Freezing pulled pork.

[yooper1217]

I will be smoking a bunch of pork butts for my daughter's graduation party. Due to time constraints, I think my only option is to cook them ahead of time, pull the meat, vacuum seal and freeze. I have done this in the past and it's always "ok", but not great. In the past I poured the rendered juices in with the meat before vacuum sealing, but I have heard that others freeze the juices separately and then add back to the meat when reheating. Also...how long is "too long" to keep frozen? The party is in 6 weeks. I would appreciate any input from the "pros". Thanks!

 

[civilsmoker]

I would suggest smoking to just under pulling INT (10 degrees less) then, vac seal without juices. Then reheat in boiling water still sealed in the Vac back, the reheat will finish the INT cook and then make a fresh finishing sauce to add when you pull it after the reheat..... you have a long time before too long frozen.... If you are really worried about it do a test cook this coming week, freeze a week then finish..... Just to vet the approach.

As an FYI, pros almost always do "a" or many test runs on new first time large cooks to dial in the timing, steps, flavors.....

I suspect when you have done your reheat on previous its getting over done and mushy.....But I'm guessing

Edit, btw my daughter has me do this for PP all the time. She buys one and I smoke it up and portion it in the sections (I trim some of the fat and connective tissue off the sections for her) then vac seal them in single serve portions. She eats on the over 6-8 weeks and then I do it again. I have done the same for chuck roast as well......

 

[JLinza]

The rendered juices would be great, I would probably freeze them separately and add it when I'm ready. A little apple juice or apple cider vinegar ( if it fits your flavor profile) would work after reheating too. And 6 weeks is fine in my opinion. We always freeze leftovers in our house and use them down the road. Good luck & keep us posted on the big cook. And congratulations to your daughter.

 

[normanaj]

After the smoke/vac seal/freeze part my approach is a little different.

I do vac seal the meat and juices and/or finishing sauce separately.If I'm reheating for supper/dinner time I'll take out both and throw them into a pot(s) of really cold water in the morning and leave out,by the it's time ready to start reheating they're both fully defrosted.At this point both get combined in a covered pot/pan and onto or into the heat source until hot with an occasional stir and dinner is soon served.Always comes out good.

Don't do pulled pork all that frequently but when I do I like extras! I've keep it in the freezer for many months without issue.Same goes for pulled or shredded beef which I hardly ever do these days.

 

[Florida Chris]

I pull and vac seal with the juices, maybe mix in a little ACV and extra rub prior to packaging. I've only done it twice but I ended up with at least a dozen quick freezer meals. Usually I'm too lazy to pull out the sous vide to reheat so I just put it in a pot of cold water, low heat, and monitor temps. When it hits around 180 I'll cut off the heat, cover, and let it sit for 15 minutes or so. Always been good moisture levels and flavor.

Now you reminded me, I have one package left that's been in the deep freeze for maybe 9 months. It will be dinner in the next few days!


ETA: Reheating this way usually takes 30-45 minutes from frozen on my gas stove , set at the lowest setting. And last time I did it was with a whole fresh picnic. Little bit more work with the skin, bones, and extra connective tissue but I think I like the flavor better than a butt. I like that darker "porky" meat from the other muscle groups mixed in.

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

I do this all the time when pulled pork goes on sale. I smoke 3-4 butts then pull them, make up some of JJ’s finishing sauce and mix it in. Seal them in vacuum pouches. Reheat in boiling water and I always have JJ’s sauce to mix some more in after I boil them to make it juicy again. I’ve frozen pork for probably 6+ months and after boiling and adding some of the finishing sauce in, I’m my opinion it tastes better than the day I smoked it!

JJ's Finishing Sauce...Awesome!!!

In the last couple of weeks I have made Pit Chicken twice per my families request. It occured to me the the Basting sauce, which is primarily Vinegar, would make a great Finishing Sauce for Pulled Pork... I modified the the recipe by removing the oil, there is enough fat in PP, and the Egg...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[jcam222]

I've done this a few times and will be doing 26 butts like this mid May. I store the pulled pork and juice separately. Vacuum seal the pork in gallon bags and store the hice in freezer quarts. I reheat in roaster pans and mix the nice in then. People always rave over it. I do make sure to have plenty of juice by doing full pans of Minors chicken broth below butts.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Yup I agree with the information given you and as said reheat in the bag.

Warren