I know this has been asked 1000 times

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pandemonium

Master of the Pit
Original poster
Aug 4, 2009
1,983
14
Florida
I am going to be doing like 7-8 pork buts for a wedding and going to cook the day before so do you think i should leave whole and then reheat

the next day or pull the day i cook them? im thinking leaving them whole and foiled in their juices then heating back up and pulling would be the best way? What do you guys think?
 
I have no experience with reheating a whole pork butt. (Sure... I've had left overs and I've re-heated it but I didn't have the pressure of a wedding dinner to worry about) I sure haven't done  7 or 8 of them at once. But from what I've read here. Most say to go ahead and pull and re-heat with a finishing sauce. I think the idea is that to re-heat it whole takes so long it's almost re-cooking it. When it's pulled it gets to a serving temp way faster. I'll be looking for those with more expertise than I have to chime in though.

By the way...that must be a huge wedding? I think that most people use a quarter pound per serving as an average? My experience that the average pork butt is 12 - 14 pounds. So, one pork butt is roughly 48 servings. Seven would be 336 servings. I guess that's not a huge huge wedding but pretty dang big.

Be sure and post lots of q-view for us!!

Best of Luck!!
 
I agree, pull it first.  I would think it would pull a lot easier before it gets chilled down.  And like Smoke_Chef said, add some finishing sauce to it before reheat.  It really helps.
 
its about 100 people is what im told, and there will be smoked chicken parts and sides, from what i thought about 7 7-8 lb buts would be about right for 100 people? Good pint about reheating it whole, the more i think about it i might just go stay there and cook them the night before so they get done around ten in the morning and let them rest till 1 o clock feeding

but i was planning on cooking the chicken the day so that wont work, what would be better to cook the chicken pieces the day before or the pork?
 
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i had to do this on Memorial day cooking in advance and reheating for over 120. i left the butt's whole and wrapped them good and put into large ziplock bags.  then i reheated them in doubled large ziplock bags and pulled.  they turned out great!
 
I would have to say pull them in large containers and reheat and serve the day of the event. Just a larger portion of what I do on a weekly basis for lunch.
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i had to do this on Memorial day cooking in advance and reheating for over 120. i left the butt's whole and wrapped them good and put into large ziplock bags.  then i reheated them in doubled large ziplock bags and pulled.  they turned out great!
how did you reheat on bags? boil? i didnt know a ziplock could handle that? please explain in more detail if you would?
 
If it were me I would pull them after resting in the cooler then I would store the meat in the fridge and when I got ready to reheat I would put the meat into roasting pans mix some finishing sauce or saved defatted juice or apple juice then foil the top tight and reheat in either an oven or the smoker. Seven 7lb butts would be 49 lbs figure a yield of about 25 lbs if allowing people to make there own sandwiches figure about 1/3 lb per sandwich so I would say you'd have enough meat for about 75 sandwiches. If your making the sandwiches you could use closer to 1/4 lb per sandwich and stretch the number to about 100 sandwiches. 
 
there will be big commercial ovens there and a kitchen to use, i better go see whats really there for myself because if i go by what my brother told me im screwed
 
When I do smoke for crowds, I will smoke the day before if I cant do it the day of,  I go ahead and smoke it til it hits 200 then double wrap in foil, stick in cooler for a few hours and pull, place in fridge and cover.  Next day mix up a finishing sauce and stir well, reheat in oven covered, or in a big electric roasting pan.  I actually like the taste better, seems like the smoke flavor amplifies  when it is reheated. 
 
If you have the refrigerator space you can pick up those disposable aluminum roasting pans and pull the meat right into those then just put the foil on the top tight and into the fridge. When you go to reheat just pull the foil back mix in the juice and then place the foil back onto it tight and into the oven
 
If you have the refrigerator space you can pick up those disposable aluminum roasting pans and pull the meat right into those then just put the foil on the top tight and into the fridge. When you go to reheat just pull the foil back mix in the juice and then place the foil back onto it tight and into the oven
perfect!! three or four should do it, guess it will be fridge cleaning time to make room.
 
Jerry just gave you great advice

I am fortunate enought to have a vac sealer so I use the weight formula he described and then vack seal them with their juices and a little captain and apple juice cause they are going to sit in chafers or some other holding unit while they are being served and reheat them in hot not boiling water. This allows me to add them hot as needed.  

With a group that big my personal safety would be to add 2 butts just in case one was real fatty.  

What sides are you going to do?
 
He is getting baked beans and something else and they will get a piece of chicken each,  hope i can cook 100 pieces at one time in 3 uds's

one having two racks
 
Do you have any idea how you are going to serve the food? Do you have chafing dishes or Cambros
 
im not really sure yet, but i think chaffing dishes if they are the ones you use sterno under?  its not untill november but i am just trying to prepare

so i have a good game plan.
 
Food safety needs to be a big concern and if you start planning now it will save you from running around at the last minute - with this big of a crowd you need to make sure your hot food stays hot and the cold food stays cold. The last thing you need is for folks to get sick cause food was not handled right

If the venue does not have the proper equipment you can often rent it from a local restaurant or party store   
 
Thanks Piney for correcting my math. I was out in left field there. I don't know what I was thinking... Among other things, I didn't even account for starting weight vs. finished weight. Plus, to much is always better than not enough. I knew I shouldn't have been the first one to chime in.
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Food safety needs to be a big concern and if you start planning now it will save you from running around at the last minute - with this big of a crowd you need to make sure your hot food stays hot and the cold food stays cold. The last thing you need is for folks to get sick cause food was not handled right

If the venue does not have the proper equipment you can often rent it from a local restaurant or party store   
very good point scar
 
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