Trial by fire

porking · Jun 26, 2011

New member looking for advice. I am planning to smoke 5 butts for pulled pork sandwiches for a large party and I have never done it before. I have been reading much on this site for basics and find it all very helpful. But I have a problem in that I will be preparing the meat at home, and then transporting it 200 miles to the party site. Should I leave them whole until I get there, then reheat and pull them apart? Or should I pull them apart beforehand? If so, is it ok to freeze the shredded meat and then reheat? I'm probably crazy for trying this, but I'm hoping I can pull it off (no pun intended!

). Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

ellymae · Jun 26, 2011

1) Welcome to the party - head on over to Roll Call and introduce yourself.

2) What you cooking on?

3) When you cooking it?

4) What kind of facilities are you going to have at the party site and what's your time frame while there?

If it were me, I would cook it ahead of time, pull it while it is still warm then vacuum seal it and toss it in the freezer. You have a lot of ways to reheat it - many folks will boil it in the sealed vacuum bag, others reheat it in a slow oven, some folks put it in a crock pot or in chafing disheswith a little liquid of their choice. Nothing wrong with reheating Q.

If you choose to cook it and leave it whole before reheating, then you have to get it back up to pulling temp and tenderness - somewhere north of 190 - that can take some time in a slow oven - and you run the risk of things drying out.

That's my $0.02, I am confident someone more knowlegable then me will wander in and give you their thoughts. Good luck and have fun!

fpnmf · Jun 26, 2011

Welcome..

This site has tons of info.

I would suggest you spend some time reading all the different forums and the WIKIs.

Then use the handy dandy search tool for specific interests!!

Take the awesome free E-Course!!!

Have a great day!!!

Craig
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/wiki/about-jeffs-5-day-ecourse
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/wiki/basic-pulled-pork-smoke
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/wiki/finishing-sauce-for-pulled-pork-by-soflaquer
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/82034/how-to-post-qview-to-smf
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?736-Curing-Salts
http://www.educationbug.org/a/marinate-vs--marinade.html

porking · Jun 26, 2011

Well, I have a new Bradley digital smoker coming with hickory bisquits. I'll be cooking it this Wednesday and Thursday and our party is Saturday evening (not sure if I can get all 5 in at one time). We have a great commercial range at the site and a 18qt Nesco to serve it in buffet style. I'm envisioning a good experience - power of positive thinking!

michael ark · Jun 26, 2011

Let me get this right 5 boston butts.200 miles travle time and you never smoked on this smoker before or smoked pork butts. Thats a little pressure. I would practice on one too get to know the smoker.Freeze it and add it to the 4 you do later.Good luck

SmokinAl · Jul 1, 2011

I'm with Elly, pull it, vac seal it, freeze it. Then reheat with finishing sauce on Saturday.

sqwib · Jul 1, 2011

Considering this is a maiden voyage I have to concur with the above posts.

Smoke it
Shred it
Partially freeze in vac bags, to keep juices from sucking out WHEN VAC SEALING
Vacuum seal, place in freezer, Label and Date

Place in cooler with ice for trip
Pack a large pot, chaffing dishes and finishing sauce
Arrive 2 hours early
Boil large pot of water and drop in vac sealed PP bags, Turn off burner
Prepare Chaffing dish with hot water, light Sterno
45 minutes to an hour later place pork in chaffing dish add a bit of finishing sauce.
Sit back and enjoy.

porking · Jul 27, 2011

For those of you kind enough to offer some suggestions, I thought you might like to know how it turned out. I smoked 5 pork butts in two flights to a temperature of between 145deg and 155deg in my new Bradley digital smoker, then wrapped in heavy duty foil to finish in the oven at 205deg +/-. the whole project took 2 1/2 days! I pulled them apart after letting them sit for an hour or so and it was a snap. I then placed the meat in ziploc bags, froze them, and transported them in a cooler. At the destination, they thawed for a day or so in the fridge before reheating them in boiling water, then to a Nesco for buffet service. (I couldn't believe how much natural juice remained in the meat.) I had two kinds of commercial BBQ sauce on the side, but most just ate it naked. EVERYONE was amazed at how good it was and superlatives flowed freely and endlessly. Needless to say, it was the hit of the party. The only thing I was disappointed in was that finishing in the oven in foil seemed to prevent the development of the "bark" on the outside. It seems like the moisture from the meat kind of steams the outside so the bark doesn't develop. Would finishing unwrapped fix this? (I like the crispy part.) Would that dry it out? Here's a pic to prove I really did it.

Rick

sqwib · Jul 27, 2011

Looks like bark to me, but with no rub.

No foil = more bark

Remove the fat cap and false cap = more surface area bark

sugar = darker crunchier bark

sugar can be rub and/or mop

porking · Jul 27, 2011

Actually, I forgot the part about the rub. I used Jeff's Naked Rub recipe. The color was great on the finished product, but there really was no crispiness to it. Tasted great anyway.

meateater · Jul 27, 2011

Looks great, sound like it was a hit.

oldschoolbbq · Jul 27, 2011

Porking,Butts are sooo easy.I like to put 4-5 at a time to stock-up and for friends.

I Smoke with wood only and once my lid is closed,it stays closed until my estimated time is at hand,then I open and go from there:

I would love to start a business but the regulations are too expensive for me

,but would enjoy being part of a Team.

have fun smoking and...

venture · Jul 27, 2011

I think butts are about as forgiving as anything I can think of to smoke. With a new smoker, travel time and all the logistics problems, a maiden voyage would have been in my plans. I hope everything turned out well.

Good luck and good smoking.

agent309 · Jul 29, 2011

michael ark said:
Let me get this right 5 boston butts.200 miles travle time and you never smoked on this smoker before or smoked pork butts. Thats a little pressure. I would practice on one too get to know the smoker.Freeze it and add it to the 4 you do later.Good luck

yea... right :) If he's anything like me, that "practice" butt is getting ate! He better plan on buying 6 if he tries that!

oldschoolbbq · Jul 29, 2011

Porking,I may have a bigger pit than you,but this is how I go about it;rub the night before,start and heat pit to 225* to 250*f place them in and close the lid.

Going by average weight of the bunch(5) mult. by 1.5 hrs. and leave the lid CLOSED until that time is up,here's how mine look just before the bones come out...

and my pit...

Havbe fun and...

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