Leftovers...

[Doug Crann]

Wife simply will not eat them, most of the time. Made the mistake of smoking an 8 pound pork butt a while back. At least half of it went in the trash. I will eat the leftovers, but can't say I really enjoy them. This is one of the reasons why I have all but abandoned trying to figure out briskets...just as soon turn a full packer into delicious burgers, meat loaf, chorizo, and albondigas.
A big part of this is we have yet to figure out how to re-heat the left overs. Have vacuum sealed left over pulled pork. Reheated it in just short of boiling water. Tasted very bland. Have wrapped it in foil, added some apple juice and into the Egg...nope. Have added our home brewed BBQ sauce to the foil, nope. Even tried whiskey....nope. And it is not just the pulled pork. When we do make ribs I will eat them as leftovers. Foil them, bit of apple juice and into the Egg.
Kind of at the end of our rope with this. We buy the bulk of our meat from Cash & Carry. We then chop them down to size. Looks like I need to start making the roast and what not smaller.
What I have suggested is that a day or tow after we make pulled pork, bbq beef etc is that we plan on making a pizza, tacos, enchiladas etc to get rid of the leftovers. So far that has fallen on deaf ears as well.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated...in particular a tasty way to reheat pulled pork, bbq beef, Tri Tips...

 

[NOHENS]

I personally like leftovers better than fresh. Sounds odd....but I can't taste the smokey flavor after standing in it all day? But...I'd suggest cooking small portions for just what you need or invite a gathering big enough to eat what ya make. But then again....I like seeing people enjoy BBQ.

 

[smoke ninja]

I portion and freeze what i cant eat in 7 days. Ive done oven, simmering broth, even a quick warm up in in the microwave isnt that bad.

Bbq brisket and pork as leftovers work best being turned into new dishes.

Add some pulled bbq to an omlete orto some hash.
Chili and soup
Heat it up in a pan add cheese or sauce and make a sandwich
Leftover bbq makes up the meat for almost all my Mexican food (i wouldn't call it very authentic, i call anything on a tortilla mex)

Possibilities are endless.

 

[Q Junkie]

I find that both PP and brisket both make really good taco meat and it kinda gives a little variety and changes BBQ into something different. I also vac seal and reheat in a water bath and I find it to be the best way to reheat BBQ in my opinion. I do not tend to want the same meal the next day so if I do not freeze them I try to make something different with it.

 

[sylntghost]

I also love bbq the next day or two after a cook.sounds like you are not a leftover kind of guy. I would ask people over or maybe split the cost of the meat with a friend and give them half. That works out real good on brisket when the price is high.

 

[quamdar]

I love any kind of leftovers personally.

If you don't like leftovers and don't like making it into new dishes you can invite people over and send leftovers home with them or start only smoking what you can eat. No reason you have have to smoke big hunks of meat if you're gonna throw most away.

 

[ModelMaker]

You sound like a couple that grew up in the land of plenty with a silver spoon stuck in your mouth.
Most of us eat leftovers because we worked hard for the food on our table.

"Made the mistake of smoking an 8 pound pork butt a while back. At least half of it went in the trash."

Shame on you.
Ed

 

[Blanton]

I find pork and brisket vacuum sealed to be as good or better. Don't know how you found your pulled pork bland after seals and the hot water. You did leave the bag sealed, right :razz:

As far as reusing, I don't sauce my pork. This week after after enjoying NC style sandwiches, had pork tacos with lime, salsa verde, cilantro. Never seemed like BBQ at all. Then finished the last of the pork in my pork fried rice. Slightly smokey flavor, but some of the best fried rice I make.

Not one oz went to waste and we didn't eat BBQ all week

Edit: just reread your first post. For tri-tip, any left over gets sliced and put in the fridge. Can't walk past the fridge without grabbing a piece, and it never makes it to morning!!

 

[brandenpro]

Vac seal and reheat in boiling water works for us. We end up going a lot of tacos and other various mex themed dishes.

If that doesn't work use the leftovers in things like chili and keri's hog Apple beans. I have yet to find anyone who doesn't love my baked beans, just don't use apple pie filling. Way to sweet.

 

[16Adams]

Not a tree hugger, but I try very hard to not waste anything with eyes.
It happens, things get lost in the fridge - but knowingly over cooking with the knowledge that the majority will be trashed. No. Karma thing with me.

Honestly I'm not judging you. I see it often enough. I grew up hunting fishing in NE Oklahoma. 4 kids one income. Most leftovers went to pot pie, soups stews or the identical
meal round two.


Caveat: I was born into a family that did not trim crust from bread, and if you did not like the meal my parents had prepared you sat there silently while everyone else ate. No special plates (no allergy issues). BTW there are foods I prefer, but have never found a food I would refuse to eat.

 

[Bludawg]

Get a new wife, one that came up the hard way. I reheat in the micro wave 45 sec to a portion. use your leftovers in creative ways burritos, tacos, enchiladas, stews, chili, hash, spaghetti, add some gravy serve over noodles, pot pies pulled pork salad( like chicken salad ) farkin awesome, top a pizza.......ect.

 

[bbqwizard]

I personally like leftovers better than fresh. Sounds odd....but I can't taste the smokey flavor after standing in it all day? But...I'd suggest cooking small portions for just what you need or invite a gathering big enough to eat what ya make. But then again....I like seeing people enjoy BBQ.

Your theory is actually quite accurate. Your sinuses are effected by the smoke and dust. in order to get the most out of your taste buds, you must be able to smell it as well. This is also true for smokers (cigarettes etc.). They tend to always add salt when eating in order to actually taste the food.

I used to hate leftovers. That was until I learned to cook awesome stuff with them. Well cooked bbq is good anytime.

 

[TuscaloosaQ]

I eat leftovers was raised to do it... But most of the time with 6 people at the table was not many leftovers.. But when there were my mom would bag it... And wrote for soup on it... Best soup you ever had... It was a mixture of meat.. Purple hull peas taters.. Corn.. Okra.. And the dish rag

 

[Doog]

Myself I grew up eating leftovers.
My wife cooked for us 2 and 3 kids. All the kids are growed up and gone but the portions she cooks are still about the same size. :wink:
I love homemade soups reheated. When I do chicken I always do extra.
Now my brother he won't touch left overs. :doh:

 

[krex1010]

I like to re-purpose leftovers. Pulled pork makes awesome tacos, burritos or enchiladas. Also is great in chili. Chicken is great cold in sandwiches for lunch or chicken salad. Brisket can be used like I described for pulled pork. Chili is a great use for leftovers, I'll freeze leftovers, and use a combination of BBQ meats in chili, great use of leftovers where you aren't just having a redo of the same meal.

 

[Enrico Brandizzi]

To me, PP, beer brats, beef ribs and pulled chicken are better the next day reheated in plastic bag in hot water.
For brisket and pork ribs is different. Probably because they were sliced and air makes demages in such thin pieces of meat. I can eat these leftovers but I don't like them. Need more people at the table when I cook those!

 

[Bludawg]

To me, PP, beer brats, beef ribs and pulled chicken are better the next day reheated in plastic bag in hot water.
For brisket and pork ribs is different. Probably because they were sliced and air makes demages in such thin pieces of meat. I can eat these leftovers but I don't like them. Need more people at the table when I cook those!

don't cut more than you can eat makes a big difference in the quality.

 

[Demosthenes9]

Your theory is actually quite accurate. Your sinuses are effected by the smoke and dust. in order to get the most out of your taste buds, you must be able to smell it as well. This is also true for smokers (cigarettes etc.). They tend to always add salt when eating in order to actually taste the food.

I used to hate leftovers. That was until I learned to cook awesome stuff with them. Well cooked bbq is good anytime.

heh. Food almost always tastes better with more salt whether you are a smoker or not :thumb:

 

[markrvp]

Lately I've found it works as well as any other method to microwave. I put the portion I want in an open zip lock back with a little BBQ sauce and nuke it until hot. Ribs do well this way as does pulled pork. Brisket seems to lose flavor the most no matter how you rewarm it.

 

[JohnnyB]

I save all the juices from the cook, and put them in separate small dishes. When reheating, I scrape off the fat and discard and put a little of the tasty juice in the pan to simmer the meat for a few minutes. I think it's almost better leftover. It is a cardinal sin to throw food away in our house. It happens occasionally, but it is rare.