• xenforo has sucessfully updated our forum software last night. Howevr, that has returned many templates to stock formats which MAY be missing some previous functionality. It has also fixed some boroken templates Ive taken offline. Reat assured, we are working on getting our templates back to normal, but will take a few days. Im working top down, so best bet is to stick with the default templates as I work thru them.

Super Bowl: reheat meat?

Saiko

is One Chatty Farker
Joined
Dec 24, 2003
Messages
2,294
Reaction score
761
Location
Kennesaw...
Every year I have about 20-25 people over for the super bowl, and every year I bust my ass getting all the pulled pork, ribs, poultry, etc ready and miss half the super bowl.
This year I think I want to try smoking everything the day before and then heating it up the next day. I plan on smoking: 2 five-pound boston butts (for pulled pork barbeque), 6 slabs of BB ribs and a couple of chickens. I have some ideas on how to smoke and reheat this, but I'd like to hear from the crowd.
Boston Butts - Smoke about 6 hours, then wrap in foil and cool. Next day heat for 3 hours at 225 degrees in the oven. Thoughts?
BB Ribs - Smoke about 4 hours, then wrap in foil and cool. Next day heat for 2 hours at 225 degress in the oven. Thoughts?
Chicken - Cook until done, then cut up and wrap in foil. Next day heat for 1 hour at 225 degrees in the oven. Thoughts?
 
You're on the right track.

The pulled pork will do great with cooking the day before and then 225 in the oven until hot. I'd go ahead and finish the butts on Saturday (or whenever) and pull them -- add plenty of finishing sauce (vinegar/juice, salt, a little hot sauce) and then foil and put in the 'fridge -- it'll heat up just fine at the low temps.

Actually all the meat will warm up ok -- the ribs will be "technically" overdone -- but I haven't met anyone that doesn't like fall off the bone ribs :D

The chicken I'd do on Sunday -- maybe finish it off a little early but definately the day you eat it -- it reheats OK but some folks don't like reheated chicken (go figure!!) :D

Good luck!! ((PS: I did a pork butt and brisket for an office party -- cooked on Saturday, pulled/sliced, panned up and chilled, then reheated on Wednesday (slow oven/time bake 225 for 3-4 hours) -- I didn't have any complaints. :D

As always: this is just my opinion. I'm guessing some will say you should just suffer and cook thru the game :D
 
I would fully cook everything cept the chickens. Do the chickens that day. If your gonna pull the buttts, Pull them when they're done and season it. Its better when it sits in the seasoning overnight anyway. Then into a chafing dish and covered... pulled pork heats up EXCELLENT in a steam tray. Just gets more tender. The ribs I would keep foiled tight and reheat at 225-250 for an our or so.
 
OK, I think I'm a gonna skip the chickens and just do pulled pork and ribs. Can I get some ideas for finishing sauce for the pork? I usually just splash a bunch of sauce from "Starns Barbeque" in Paducah, KY (my wife has family there) all over my que, but it's gonna be too hot for most folks.

I found this recipe in the "Files" section...would this work for mixing in with the que or is this made more for topping? If you have other ideas, please give exact quantities, since I've never really made a finishing sauce for pulled pork.

Ingredients
32 oz. cheap ketchup; 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar; 1 cup sugar; 1 stick of margarine; i cup of lemon juice; 2 Tsp. black pepper; 2 Tbsp.crushed red pepper (red pepper flakes)

Description
Put in a pot and bring to a boil. Keeps for weeks(months even) in the fridge. Good stuff
 
heres my base finishing sauce.

For a 7# butt. 3 BIG vidalia or spansih onions. Carmelize the onions, put them in a foil pan, add a can of beer, some worsteshire sauce and black pepper(or SF Black). Put them in the smoker the last hour or 2 while the butts cooking. As the onions soak up the liquid, add more beer and worsey sauce cook till soft and then some stirring up so they grab the smoke. I also mix in so me SF Black while they cook down.

finishing sauce: 3 cups cider vinegar, 1/4-1/2 worsteshire, half teaspoon to a teaspoon horseradish, black and white pepper and cayenne to taste. if ya want, a squirt or 2 of KC or whatever BBQ sauce ya want. (I usually dont use any). About an hour or 2 before serving add the onions and the sauce to the pork and mix well.

Also...... There is a receipe in our recipe section "Down Home Pulled Pork".... It's in the "all things Pork" section. .. Check that one out, it's very different, and real good... somewhat addicting.. c/o Gary.....


speaking of whom... Wheres Gary Been.. ? U out there??
 
If you've got a big ass crock pot reheat the pork on low in that. Just get up in the morning and toss it in there. It warms it slowly and keeps in the moisture.

Does take a little while though.
 
Got here a little late on this one. Don't give up on that chicken. Everything reheats decently. I've precooked chicken several times and reheated. It doesn't look as good as the day before, but the taste is fantastic.
 
My .02.....

I would fully cook the butts on Saturday, put in foil, wrap in towel and put in the cooler to finish cooking. Take it out of the cooler and put it in the fridge still foiled. Next day, take the foil off, put the butts in a half/full pan with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup vinegar cover with foil and put in the oven on warm and take up to 225 slowly. I've been using Dreamland as my finishing/dipping sauce. Another option for leftover pulled pork that's good at parties is to chop it up fine and then saute it in a pan with some of the following sauce:

1/2 gal water
3 cups Franks/Durkees Red Hot
2 cups white vinegar
1/2 cup veggie oil
5 tbsp dry rub

After the pork has absorbed the sauce, remove from pan and serve in dollar rolls. Makes a damn good snack. That sauce is kinda warm so if your crew isn't into spicy stuff, you might modify the Durkees/dry rub amount.

I'd wait til Sunday to cook the ribs. The game isn't until early evening and they only take 5-6 hours. Plus, there's nothing better than ribs pulled fresh off the smoker.
 
Saiko-
Facing the same "dilema", but am going to do ALL except the chix the day before. Was beaten down on New Year's Eve trying to juggle way too much. Good luck, let me know how things turn out.
 
And dont forget the chafing dish. Phil will let you borrow his.
 
3 wire racks, 6 sternos an 12 dishes at costco for 21 bucks. :mrgreen:
 
Sorry. I got to disagree here.

Super bowl (to me, I had 26 people for T Day, so I can in a small way relate) is definetly a live party. You got 25 people that came for your Q. Would you serve them leftovers? Fark no.

Its Sunday for Petes sake. Skip church this one week (go to confession the next) and start cooking them butts at like 5-6am. The farking game isnt on till really late. Its all pregame bullshit.

So here is my take. Most of the "fun" of Superbowl TV is in the hour leading up, and the first 2 hours into Superbowl.

Hell, you can have your butts done by 1pm, same with ribs and any loins. Just follow the wrap at 165, then to 190, then in the cooler.

You;ll have like 2 hours of cooler time. You wont miss a beat. Everything will be in the cooler long before game time. (I have 3 coolers for big events)

An hour before the game, take 3-4 slabs out of the cooler. Hell, you start at 5am, they been in the cooler since 11am or noon. Chickens, beer can those and time them for kickoff.

pull out the butts (and a pork loin) right near half time. Takes me about 3 minutes to pull a pork butt, which is one Superbowl commercial break. Throw in a pot with sauce. Half time heaven.

Pork loin is sliced up, for those farkers that can't wait for the butt to be done (or do pork tenderloin, and everyone gets a dipp or two, right Greg?)

I had 26 people for T Day, and from noon till 4 pm, it was continous food from either smoker, grill, fryer, or most importantly, cooler, and I never missed a lick of the action.

I'm sorry to contradict, but if someone came over an I was "reheating", that would not sit well with me.

Just my $.08
 
I had 26 people for T Day, and from noon till 4 pm, it was continous food from either smoker, grill, fryer, or most importantly, cooler, and I never missed a lick of the action.

Now Bill, tell us how you REALLY feel!! :D

<expetive deleted> :D If you had a life you wouldn't have time to cook all day of an event -- not the that the super bowl (notice, no capitalization!) is going to be much of a game this year :D

If YOU want to get up at ZERO-DARK-EARLY on a weekend -- go ahead!! For the rest of us reheating pulled pork will work just fine! I have to agree that I'd probably do the ribs and chicken fresh on super bowl Sunday but no pulled pork -- I'd do it ahead to make sure it got done before the end of the game!
 
You are right with the chicken. I haven't lost any taste, but they (drumsticks) start to look fugly after a reheat. I'd do the chicken the day of. If you have the room to spread out try just drumsticks, they are very handy for people to walk up and just grab one.
 
Now David.
You are talking to someone on daily meds, whereby 5-5:30am on ANY day is "sleeping in". Farking prednisone keeps me up all night.

But hell, on TDAy, I started the stuff at 5am, then went to bed till 8am. So there is plenty of room for a cat nap here and there. The farking game don't start till like 5:14pm or some crzy thing.
 
I understand! I started Christmas Day at 6 a.m. so that the brisket would be ready on time!! :D

For the amount of food the guys in this thread are talking about it would be good to have multiple cookers! That way you can start the pork early, ribs later, and then do the chicken over the last couple of hours!

ECBs are cheap enough to have three: start the pork at 5 a.m. - that way it's in the cooler around 2pm or so and ready to pull about game time. Start the ribs about 10 a.m. and they'll be ready around 3-5 p.m. if you can keep your hands off.

Start the chicken around noon (or 2 p.m. if you beer can them in the gas grill :D).

There are multiple ways to do this -- and they all taste good!!
 
Don't forget the halftime commercials!!! This is quite the dilema. Good Q, sleep, THE big game, 1/2 time commercials. Sounds like a good POLL question. Kinda good Q, enuf sleep. the best Q, no sleep. what Q, sleep, partying like a MF with his hair on fire......


you get the picture.
 
damn, if i got up at 5AM, and spend 10 hours cooking. i'd be looking for the couch by 6pm that day. Ribs and birds that day, startin around 10-11. But the butts.... they reheat just fine, and if ya heat them in their sauce right after pulling them, its just like ya just made it.
 
Back
Top