Smoking and Reheating

[amiller8989]

I've been smoking for about 4 months now and really getting into it.  I have a bachelor party where I want to smoke a bunch of meat for the guys for dinner, however due to location constraints, I cannot bring my barrel smoker.  

I know that the day after I smoke the leftovers are awesome (of course I am biased).  However, if I smoke everything the day before and keep it cold and then warm in an oven the next day will I lose a lot of moisture and flavor?  

Has anyone done this?  are different meats better for this than others?  

 

[biaviian]

I sometimes put some finishing sauce in a pan with the meat and warm it up like that.  You can also bag it and submerge the bag in hot water.

 

[amiller8989]

So the taste/quality of the meal doesn't take a major downturn?  not having done this before, I'm hesitant to commit to cooking for 10 guys and then having it be sub-par due to the 24hour rest and reheating element.  

 

[jimmyinsd]

I would avoid the leaner meats ( pork loin) and meats that are prone to drying out at their finishing temps ( brisket)  ribs can be finicky to reheat,  but if your goal is to not have them the first night,  take the ribs to nearly done and then finish them on a grill.  Pork Butt is the most forgiving of the traditional Q meats as far as reheating IMO.  Chicken can be a challenge as the skin rarely reheats anywhere near to what it was the first day.

 

[noboundaries]

I have traveled and reheated with just about everything, mostly pork butt and brisket.  Pork butt is easy peasy and doesn't care what you do to it.  It reheats nicely in the oven, on the stovetop, in a grill (indirect heat), crock pot, you name it. 

The key to brisket is not cutting it after you smoke it.  Leave it whole and double wrap immediately in HD aluminum foil after you take it off the smoker.  Leave it wrapped and reheat it in the oven on a low temp, say 250F. 

Chicken?  Only take chicken if it is pulled and forget about including the skin.  There may be a way to get it crispy again after it has been refrigerated, but I haven't found a process I like. 

Ribs?  Leave whole right after you take them off the smoker.  Wrap in foil and refrigerate for transport.  Once there, two options.  Treat like a brisket, or cut them apart and nuke 'em.  They aren't as perfect as right off the smoker, but unless your friends also smoke meat, they won't know the difference.       

 

[wade]

 

Just be sure to reheat to 74 C (164 F) for at least 2 minutes before serving and also reheat any sauces or gravies separately to the meat.

 

[amiller8989]

Thanks guys!  I really appreciate it.  I think I am going to stick to Pork Butt, ribs, and a briskett.  I probably won't even mess with chicken stick to the other three.  

 

[wade]

The smoked chicken will tasted good cold

 

[tallbm]

I think you've got great info.

I will reiterate what has been said which is basically that pork butt or brisket just wrap really good when you pull it and then you can reheat to about 160-170F IT and then pull pork butt, or slice the brisket.  Others will say you can pull the pork but before but I like to reheat the whole cut of meat and then pull.

It was also mentioned that if you do chicken simply cook it and pull it all apart.  THEN wrap that really well and you take that and reheat it.  It will do well when pulled/shredded.

I assume that if you wrap the ribs really well you will be ok.  Just food for thought, you can find vac sealed ribs at the store and they aren't too bad.  I would think you could cook your ribs and then immediately vac seal them once they cool enough.  That may help keep the ribs at peak juiciness.  I don't think the other cuts of meat would need this much special treatment.

Let us know how it goes and best of luck! :)

 

[cksteele]

best way to reheat bbq is  vac seal it then boil it in water in the bag  keeps the moisture its  the only reheating method that really preserves moisture in the meat  ill post this article again its pretty much the best one ive seen on this subject http://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/the-best-method-for-reheating-barbecue/