Dry Pulled Pork

[dwolfpak]

So I have a huge event coming up serving pulled pork to a couple hundred people over several hours open house style. My plan is to smoke them the day before then pull and serve them in those big roasting cookers at church. My concern is letting the pork sit in a giant slow cooker to keep it warm over the 6 hr event, will slowly dry it out. I have a couple finishing sauces for people to use on there sandwiches, but is there any ideas to keep the pork in the roaster juicy for the long haul without bathing it in a finishing sauce that some people might not like?

I was at a wedding once that had pulled pork, and they had it being served in some sort of natural juice like an au juice. It had a great taste and kept the pork moist.

Any ideas?

 

[maple sticks]

How do you plan on doing the pork. Do you smoke and foil. Juices from foiling are great at keeping meat moist.

 

[alblancher]

I would add a bit of the finishing sauce to the pork in the crock pots.  Nobody doesn't like a touch of apple juice and splash of vinegar. 

Why not have it several ways with finishing sauce, with bbq sauce etc.    I would think its going to dry out no matter what you do if you hold it that long without added moisture. 

Keep most of it cool, as you run low start heating another batch.

 

[pgsmoker64]

Hmm.  Never had a problem with folks not liking my finishing sauce....

Course, I don't bathe it in the sauce, just enough to keep it moist is all  you need, and be sure to cover with foil and stir it every now and then.

Also, consider putting a pan of water in the cooker to keep the humidity up, which will help keep everything moist.

Good luck,

Bill

 

[dwolfpak]

Thanks for all the ideas guys.  Just to clarify, is there a difference between finishing sauce, and BBQ Sauce.  I guess when I said that, I meant some people (my wife for one) don't like BBQ sauce, but would rather have just plain juicy pork.

 

[seenred]

Thanks for all the ideas guys.  Just to clarify, is there a difference between finishing sauce, and BBQ Sauce.  I guess when I said that, I meant some people (my wife for one) don't like BBQ sauce, but would rather have just plain juicy pork.

Yes, finishing sauce is different than BBQ sauce. Here's a link to a very popular pulled pork finishing sauce recipe around here:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/51933/soflaquers-finishing-sauce-for-pulled-pork

Red

 

[dwolfpak]

Hey all, I had my big event today, and it turned out EPIC!!!  Several people asked if I catered and want me to do their grad parties.  I came up with a couple new BBQ sauces too that people want to buy!  A pineapple mango, and a SPICY pineapple mango with Habaneros.

I used the finishing sauce (it was amazing) and solved the dry out issue by storing the pulled pork in a giant cooler.  I put some fire bricks in the bottom to help hold the heat, and stacked up the chaffing tins in the cooler.  It kept it hot and moist all day!!!

By the sounds of it, I'm going to have a busy summer.  Next challenge, BRISKET!

Thanks again for helping my party turn out great.

Dan

 

[chestnutbloom]

Congrats!

 

[smoking b]

Sounds like you did a good job man!