# Advice on reheating pulled pork.



## crewcab4x4

Need some advice on reheating 4 butts worth of pulled pork? I'm going to smoke 4 butts for my cousins graduation party,and I was planning on doing them the day before. I was wondering what would be the best way to reheat the pulled pork without drying it out? We have several roasters or crockpots? I have only smoked butts which around here go for about 1.39 to 1.49 a #. I can get bone in picnic roast for a 1.18 a #. Just wondering preference for the finished product butt vs. picnic. 

Thanks Jason


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## creative rock

I have a couple of crockpots just for that reason, I set them to warm, and if I notice them drying out I have added apple juice and mixed well. I guess if you are using a finishing sauce that might be better to keep moist.

Excellent information here at Virginia Cooperative Extension

Matt
aka Rocky


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## the dude abides

If it's already pulled you could cover the tray/pan with tin foil and reheat in a 225* degree oven.  For how long?  That all depends on if it's all in one pan or not.


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## pineywoods

Personally I save the juice and defat it and add that back to the pork. Then when I get ready to reheat I add finishing sauce and foil the pan and either into an oven at 225 or back on the smoker at 225. I use the large throw away aluminum roasting pans then just cover them tight with foil.


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## surfer_e

OHHHHH!  Let me tell you a horror story.  My wife's whole family came down for a visit.  There were lots of people so they rented a condo.  So to welcome the "northers" to the "south"  I smoked up some meat.  I smoked ribs chicken and two pork shoulders.  The family LOVED the Q.  The next day they decided to "reheat" the pulled pork.  After work I arrived to the condo to a horrible sight. They had taken the pork and dumped it in a pot and then dumped in TWO bottled of KRAFT BBQ sauce.  Oh and did I mention that they had it SIMMERING!  AHHHHHHHH!  The meat was stringy and limp and coated with this sick sweet Kraft sauce.  

But you know the worst part.  I mean the really bad part, they actually liked it that way.


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## seenred

I do about the same thing Piney does.  If you save all the juice to add back after you pull it, then add your finishing sauce before you reheat it, it'll come out like it just came off the smoker, tender and juicy.


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## travcoman45

In my experience the picnic has more flavor then the butt, but the picnic doesn't yeild as much product as a butt. Fer large groups I buy both an mix.

Fer caterin, I place the meat in a roaster an rewarm that way, usin some saved juices fer keepin it moist. ALWAYS heat to over 140* an maintain that temp!

Keep the lid on, saves it from dryin out. Ya can use chafer pans to, just watch yer temps, don't wan't it gettin to hot which will dry it out an over cook it an ya gotta stay ABOVE 140*.

Apple juice will work as a moisturizer as well. Ya gotta watch how much finishin sauce ya add, cause it will continue to break down the meat, I add some durin pullin an then put a bottle out fer the folk ta add more ifin they choose to.

Long term storage, I put the meat in vac bags, then put on a big pot a water an bring ta a boil, turn it off an put the packs in it till they reach 140*. Nice an juicy!

Good luck.


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## tasunkawitko

>>>Long term storage, I put the meat in vac bags, then put on a big pot a water an bring ta a boil, turn it off an put the packs in it till they reach 140*. Nice an juicy<<<

bingo!


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## blacklab

Yep a crock pot or dutch oven works great. Never used a roaster so I can't say, but why wouldn't it. As said earlier defat juice then add to your pork. Also give yourself plenty of time to reheat. It takes a while comming from the frig to 140* especialy in a crock or a 225 or 250 oven. Enjoy


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## crewcab4x4

Thanks for all the help everybody. I know how my butts turn out for eatin right away, but I wanted some advice on reheating forthe same quality. Thanks again piney, travcoman,rocky, dude, blacklab ,and every body else for the great advic for my cousins graduation party. 

Sorry surfer that your family dumped a bunch of sauce on your que and toasted the smoke flavor.

Jason


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## the dude abides

Good luck.  Keep us updated on your progress.


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## scubadoo97

What a sad story.  At least they enjoyed it


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## chadtower

I can beat that.  A few days after my first bulk smoke (4 butts) I came home from work to find my wife heating _all of it_ in the microwave.  12 hours of work down the drain!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Even worse is that she still claims there is no difference and can't figure out why I'll "do all that work when you could buy some Lloyd's".


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## squib

ok i have got a great way to reheat.  Get a pot, some apple juice and a veggie steamer basket.  get the apple juice to a boil (about 1 cup) and steam the pork until heated.  about 3 minutes.  It works great, and doesn't dry out the meat.


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## moon dog

Thanks for this thread.....so what is the best way to "Save All the Juice" so I can add it back when reheating for the big event the next day.

Thanks.

Moon Dog


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## jayxan

I have a question I was hoping to get some help with. Yesterday I smoked 2 butts (close to 17 lbs). Pulled it and place in a large aluminum pan. I added some BBQ sauce cut w/apple juice, and pork juice via sprayer. It's sitting in the frig wrapped tight. I plan on serving tomorrow for lunch but given my circumstances my question is... Can i reheat the pork in my oven at 170 (lowest setting on my oven) for about 2 hours w/o drying it out?


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## tropics

Jayxan said:


> I have a question I was hoping to get some help with. Yesterday I smoked 2 butts (close to 17 lbs). Pulled it and place in a large aluminum pan. I added some BBQ sauce cut w/apple juice, and pork juice via sprayer. It's sitting in the frig wrapped tight. I plan on serving tomorrow for lunch but given my circumstances my question is... Can i reheat the pork in my oven at 170 (lowest setting on my oven) for about 2 hours w/o drying it out?


Jay I would use a higher temp and foil the top of the pans,check out JJs finishing sauce 

Richie


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## travisty

In my experience the best way to store and reheat any BBQ, ESPECIALLY pulled port is to Vacuum seal it when its pulled then the next day place the vac bag (still sealed) into a pot of boiling water for a few minutes, or into a crock pot filled with warm water on the low setting (then it will take a couple hours to come to heat).

Another thing I have done 2 or 4 times if that isn't an option is to store the meat tightly like you mentioned, then the next day I put it into one of the crock pot liner bags, you can also store it in the line bag over night (you can buy these at most grocery stores) and tie up the top, then put that into either crock pot on low, or into the oven on the lowest setting. To keep the best flavor I think it needs to be sealed up the entire time, not just for the moisture but it may also absorb other flavors since the moisture level is so high. The first time I smoked a butt for a work party I stored it in the fridge loosely (though I thought it was plenty tight), then reheated in a crock pot, and though it wasn't dry because I added sauce and apple juice it had taken on a sort of strange refrigerator flavor, and clearly tasted like leftovers to me, even though perhaps others dindt notice or at least say anything.

I worked in the culinary field for many years and this is a common practice for reheating things, (vac seal and boil) there are even several BBQ joints in the US who seal up your BBQ leftovers for you with the instruction to boil it the next day. I now do that method 100% of the time and get excellent results, if it is sealed up the whole time, it will taste like it just came off of the pit. Just keep in mind that aluminum foil isn't a great seal because it doesn't seal around the edges and clear plastic wrap is actually not a great seal either because it is so thin unless you use several layers.

Also if you have saved some of the runoff juice from the cook, you can add it back in to get the moisture up if needed, and as others mentioned, you can just use something like apple juice or BBQ sauce to moisten it up if needed as well.


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## travisty

Jayxan said:


> I have a question I was hoping to get some help with. Yesterday I smoked 2 butts (close to 17 lbs). Pulled it and place in a large aluminum pan. I added some BBQ sauce cut w/apple juice, and pork juice via sprayer. It's sitting in the frig wrapped tight. I plan on serving tomorrow for lunch but given my circumstances my question is... Can i reheat the pork in my oven at 170 (lowest setting on my oven) for about 2 hours w/o drying it out?


Oh and I was so wrapped up in my passionate response to avoiding dry meat that I didn't really answer your question since it is already "the next day". I agree with Tropics, since it isn't sealed I would go higher on the temp to get it warm faster, then add some moisture with sauce and/or juice if needed.


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## jayxan

Richie/Trav thanks a lot for the advice! 

I've never vac sealed before because I usually cook for the party right then. Honestly this is my 1st "the 2nd day after" feels weird.. LOL I will definitely start doing that now that I've been receiving more requests off weekend. Also, yeah I checked out JJ's finishing sauce. Never used it but it sounds amazing. Gonna mix up a batch tonight and try it out.

Thanks guys!! I'll let you guys know how it goes down!

Jay


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## jayxan

Well.. It was a hit!! My buddy at work did the same thing and we fed about about 60 heads!! I foiled and started at 240 deg and worked my way up to 350 over and hours time. I didn't have all the goodies for JJs finishing sauce so I used Soflaquer's recipe.. Really banged it outta the park with that one! That said though when I get a bit more prep time I'm going to try JJs! It really sounds amazing! Can't imagine how it tastes!!

Anyway just want to say thanks for helping a brother out!!

Happy smoking,

Jay


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## travisty

Jayxan said:


> Well.. It was a hit!! My buddy at work did the same thing and we fed about about 60 heads!! I foiled and started at 240 deg and worked my way up to 350 over and hours time. I didn't have all the goodies for JJs finishing sauce so I used Soflaquer's recipe.. Really banged it outta the park with that one! That said though when I get a bit more prep time I'm going to try JJs! It really sounds amazing! Can't imagine how it tastes!!
> 
> Anyway just want to say thanks for helping a brother out!!
> 
> Happy smoking,
> 
> Jay


Nice! did you snap any pictures?


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## jayxan

You know it!! Topped it all off with a drizzle of some good ol fashion Kentucky bourbon BBQ sauce! Man I love this stuff.

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## tropics

All I can Say is








Richie


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## jayxan

Thanks man!!


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## hoity toit

everyone is steering you in the right direction.


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## smokeymose

Surfer_E said:


> OHHHHH! Let me tell you a horror story. My wife's whole family came down for a visit. There were lots of people so they rented a condo. So to welcome the "northers" to the "south" I smoked up some meat. I smoked ribs chicken and two pork shoulders. The family LOVED the Q. The next day they decided to "reheat" the pulled pork. After work I arrived to the condo to a horrible sight. They had taken the pork and dumped it in a pot and then dumped in TWO bottled of KRAFT BBQ sauce. Oh and did I mention that they had it SIMMERING! AHHHHHHHH! The meat was stringy and limp and coated with this sick sweet Kraft sauce.
> 
> 
> But you know the worst part. I mean the really bad part, they actually liked it that way. :eek:


Trust me, surfer, all northers aren't like that, but most think of Bar-B-Que as being sauced. I feel your pain, though. I recently made some Boudin for the first time and was so proud of it, I gave some to a co-worker. He called me a couple days later to tell me they made spaghetti with it and it was great!:th_crybaby2:


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## lovelife

Great thread and thanks to everyones input.

I have a question, when I reheat PP in either water or a throw away aluminum pan in the oven, how do I measure the meat temp. when it's already pulled?


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## travisty

LoveLife said:


> Great thread and thanks to everyones input.
> 
> I have a question, when I reheat PP in either water or a throw away aluminum pan in the oven, how do I measure the meat temp. when it's already pulled?


Just stick your therm in the middle of the pork in a few places to get a good idea. It also may be safe and easy enough to just go with a timed sort of reheat.


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## lovelife

Travisty said:


> Just stick your therm in the middle of the pork in a few places to get a good idea. It also may be safe and easy enough to just go with a timed sort of reheat.


Thanks for the reply.

How about the sealed bags in the simmering water? :)


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## smokin phil

.


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## hardcookin

I have reheated pulled pork on my Blackstone griddle. Just mix some of the juice from the cook with the pulled pork and reheat on the BS = fast and easy.


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## smokeymose

LoveLife said:


> Great thread and thanks to everyones input.
> 
> 
> I have a question, when I reheat PP in either water or a throw away aluminum pan in the oven, how do I measure the meat temp. when it's already pulled?


It's already cooked, right? Why worry about the temp? Heat it to where you like to eat it...


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## lovelife

SmokeyMose said:


> It's already cooked, right? Why worry about the temp? Heat it to where you like to eat it...


Thanks for your reply.

The temp is relevant because after a certain temp you're drying out the meat :)


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## mike mccormack

LMAO! Figures right!


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## smokeymose

LoveLife said:


> Thanks for your reply.
> 
> The temp is relevant because after a certain temp you're drying out the meat :)


Sorry, I somehow missed re-heating in the oven. I always nuke to warm. You're right, it could dry out a little.


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## endo129

LoveLife said:


> Thanks for your reply.
> 
> The temp is relevant because after a certain temp you're drying out the meat :)



What is that temp? What does one want to shoot for when reheating in oven?


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## lovelife

140F is necessary so that bacteria don't have a chance to grow. Lot of people shoot for 165F because you never consume it right that second. But you could adjust it depending on if you have to take the food someplace or if you eat it at home with your family etc. But def heat it to above 140F


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## endo129

And what's a ball park on time people find for say a pulled 6 lb butt? 250 for 2 hours? 350 for one?

Thanks


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## cliffcarter

Covered in a foiled pan with or without sauce(I would sauce because it will get a bit dry) for 45-60 minutes at 300°. Check at 30 minutes and then at 15 minute intervals.


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## endo129

cliffcarter said:


> Covered in a foiled pan with or without sauce(I would sauce because it will get a bit dry) for 45-60 minutes at 250°. Check at 30 minutes and then at 15 minute intervals.



Thanks! Life saver. Got it in there now at 250 and was flying blind. Hoping to have two pans of 6lb ers done by noon.


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## cliffcarter

Endo129 said:


> Thanks! Life saver. Got it in there now at 250 and was flying blind. Hoping to have two pans of 6lb ers done by noon.


Just rethought the earlier temp, because it's been over a year since I did a reheat, 300° may be better advice IMHO. Two 6 pound pans will take longer because you have doubled the mass, you can go up to 350°, but I would watch it closely so it does not dry out.


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## thatch11

Much like the original question I have smoked pork butt for a graduation party next weekend.  I have sealed it and froze my pulled meat.  Does these methods still apply?


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## cliffcarter

Yes, but thaw the meat first.


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## bbstucki

I learned this from making carnitas (mexican pulled pork) for tacos.  Pulled pork has a lot of moisture left.  After the first meal, I store leftovers in a freezer ziplock and put a ladle full of drippings in the bag to make sure its stays moist.  When i reheat, I spread the meat out on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven to broil (500 degrees) about 5-10 minutes.  The meat gets hot quick but doesn't dump all the moisture.  The tips start to sizzle and crisp.  The result is amazing. The meat is still fall apart moist but you have those slightly crisp caramelized tips from the broiler.  I LOVE my pulled pork leftovers this way. It maybe even better than the first meal.


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## Krusatyr

moon dog said:


> Thanks for this thread.....so what is the best way to "Save All the Juice" so I can add it back when reheating for the big event the next day.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Moon Dog


*
I boiled the smoked butt bone* with some salt, onion and celery for two hours.  This created gelatinous bone stock which I subsequently refrigerated to create a removable fat layer at the top.  I used some of this stock for cooking fresh black eyed pea succotash, but may also use it moisten my left over pulled pork tonight successfully.

Some use the drippings that fall into a grease pan beneath the meat, but I don't trust that and throw it away.


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## hannahlee

In my opinion, there are 4 ways to reheat pulled pork. But for me, I prefer use slow cooker for reheating pulled pork. This might take longer than other ways but can keep original flavor of your meat. https://nomealnohealth.com/how-to-reheat-pulled-pork/

You can learn that in the link that I attached above. *Enjoy cooking!!!*


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