of years ago at 50% off and it works great.

BTW, if you do go with the service pan and gel burner, you'll need to double-pan it if you don't use water. I've seen flames burn through a single pan.
 
Actually, it's 130, not 140, for the top end of the Danger Zone. (It's 'legally' 135 - but that's based on a political compromise, not reality.) And, actually, many variables come into play when determining the sustained safety (or its lack) of served foods. Some might be fine for 4 hours, some significantly longer, some less than half that time.

ServSafe teaches the dumbed down, consumer oriented USDA/FDA guidelines. I suppose it's better than nothing but I for one would expect something more science- and reality-based from an organization certifying current and would-be food service professionals in safe food practices.
 
Thanks for all of the great information. I think I'm going to go the route of pulling one butt at a time.

~Ryan
 
If it were me, I would cook before the potluck and put the food in the fridge. On the day of the potluck, put the pork in a slow cooker, take it to work, and plug it in. The pulled pork will be hot and delicious by lunch time. Why make things more complicated? you can't time a pork butt if cooking the same day.
 
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