Saving and reheating a pork butt - need suggestions

Joder · July 2012

We are presently cooking a couple of pork butts (see photo) for a camping trip 5 days away. Do we need to freeze them, or will they keep refrigerated? We'll have to heat them up on a Weber style grill (I can't transport my LBGE). I also have a general question about re-heating it in the oven. What temp? How long

Any suggestions for the storage and the re-heat?

centex99 · July 2012

Do you have a vacuum sealer? If so, I'd pull them... vacuum seal them... and reheat them in boiling water in the bags. I believe you can even take the bag from frozen, throw it in, and heat until the meat is hot...

You have a camp burner as well? Though, I'm sure you could get water to boil on the other grill....

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

Do you have a vacuum sealer? If so, I'd pull them... vacuum seal them... and reheat them in boiling water in the bags. I believe you can even take the bag from frozen, throw it in, and heat until the meat is hot...
You have a camp burner as well? Though, I'm sure you could get water to boil on the other grill....

This is by far the best way to do it. You can freeze if you want. They will thaw in warm water in minutes.

stike · July 2012

No need to freeze. Pull and put into a foil pan with heavy duty foil. Reheat indirectly, with a little liquid if you want

Joder · July 2012

Thank you Stike and centex99. Stike, I like your photo. Centex, is that Centex construction?

Don't have a vacuum resealer, but this may be my excuse to get one. More likely, since money is tight will do the foil pan.

I'm wondering how many days it can go at refrigerator temps?

Meat is up to 189 now. It's been in for 21 hours at 215 measured at the grill level. Dome says 230. Have not opened since 3 pm yesterday. Smells awesome.

stike · July 2012

Ziplocbags are fine too. You have no foodsafety issues here at all

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

How long is your trip? If it's longer than 4-5 days, you might want to freeze a few packs jsut to be on the safe sdie

stike · July 2012

freeze for keeping it 5 days? i don't understand that, but that's just me.

hahaha

dozen eggs is fine for 6-8 weeks. uncooked beef aging for a few months, butter and cheese in the fridge for a long period of limited concern.
but cooked barbecue needs freezing after five days.

i'll make a note of that.
;))

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

freeze for keeping it 5 days? i don't understand that, but that's just me.

hahaha

dozen eggs is fine for 6-8 weeks. uncooked beef aging for a few months, butter and cheese in the fridge for a long period of limited concern.
but cooked barbecue needs freezing after five days.

i'll make a note of that.
;))

Nah, the trip is in 5 days. I was saying if they are going to out another 5 days, that's 10 and maybe freeze a few bags for the last few days of the trip. I'm assuming they will be using coolers and the temp might fluctuate during the week so having a few frozen bags for days 8-10 might be a good idea if they won't have a real fridge to keep it steady cold for 10 days.

You know I'm not a freezer nerd!

stike · July 2012

i would freeze if i were using a cooler. but the guy mentions reheating in an oven, so i'm not sure what kind of 'camping' we're talkin about, admittedly

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

i would freeze if i were using a cooler. but the guy mentions reheating in an oven, so i'm not sure what kind of 'camping' we're talkin about, admittedly

Ah, didn't see that part. I was assuming roughing it with a camp stove and coolers

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

he says he is heating them up on a weber in the OP

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

he says he is heating them up on a weber in the OP

and an oven. I think the oven is a general "how do you do it" thing and the weber is for this actual camping trip

Joder · July 2012

The oven was a general question.

I broke down and went to Walmart and got a vacuum sealer for $79. I'm glad I did. See photos for results. Two butts, about 7.5 lbs each fit into two gallon bags after pulling and keeping three hefty servings for dinner tonight. i will keep them in a cooler and boil them when ready. I predict it will be great.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

You'll love the food saver. You may want to break it up into smaller packs so you can reheat one meal at a time but you are in good shape the way you have it as well.

eggo · July 2012

Cen-Tex-Smoker, how would you warm baby backs in food saver? Boiling water or just hot and for how long. How will I tell when they are ready.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

I think I answered this on your other question but 15-20 min in warm water should do the trick

eggo · July 2012

Thanks again CTS. Got the info on the other post, just not the time it takes. Somebody on another post said it took 2 hours. This seemed a little extreme to me.

mountaindewbass · July 2012

Im glad you got the foodsaver. I would rather vacuum seal my meat then any other way stike mentioned not too.. But food poisoning doesnt sound like fun when camping

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

Thanks again CTS. Got the info on the other post, just not the time it takes. Somebody on another post said it took 2 hours. This seemed a little extreme to me.

2 hours is a bit long :) It really does not take that long. The thicker the pack, the longer it takes but 30 minutes in hot water will do a lot of damage to even a thick pack. it it's frozen, maybe another 15?

Ellis · July 2012

Good topic, I put 2 b buts on last night for the first time. They came out GREAT thanks to everyone here. So I'm looking at this meat thinking what do I do now. Again this forum comes through, I pull out the foodsaver. Thanks Cen Tex and Stike.

stike · July 2012

@mountaindewbass : vacuum sealing won't help or hurt wih regard to food safety. temperature is the only real issue there. and in a weeks time, freezing offers no more safety than his fridge does. freezing WOULD help keep everything in his cooler cold, if that's how he's taking food camping. s sure. but it isn't necessary if the issue is 'will it be safe".

the foodsaver will help retain moisture, especially when freezing. i haven't reheated by boiling in a foodsaver bag, but that is a beneficial option too.

my point is that you don't NEED to buy a vacuum packaging machine for this instance. he has one now, so all the better. i have one too. but vacuum sealing does NOT offer any protection against food illness, and does not extend the 'safe' time of a hunk of meat.

as we all start experimenting with food (especially aging and curing) we need to remember never memorize anything. do not try to remember rules, or take other people's assu mptions as fact. we need to UNDERSTAND how these things work. that allows us to experiment and be safe.

my point is illustrated best by this hypothetical question:

why wouldsomeone throw out a roast that they left in their fridge for two weeks, but then pay top dollar for a 45 day aged steak?

if we cannot answer this wuestion, we should not be making decisions about throwing out anything, until we all learn a bit more. it's a pain in the ass to read and understand all the stuff involved, but at the end of the day, it's very interesting, and it will not only make you rest easier, be less inclined to waste food, but it will make for some of the best food you have ever had (and you will have made it yourself).

sorry for the soap box oration. it's less to do with your vacuum/safety comment than just me overly preaching. just trying to get folks to lossen up about 'food safety'. because meat is damn safe.

if there's a rare hamburger on your plate, and a spinach salad next to it, the salad is far more likely to have you suffering three days worth of toilet squatting and searing abdominal pain.

mountaindewbass · July 2012

@stike so true. You don't need a vaccum sealer for much. All is optional

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