pulled pork for potluck question..

[bgaviator]

I may be tasked soon with bringing in a pulled pork for a potluck at work. I'm going to have to cook it the day before. Would pulling it when it's done, then refrigerating it.....then heating it back up the next day with just some apple juice in a chafing pan or crock pot be ideal in this situation? I was going to use apple juice because of it being neutral flavor, although I've used the vinegar based finishing sauce before and while I personally like it, I know it's not everyone's thing. I figured apple juice would be a safer bet. Thanks.

 

[foamheart]

I never cook a butt for the day its due. I always do it a day or even a week ahead. Why? Its like beans or gumbo or chili, always better the day after. BUT that being said I do now like finishing sauce. This is JJ's, plus my little add at the bottom. You don't want to float the pulled pork in a gallon of it. For a big butt, I will normally probably only use a couple a tablespoons Max! You don't want to taste the finishing sauce, you don't even want folks to realize you used any. Its about a little bit of moisture with a slight flavor modifier. I keep a squirt bottle of it made up in the reefer at all time. One recipe will easily handle 10 butts. You want your guest to wonder why yours tastes better than others, but not be able to tell you used a finishing sauce.

After I pull a butt, I add just a little to the meat and throw it in the reefer. The next day, I dump it in a crockpot, taste it for seasonings and moisture and adjust just before serving. If the flavors are good but its dry you can always use just apple juice ( I, to my knowledge have never done a dry butt). To serve it, I set the crock pot on the table. I heat up some your favorite BBQ sauce, and place in a bowl with a spoon next to the crock pot. The other side of the pot put the tray with small buns. It keeps folks from getting more than they want and wasting it. A bowl of slaw is all that is left.

JJ's Finishing Sauce



1C Apple Cider Vinegar

2T Worcestershire Sauce or more to taste

1/4C Brown Sugar

1T Smoked Paprika

2 tsp Granulated Garlic

2 tsp Granulated Onion

2 tsp Fine Grind Black Pepper

1 tsp Celery Salt

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper or Chipotle powder. Add more if you like Heat.

1/2 tsp Grnd Allspice

Extras per Me:

¼ C Honey

1 C Apple cider


Whatever you do, good luck but you will not need it. Low and slow and you'll impress them without any worries. The best advise I ever got at this site was when I first arrived from oldschoolbbq. He said,"patience", thats all you need.

 

[Fgignac]

I never cook a butt for the day its due. I always do it a day or even a week ahead.

I agree with this. I will often cook a couple of butts and freeze a bunch for quick and easy future meals. My favorite way to reheat is to vacuum seal (or seal in a large ziplock) and reheat in my sous-vide setup. This has always worked out really well for me

 

[bgaviator]

So you add this finishing sauce right after you shred it and before you put it in the fridge....or do you add it when you're reheating it the next day?

I noticed your recipe only has 1 cup apple cider vinegar, where the thread I have saved has 2 cups ACV. Is this because you use 1 cup apple cider as part of your tweak? Does this help tone down the sour vinegar taste?

I never cook a butt for the day its due. I always do it a day or even a week ahead. Why? Its like beans or gumbo or chili, always better the day after. BUT that being said I do now like finishing sauce. This is JJ's, plus my little add at the bottom. You don't want to float the pulled pork in a gallon of it. For a big butt, I will normally probably only use a couple a tablespoons Max! You don't want to taste the finishing sauce, you don't even want folks to realize you used any. Its about a little bit of moisture with a slight flavor modifier. I keep a squirt bottle of it made up in the reefer at all time. One recipe will easily handle 10 butts. You want your guest to wonder why yours tastes better than others, but not be able to tell you used a finishing sauce.

After I pull a butt, I add just a little to the meat and throw it in the reefer. The next day, I dump it in a crockpot, taste it for seasonings and moisture and adjust just before serving. If the flavors are good but its dry you can always use just apple juice ( I, to my knowledge have never done a dry butt). To serve it, I set the crock pot on the table. I heat up some your favorite BBQ sauce, and place in a bowl with a spoon next to the crock pot. The other side of the pot put the tray with small buns. It keeps folks from getting more than they want and wasting it. A bowl of slaw is all that is left.

JJ's Finishing Sauce



1C Apple Cider Vinegar

2T Worcestershire Sauce or more to taste

1/4C Brown Sugar

1T Smoked Paprika

2 tsp Granulated Garlic

2 tsp Granulated Onion

2 tsp Fine Grind Black Pepper

1 tsp Celery Salt

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper or Chipotle powder. Add more if you like Heat.

1/2 tsp Grnd Allspice

Extras per Me:

¼ C Honey

1 C Apple cider


Whatever you do, good luck but you will not need it. Low and slow and you'll impress them without any worries. The best advise I ever got at this site was when I first arrived from oldschoolbbq. He said,"patience", thats all you need.

 

[bgaviator]

I have a vacuum sealer, but this will not be possible to reheat this way for bringing it into work for a potluck. I will either need to bring my slow cooker, or get a chafing dish.

I agree with this. I will often cook a couple of butts and freeze a bunch for quick and easy future meals. My favorite way to reheat is to vacuum seal (or seal in a large ziplock) and reheat in my sous-vide setup. This has always worked out really well for me

 

[zwiller]

Did 50lbs PP for daughters grad party and smoked and (pulled) we chop into chunks and vac sealed for later and reheated in roaster oven. Worked well and strangely reheats FAST, like an hour. Worried it was gonna take forever...

For you I would go into ziplocks or an aluminum tray. A large crock could work, but most run too hot even on warm setting. Fancy digital ones are probably OK. If you don't have a roaster oven (or fancy crock), this is the reason to get one. Think of an oven roaster as a crock pot on steroids. Larger capacity and better temp control. Warm as low you can, I did 150F. I developed an injection based on Mixon's (apple juice base/awesome for pork) so I added nothing to roaster but a splash of something wouldn't hurt but like has been said, use restraint. We served 2 sauces on side in squirt bottles: ChefJJ finish and Jeff's BBQ. Like Kevin/Foamy said small buns and we used sliced rolls (slider) from GFS.

 

[bgaviator]

I do have a roaster oven I believe

 

[foamheart]

If you are only doing a butt or two, crock pot is my prefered method of reheating. Why? Low and slow and you don't lose moisture if you leave the lid on. Put it on low and add your meat in the morning and by lunch its hot and juicy. Then sample it before serving and re-adjust as needed. Usually I use 1 tablespoon of finishing sauce when I bag it, maybe another just before serving maybe not. Its like smoke, a little bit goes a long way. You are not really supposed to realize its there IMHO. Its a subtle modifier, while adding a shot of moisture it was a little flavor with it. If you rub your butt, and slow smoke, I usually do about an 18 hour smoke, its all about the meat, I have done 26 hours on one butt, I have done 9 hours, the meat has to tell you. I usually smoke mine about 220.

And yes, I cut the vinegar back. Its still JJ's, its just my take on his great sauce. Everyone here has great ideas they freely share, you then have to take what you are offered and mold it to fit your specific taste. BTW even JJ said he sometimes does variants.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...ke-pulled-pork-foamheart.242820/#post-1530678

 

[chef jimmyj]

Chaffing dishes are for HOLDING HOT ONLY!
They do not get hot enough to reheat in a timely manner. Reheat Safely. A roaster, microwave, crockpot, boil-in-bag or oven at 325°F, are the safest methods to reheat...JJ

 

[bgaviator]

Thanks for all the advice. Do you think there would be any advantage as far as retaining moisture if I left the meat whole and reheated it whole the next day then shredded it once I got to work? Or would that be a bad idea?

 

[gmc2003]

Thanks for all the advice. Do you think there would be any advantage as far as retaining moisture if I left the meat whole and reheated it whole the next day then shredded it once I got to work? Or would that be a bad idea?

No advantage at all. In fact you may loose moisture reheating a whole butt to a high enough temp to shred. There is no loss of quality in preshredded PP served the next day.

Chris

 

[bgaviator]

Hey I whipped up a batch of that finishing sauce. Lots of different spices so I was a little concerned. But I tasted it with a spoon and I can definitely see how this will compliment the meat! I will let everyone know how the potluck turned out!

I never cook a butt for the day its due. I always do it a day or even a week ahead. Why? Its like beans or gumbo or chili, always better the day after. BUT that being said I do now like finishing sauce. This is JJ's, plus my little add at the bottom. You don't want to float the pulled pork in a gallon of it. For a big butt, I will normally probably only use a couple a tablespoons Max! You don't want to taste the finishing sauce, you don't even want folks to realize you used any. Its about a little bit of moisture with a slight flavor modifier. I keep a squirt bottle of it made up in the reefer at all time. One recipe will easily handle 10 butts. You want your guest to wonder why yours tastes better than others, but not be able to tell you used a finishing sauce.

After I pull a butt, I add just a little to the meat and throw it in the reefer. The next day, I dump it in a crockpot, taste it for seasonings and moisture and adjust just before serving. If the flavors are good but its dry you can always use just apple juice ( I, to my knowledge have never done a dry butt). To serve it, I set the crock pot on the table. I heat up some your favorite BBQ sauce, and place in a bowl with a spoon next to the crock pot. The other side of the pot put the tray with small buns. It keeps folks from getting more than they want and wasting it. A bowl of slaw is all that is left.

JJ's Finishing Sauce



1C Apple Cider Vinegar

2T Worcestershire Sauce or more to taste

1/4C Brown Sugar

1T Smoked Paprika

2 tsp Granulated Garlic

2 tsp Granulated Onion

2 tsp Fine Grind Black Pepper

1 tsp Celery Salt

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper or Chipotle powder. Add more if you like Heat.

1/2 tsp Grnd Allspice

Extras per Me:

¼ C Honey

1 C Apple cider


Whatever you do, good luck but you will not need it. Low and slow and you'll impress them without any worries. The best advise I ever got at this site was when I first arrived from oldschoolbbq. He said,"patience", thats all you need.