further tenderize pulled pork ??

You can try re-heating it on the BGE (covered), with a cup or so of Coca-cola in the bottom of the pan to refresh it. I've done this in the past and it worked well.

I would just heat it in the crock pot with some vinegar based sauce (or just some cider vin). If you want a thicker, sweeter sauce, I would put add that later (just heat until the sauce is warm).

Thanks for your post LoisLane... I have a similar question so I hope that you don't mind if I tag along with your post.

I'm planning a party for July 23rd and would like to serve some pulled pork. I thought I could make a batch this weekend, freeze it, and then re-heat it for the party.

My questions;

-what are the " best practices" to pull the pork, freeze it and re-heat it later?

- Should I prepare the pulled pork a certain way before freezing it?
- add sauce, don't add sauce, add cola, don't add cola, etc.
- will a regular zip lock bag do or should I vacuum seal?

- After thawing, should I prepare the PP a certain way before re-heating?

- for reheating, is there a preferred method to reheat?
- should the reheating be done in the oven, the egg, or slow cooker?

- is it best to sauce the PP before or after freezing?

I'm certainly use any advice . direction forum members can provide.

Thanks,


Michael

We cater several charity BBQ's down here, and depending on the event we make some things in advance. Here are my answers to your questions:

-what are the " best practices" to pull the pork, freeze it and re-heat it later?
Can be done either way, but I like to pull it after a normal resting period and before freezing.

- Should I prepare the pulled pork a certain way before freezing it?
Same as always. I don't short cook it and then expect the reheating to bring it the rest of the way

- add sauce, don't add sauce, add cola, don't add cola, etc.
We add some of our sauce prior to freezing.

- will a regular zip lock bag do or should I vacuum seal?
Vacuum sealing works great (if you have one). After it is sealed press the bag flat on a table and lay the bag in the freezer. Once it's frozen they are easily stacked.

- After thawing, should I prepare the PP a certain way before re-heating?
- for reheating, is there a preferred method to reheat?

A pot of hot water - not boiling. Place the sealed bags with the factory seal side down and ensure they are fully covered. Never place them with heat seal down, or better said, never pull the bag out heat seal down. Made a nice pot of PP stew when the heat seal gave way!

- should the reheating be done in the oven, the egg, or slow cooker?
Slow cooker or pot of water, depending on volume. We typically do 30-40 people cooks when we do it this way so larger pots work best for us.

- is it best to sauce the PP before or after freezing?
Yes! Part before hand helps aid transfer of heat when reheating. We add the remainder to taste afterwards. We cut and empty the bags into our chaffing dishes, stir them up a bit to coat them and serve.

We have done it successfully other ways as well, but found that this way maximizes storage space and makes the reheating process very simple, which is important for large cooks.

Hope this helps

Thank you.

The only way I have done it was; rest, pull, sauce, serve.

As I know that I need to add a couple of steps, I'd like to make sure that I do the best I can.

Michael