Frozen BBQ.

[martin_b]

OK.. maybe an odd question but here we go..

Id love to try low and slow smoking a large brisket or maybe a whole pork shoulder however there is only the Mrs and I and we're both now pensioners (66+ & grumpy to my american friends), so there is no way we could eat it all in one sitting so most of it would have to be frozen and eaten as several meals in the weeks/months ahead.
So my question is what is the best/most versatile cut of meat I should be looking at?
BR Martin

 

[smokerjim]

Pulled pork freezes well, I have no experience with freezing brisket but I dont see why not.

 

[schlotz]

Heck yes you can freeze brisket. Only two of us here as well but I smoke whole packers all the time. We eat dinner then after it's completely cooled down I cut it into 1.5 Lb portions, vacuum pack and freeze. You can save what ever amount you want and reheat. We use our portions for smoked brisket chili which is great chili.

 

[sandyut]

Pulled pork, brisket, ribs all freeze well in a vacuum sealed bag. I usually make 3 racks of baby backs or two butts, or one big brisket at a time and seal up the left overs. Having cooked Q anytime you want it is money! Also good bribes for friends/fam when you need a favor. SIL will do almost anything for a pound of pulled pork.

 

[voyager 663rd]

Yup, freeze brisket all the time. 14lb meat (well, 7 lb after a smoke) will last a loooooooong time for 2 people.

Determine how much each person would eat at one (or two?) sittings. Freeze that amount.

My preferred method for brisket is thaw and then re-heat in a large frying pan with water covering half the meat / use a lid.

Re-heat for 2-3 minutes and it's as good as fresh IMO.

 

[sandyut]

Id love to try low and slow smoking a large brisket or maybe a whole pork shoulder

Regarding Low and Slow - its just slow. For big cuts like those, Hot and Fast is the key. 275 will make a perfect butt or brisket. Once I tried it I was totally over low and slow.

 

[tallbm]

OK.. maybe an odd question but here we go..

Id love to try low and slow smoking a large brisket or maybe a whole pork shoulder however there is only the Mrs and I and we're both now pensioners (66+ & grumpy to my american friends), so there is no way we could eat it all in one sitting so most of it would have to be frozen and eaten as several meals in the weeks/months ahead.
So my question is what is the best/most versatile cut of meat I should be looking at?
BR Martin

Hi there and welcome!

As others have mentioned, yep freezing works fine in almost all cases with BBQ. I do 2 pork butts or 2 briskets anytime I smoke so I can vac seal one. I'm 1 person but will eat on that stuff like crazy and share with anyone/everyone who comes to hang out :D

I find both pork butt/shoulder and whole packer briskets to be the same as most versatile. You can reheat and make bbq sandwiches, tacos, nachos, mac n cheese, etc.
Now with that said, pork butt is way more affordable AND more versatile before being cooked.

You can take a pork butt and cut pork steaks, smaller pork chops, cube portions for pork stir fry, grill strips as country style ribs, etc.

Now for storage, vacuum sealing is the way to go. You smoke a pork butt for pulled pork or a brisket for sliced/chopped brisket and AFTER you are done eating your fill for a few days you just vacuum seal the rest. It will freeze, store and reheat with ease. I usually just throw a vac sealed pack in the fridge the day before to desfrost and then the day of eating I just cut a tiny slit into the bag and microwave while in the bag so it steams up and heats very quickly. Then I pour out of the bag and boom all done and juicy and tender!


The trickiest part of all of this is having a reliable vacuum sealer. Vacuum sealers are probably the worst and crappiest devices I have ever encountered when it comes to them working well and/or lasting.
There is a sea of reports from people who buy $35-$200 vacuum sealers of all kinds and their failure rate and longevity is trash.
Basically if you aren't buying a $300+ Weston or LEM vacuum sealer then expect it to let you down and fail on you way faster than you would think.

In the past I purchased 2 of the $220'ish FoodSaver vacuum sealers and neither lasted a whole year. I bit the bullet and paid the money for my Weston Pro 2100 and it's been running without issue since 2012 or so.

Finally, a properly vac sealed pack of pulled pork or brisket will last you 2 years no problem, they do for me :D

 

[Florida Chris]

tallbm got you. I'm single and routinely smoke big chunks for meals down the road. Pulled pork seems to do exceptionally well, especially of you add a little flavor with juices from the cook or something like this:

SoFlaQuer's Finishing Sauce (For Pulled Pork)

I copied this to a separate post due to the requests for it! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Finishing Sauce I use is as follows: 1 Cup Cider Vinegar 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar 1 Teaspoon Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning 1 Teaspoon Course...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

That finishing sauce is killer! Vac sealing is key if you want storage for more than a month or two. I bought my first FoodSaver like 27 yrs ago. It lasted 25 yrs. I know they're not the best and quality has gone down since I bought mine, but it did it's job and did it well over those years.

Since then I've upgraded to a Vevor chamber. Love it and the savings in food cost has made up for the ~$300 price.

Re-heating method now comes in to play. Sous vide is best and most accurate. I have a Anova. Do I use it all the time? Hell no. I'll take a serving size of deliciousness out of the freezer, pop it straight in a 3 qt pan covered in water, and just throw it on the stove top on low heat.

Bring it up to temp slow. Maybe 45-60 minutes. I'm sure you could do faster but this is what I do. No boil, no bubbles, just light steam rising off the surface. Flip the bag around a few times. Cut the heat and cover it if it's getting too hot, too quick.

I swear the re-heated stuff is almost better IMHO. Kind of like a stew that needs to soak up the goodness and be better the next day.

 

[jcam222]

I've frozen darn near everything I've smoked before including ribs. The key is a vacuum sealer.

 

[Florida Chris]

I've frozen darn near everything I've smoked before including ribs. The key is a vacuum sealer.

And the re-heat process. I will walk/drive/boat/train/fly to your house just to slap you in the face and then leave if the word "microwave" comes in to the discussion.

They have their place and re-heating good BBQ ain't it.

 

[chopsaw]

And the re-heat process. I will walk/drive/boat/train/fly to your house just to slap you in the face and then leave if the word "microwave" comes in to the discussion.

Microwave .

 

[jcam222]

Microwave .

I've got no issue heating up portions for myself in the microwave. Heated up some pulled pork last night that way. I'm not going to break out a sous vide or something else elaborate to heat up enough for just me. Now if I'm doing volume I'll use a roaster pan.

 

[912smoker]

I've got no issue heating up portions for myself in the microwave. Heated up some pulled pork last night that way. I'm not going to break out a sous vide or something else elaborate to heat up enough for just me. Now if I'm doing volume I'll use a roaster pan.

I agree Jeff. I spay it with butter or add some liquid gold back in and it's great.

Keith

 

[chopsaw]

I've been grabbing the corningware dishes from Goodwill . I have several sizes with lids . They work great for reheating from fridge temps for 3 to 4 people . Into a 170 degree oven a few hours before time is perfect . Nuker for lunch works great . Just have to be smarter than the microwave .

 

[bigfurmn]

Sous vide is s great way to hear it back up to. Need a good vacuum sealer though. Letting it thaw in the fridge and onto a flat top works well if you have one too.

 

[whistlepig]

We don't eat much brisket but there is always a hefty supply of pulled pork in our freezer. Kroger's has BOGO sales on pork shoulders and I'll buy (2) 10 pound shoulders at smoke both at the same time. These get vacuum sealed and frozen in one pound packages.

It's fast food for us. We can take a frozen package out of the freezer, thaw it in the microwave, and have sandwiches. Far better than fast food. Be careful with the finishing sauces. They are not for everyone.

 

[hoity toit]

OK.. maybe an odd question but here we go..

Id love to try low and slow smoking a large brisket or maybe a whole pork shoulder however there is only the Mrs and I and we're both now pensioners (66+ & grumpy to my american friends), so there is no way we could eat it all in one sitting so most of it would have to be frozen and eaten as several meals in the weeks/months ahead.
So my question is what is the best/most versatile cut of meat I should be looking at?
BR Martin

Cut portions and vac seal and freeze..no problem. Then sous vide in warm water bath when your ready to eat.

 

[tallbm]

tallbm got you. I'm single and routinely smoke big chunks for meals down the road. Pulled pork seems to do exceptionally well, especially of you add a little flavor with juices from the cook or something like this:

SoFlaQuer's Finishing Sauce (For Pulled Pork)

I copied this to a separate post due to the requests for it! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Finishing Sauce I use is as follows: 1 Cup Cider Vinegar 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar 1 Teaspoon Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning 1 Teaspoon Course...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

That finishing sauce is killer! Vac sealing is key if you want storage for more than a month or two. I bought my first FoodSaver like 27 yrs ago. It lasted 25 yrs. I know they're not the best and quality has gone down since I bought mine, but it did it's job and did it well over those years.

Since then I've upgraded to a Vevor chamber. Love it and the savings in food cost has made up for the ~$300 price.

Re-heating method now comes in to play. Sous vide is best and most accurate. I have a Anova. Do I use it all the time? Hell no. I'll take a serving size of deliciousness out of the freezer, pop it straight in a 3 qt pan covered in water, and just throw it on the stove top on low heat.

Bring it up to temp slow. Maybe 45-60 minutes. I'm sure you could do faster but this is what I do. No boil, no bubbles, just light steam rising off the surface. Flip the bag around a few times. Cut the heat and cover it if it's getting too hot, too quick.

I swear the re-heated stuff is almost better IMHO. Kind of like a stew that needs to soak up the goodness and be better the next day.

I wish I had the space for a chamber sealer. I hunt each year and bag 3-5 animals (deer and pigs) per year and the chamber sealer would take me forever but I still love the idea of it!

 

[whistlepig]

My freezer is in the garage. When I smoke pork shoulders I set the vacuum sealer and a kitchen scale up in the garage and the smoker outside in front of the garage. I put a probe in each butt and set the alarms then go to bed. When the alarms go off I pull the pork, weight it (1 pound per package), seal it, date it with a sharpie, then it goes in the freezer. It's pretty easy to do for me.

 

[Elf@shore]

HI! Small Portions ?
Pork: Small Pork Roast, Loin ? Can freeze leftovers or eat again! I SAY EAT AGAIN! LOL!
Beef: Bottom Round Rump ! Why? its marbled better then the usual Top/Bottom Round Roast!
Go Low and slow with liquid of choice (Apple/cider juice) in a pan or offset pan?
I Grill/bake @ 250, till 135/140 IT. Turns out nice and tender, moist.
FYI: Higher IT Temps will give you tough dry meat !