Re-Heating Frozen Pork Butt

[HogFan]

We had an extra pork butt leftover after my daughter's graduation. I hadn't pulled the pork butt so after it cooled, I wrapped it and put it in the deep freeze. So the pork butt is still intact with the bone still in place.

So what is the best way to thaw and re-heat this pork butt to avoid the meat drying out?

[Bludawg]

Crock pot on low, Roll up 4-5 balls of foil and put them in the bottom put the unwrapped Butt on top lid it up and let it rock.

[HogFan]

So place in the crock pot frozen?

[Supes]

Crock pot on low, Roll up 4-5 balls of foil and put them in the bottom put the unwrapped Butt on top lid it up and let it rock.

Genius!

What about adding a few glugs of water to the foil to get a little bit of steam going?

[Bludawg]

So place in the crock pot frozen?
Yep wad up 4-5 balls of foil to make a rack for it to sit on put the "Neked Unwrapped Butt" on the foil ball rack CP on low.

[nthole]

I'd go the crock pot route as said.

Next time, it's much easier to reheat if it's in small hunks at least. I actually fully pull butts when I want to freeze them, then zip them up with a foodsaver and then just boil the bag.

[HogFan]

Rougly how long does it take to thaw and be ready to eat?......an hour?, 8 hours?, 24 hours?

[Royalslover]

I've frozen many pork butts after I pulled them. I was talking to some friends who said they purposely do what you did here. They never unwrap them off the smoker. They just freeze them whole then reheat and pull them when ready to serve. They said you can't tell the difference between that and a fresh one. I don't know how long it takes.

[Bludawg]

Rougly how long does it take to thaw and be ready to eat?......an hour?, 8 hours?, 24 hours?
Depends on how big it is I would give it 6-8 hrs on low

[legendaryhog]

I'd go the crock pot route as said.

Next time, it's much easier to reheat if it's in small hunks at least. I actually fully pull butts when I want to freeze them, then zip them up with a foodsaver and then just boil the bag.
This seems like a great idea. I'm going to try this next time I have too much pulled pork to handle (very rare, and mostly legend). Would work great for portions too. Put it in two or three medium sized bags and pull out what you want for dinner that night.

[nthole]

This seems like a great idea. I'm going to try this next time I have too much pulled pork to handle (very rare, and mostly legend). Would work great for portions too. Put it in two or three medium sized bags and pull out what you want for dinner that night.

Exactly. I zip them in 1lb (lunch size), 2lb (family size) and 3lb (party size) increments. Freeze it only about an inch to 2 inches thick (meaning you may use a bit more bag) and it will go from frozen to done in a pot of boiling water in 30 - 35 minutes.

[Hi Cheese]

I freeze leftover pork all the time. I usually just pull big chunks from the meat and place in a container. To reheat, I either place on a tray and put in a 275-300 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Or just defrost in a microwave for 5 minutes then place in a pan with a little oil and gently reheat, then pull (tacos etc).

It defrosts very quickly.

[DBH]

Exactly. I zip them in 1lb (lunch size), 2lb (family size) and 3lb (party size) increments. Freeze it only about an inch to 2 inches thick (meaning you may use a bit more bag) and it will go from frozen to done in a pot of boiling water in 30 - 35 minutes.

Yup, yup. Do this all the time. Actually, the first thing I do after pulling is bag some for the freezer. That way I always have some for ABTs or a sammich.

[deepsouth]

Crock pot on low, Roll up 4-5 balls of foil and put them in the bottom put the unwrapped Butt on top lid it up and let it rock.


i'm doing this now. great tip. thanks.

[alexf]

Way too late obviously, but what I do is pull it, cool it down, and then stick it in food saver bags. Then when I reheat it, I reheat it in the foodsaver bag. When you open it, it still smells like smoke!

[deepsouth]

What happened was, I had a pork butt that was cooked by someone else that I purchased as part of a fundraiser and I was not able to pick it up when it was completed so I had a friend pick it up and put it in the freezer for me. Normally I pull and bag mine as soon as they come out of the cooler

[ButtBurner]

just another method

I cook them for fundraisers. When they come off the pit, they are double wrapped in HD foil then put in plastic bags and crash cooled

After that they are frozen in the same wrapping

I tell people to just defrost them for a day or 2 in the fridge, then put them in a 275 oven for about 2 hours, leaving them in the foil wrap

Once they probe tender, they are ready to remove from the oven and pull

I have received noting but great comments from people doing it this way

[robbq]

+1 for the crock pot. I would thaw first or the crock pot might have it in unsafe temp range for too long.

[PappaOscar]

Vacuum sealed whole. Set frozen in electric roasting pan with a few inches of water @200* for 4 hrs worked for me.

[MikeJ65]

I don't like cooling and freezing whole. First of all, it is a lot of meat to reheat at once. If I pull it and freeze it in 3 bags, I can heat 1, 2 or all 3 depending on how much I need.

Secondly, a whole butt is difficult to cool properly. You can dunk in ice water or use a blast chiller, but just popping it in the freezer will leave it in the danger zone for a long time and might also thaw whatever you are putting it next to. In my opinion, there is little to no loss of quality from pulling, freezing, and reheating in hot/boiling water.