Freezing Pulled Pork

Recyellow · Feb 16, 2014

I am going to be setting up at some festivals in Ky this year and they are rather big. I was wondering if anyone's makes pulled pork and freezes it before events to serve? I am not sure that I can keep up the demand making it all fresh....
Also, does everyone typically serve theirs in sauce?

butt head · Feb 16, 2014

I sell allot of precooked pork in 2lb vacuum sealed bags, have also done larger bags for catering events, just thaw out the night before, pan and heat in smoker or heat at home and hold in smoker

rlncookinbbq · Feb 16, 2014

freeze and serve later always gets better imo

Its the only way to go.

JimmyDAL · Feb 16, 2014

Food Saver, freeze, thaw, throw in boiling hot water from Turkey fryer, hold in Cres Cor.

RangerJ · Feb 16, 2014

rlncookinbbq said:
Its the only way to go.

Pretty broad stroke here. Fresh is always better.

However, to your question, freezing and re heating pork works just fine.

mtm29575 · Feb 16, 2014

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What the others said. I don't do comp's, but I freeze them all the time for our family use. Again, not quite as good as fresh, but still really good.

sunrise · Feb 17, 2014

We do exactly what the other guys do. I like to pull just after smoking, let cool, Food Saver, 1 butt to a bag, then when we re-heat, add a little apple juice or sauce. Works great

BigBellyBBQ · Feb 17, 2014

I add the apple or pinapple juice before freeze and some sauce...comes out great!!I always have on vending trailer frozen as a back up..some say it taste better..go figure..

sunrise · Feb 19, 2014

BigBellyBBQ said:
I add the apple or pinapple juice before freeze and some sauce...comes out great!!I always have on vending trailer frozen as a back up..some say it taste better..go figure..

In some ways I agree Big, I think it does make the pork more tender, and thats what the customer wants. I have lost at some comp's with the comments on my pork that it was over cooked, but this isnt what the customer may want, they dont want the compition style meats. They want good tender food. Same with ribs, try giving a "fall off the bone" rib to a judge.

NS Mike D · Feb 24, 2014

Check with your health dept. Food Savers are special permit items in NY and the permit requires a plan by a food scientist. The reason is that the really nasty stuff is anaerobic.

A zip lock with the air squeezed out is OK. I can't imagine that vacuum sealing cooked meat then place in the freezer and then thawed for use for same day could ever be an issue, but it still requires to jumping through hoops here.

LostNation · Feb 24, 2014

sorry double post

LostNation · Feb 24, 2014

NS Mike D said:
Check with your health dept. Food Savers are special permit items in NY and the permit requires a plan by a food scientist. The reason is that the really nasty stuff is anaerobic.

I fully agree, food savers aren't legal in most health department jurisdictions. You would need to develop a HACCP plan and document it. These work great for home use but not for selling to public.

The safest way to freeze pork is to properly cool down (below 70 in 2 hours and then below 41 in 4 hours). Place in foil pans and reheat in cooker at a low temperature with some moisture (juice, stock, sauce)

cynfulsmokersbbq · Feb 24, 2014

reheating pork in a foil pan will result in the part of the pork that touches the pan to be drier than the rest of the pork, even if you add juice.

Foodsavers work great. Local grocery stores around here that sell bbq, sell it in vacuum sealed packs with re-heating instructions.

As for the fresh is the only way to go, I propose a taste test challenge. I guarantee you won't be able to tell which is fresh and which has been frozen if it is frozen and reheated properly. Frozen and then reheated has been some of the best tasting BBQ I've ever had. the moisture and seasoning that is reintroduced back into the meat upon reheating provides a great flavor and taste!

air_jar · Feb 25, 2014

Recyellow, I think you've got your answer but I'll throw in my experience.

I cater and have to have meat on demand so I use a foodsaver to vacuum seal and then freeze. I pull the butts just like I would be serving them immediately and portion in no larger than 3# bags. Once sealed, I drop them in ice water until they are cool and then they go in the freezer. They cool faster in water than in air so you get through the 'danger zone' quicker. Reheat in boiling water and serve when you need it. If you pull them while they're hot, you get all the fat and juices so no need to add anything (unless you want) to keep the meat moist when you reheat.

I agree with cynfulsmokersbbq, you can't tell the difference between fresh and frozen if you do it correctly. I've even challenged people to tell the difference and they can't.

Good luck with your event, I hope some of this helps.

Crash · Feb 27, 2014

Air Jar, this is exactly what we do except we reduce the stove top down to a low simmer once the FS bags hit the boiling water. We seem to have fewer FS bags compromised by broken seals when reheating at a lower temp. I agree that getting that meat cold quickly is a priority.

air_jar · Feb 27, 2014

Same here, Crash. I put the bags in the pot, cover with water, put on the stove until boiling, remove the top and reduce to medium. Keeps water from evaporating so fast and bags don't swell up from the little bit of air that's still in them.

Freezing Pulled Pork

Recyellow

Found some matches.

butt head

is one Smokin' Farker

rlncookinbbq

Knows what a fatty is.

JimmyDAL

is one Smokin' Farker

RangerJ

is one Smokin' Farker

mtm29575

Knows what a fatty is.

sunrise

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BigBellyBBQ

is Blowin Smoke!

sunrise

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NS Mike D

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LostNation

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LostNation

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cynfulsmokersbbq

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air_jar

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Crash

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air_jar

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