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Thoughts on storing/prepping Pulled Pork as a gift...

XLBalco
XLBalco Posts: 607
edited August 2012 in EggHead Forum

so my wife's aunt and uncle are watching our twins this weekend while I prepare the bedroom for our next and final arrival that will be here in about 4 weeks.  they have missed out on all the food i have made on the egg thus far. 

so i decided i will cook them something up to take home with them tomorrow when they drop the girls off.  i was going to do ribs but decided on pulled pork since i can pretty much set it and go.

question is- how do i preserve it maybe without having to refrigerate it when i am done.  if they are dropping them off around 3pmish.. i am thinking about having it done early enough to where i dont screw it up.. say noonish.  i could wrap it up from there til about 2:30ish?  from there i thought i would sauce some of it with whatever i had and leave the rest unsauced in case they dont like what i have or have their own... 

any thoughts?  as far as wrapping it up for them to take home- just a tinfoil pan and AF?

yes- i am overthinking this.  my brain has been mush as of late or maybe it always has been.

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Comments

  • hopkinsusmc87
    hopkinsusmc87 Posts: 250
    If you have the ability to vacuume pack it, it would be ok. You can also just wrap it up, refrigerate it and then pack it in a cooler bag. Just a thought.
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,314
    Here's a thought-what about aiming to finish shortly before they are scheduled to arrive, then FTC the whole thing (with a how to pull lesson tossed in) and let them take it home and pull and enjoy.  You can easily hold it quite warm/hot for 4+ hours.  Don't know the commute time but you could set them up with sides, sauce etc so it's the whole deal. 
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,958
    Here's a thought-what about aiming to finish shortly before they are scheduled to arrive, then FTC the whole thing (with a how to pull lesson tossed in) and let them take it home and pull and enjoy.  You can easily hold it quite warm/hot for 4+ hours.  Don't know the commute time but you could set them up with sides, sauce etc so it's the whole deal. 

    that's the way I would try to do it. If not, pull it and seal in in food saver/ziplocs in meal sized portions. They can reheat in warm water when they are ready to eat it. They can freeze what they don't eat and they can do the warm water thing right out of the freezer
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • XLBalco
    XLBalco Posts: 607

    i dont think a lesson will be in order.. it 'll be too chaotic with the transition i am sure..

    i think i will go the ziploc bag route instead - no food saver.  next question..  sauce them and throw them in the bags or no sauce?  will it matter either way?

    i was trying not to refrigerate so they could drive home and have dinner without having to reheat necessarily. i could shred it up 30 mins before they get here as well

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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,958
    how far is the drive?
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • XLBalco
    XLBalco Posts: 607
    bout 45mins
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,958
    i would pull it at the last possible second and wrap the bags up in towels in a cooler. Should stay warm enough but may need a litte warm up when they get home. If you don't have any towels or a cooler to spare, tell them to bring towels and a cooler and keep them guessing as to why :)
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • XLBalco
    XLBalco Posts: 607
    Thanks! No shortage of either of those 2 things here.

    I'll post pics up later!
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,958
    Thanks! No shortage of either of those 2 things here. I'll post pics up later!

    they will love it. I'm doing a gift cook as we speak for the guys painting my house
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • XLBalco
    XLBalco Posts: 607

    i saw that thread... that is awesome!  just make sure they care COMPLETELY done before they start stuffing their faces! LOL

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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,958

    i saw that thread... that is awesome!  just make sure they care COMPLETELY done before they start stuffing their faces! LOL

    Funny thing is, they didn't even show up today! They have been money for 5 straight days. I didn't expect them to work over the weekend but they brought it up and told me they were bringing extra guys to really get after it. Must have been a good friday night :))

    Oh well, more pulled pork for me.


    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • XLBalco
    XLBalco Posts: 607

    send them off with hot dogs on the gasser when they are done for punishment!

    it is supposed to rain pretty bad here later tonight... so now i am debating between a but or ribs!

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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,314

    @XLBalco-the BGE won't care about the rain...so it's all about the cook.  I would go with the butt as it needs about zero tending once it's dialed in-of course, when I do ribs they don't need any either. 

    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • XLBalco
    XLBalco Posts: 607
    edited August 2012

    @XLBalco-the BGE won't care about the rain...so it's all about the cook.  I would go with the butt as it needs about zero tending once it's dialed in-of course, when I do ribs they don't need any either. 

    well i went with a butt... about 9.75lbs or so..  hopefully it is not raining when i start it..  i guess the dw will be mostly closed so shouldnt have to worry too much about anything?

    i think i am more concerned about cooking time.

    the last overnight butt i did i threw on about midnight and it was done about noon..  it was i think just under 9lbs and i had planned on it being done much later.  im ticked i think i threw out all my notes from that cook. i remember the dome i think was at 240ish.

    this one i want to be done about 2pmish..  thinking of setting the dome at 230 and seeing if it will go for about 14hrs.. i can always speed it up mid morning.. i just dont want this done at 10am

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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,314

    FWIW-at a dome of 250-260*F (calibrated-check yours) I see around 2 hrs/#.  Have never seen the speed with which your last one cooked given the recalled parameters, but every butt is different. That said, you can easily hold the finished butt for 4-5 hours FTC'd (foil, towel cooler).  So, given the 2 PM finish guesstimate (all times referenced are EDT) and the fact that you can jack up the temp to power it home (or use the Texas Crutc-see below link-tons of great info) I would put it on the stabilized (key word) BGE around 10 PM tonight.  But that's just my opinion and we all know what those are worth.

    The link- http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/porknography/perfect_pulled_pork.html 

    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • XLBalco
    XLBalco Posts: 607
    thanks for the info lou.. i actually started a thread and didnt realize it and had some info in there.  gonna calibrate everything again this time and see where this one ends up.. definitely bigger than the last one i did
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  • XLBalco
    XLBalco Posts: 607

    getting ready to go on in about 20mins

    image

    image

    image

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  • XLBalco
    XLBalco Posts: 607

    fudge me... i doubted my fire a lil bit last night.  woke up at 3am and i recall the butt being at 131ish and a grate of 220ish....  up at 6:30 and the butt was at 150 and the grate was about 190ish..  everything still warm.  must of snuffed out as there was still lump there.  re-lit and it is back going now..

    i was at HD yesterday and saw that cowboy lump- why i didnt get any i dont know.  i think for now on my long cooks will have cowboy lump as a base since those peices are ginormous and use red oak as a filler.  it's only me 3nd overnight cook and that is the only thing different this time.

    oh well- still salvageable!

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  • DrZaius
    DrZaius Posts: 1,481
    Here's a thought-what about aiming to finish shortly before they are scheduled to arrive, then FTC the whole thing (with a how to pull lesson tossed in) and let them take it home and pull and enjoy.  You can easily hold it quite warm/hot for 4+ hours.  Don't know the commute time but you could set them up with sides, sauce etc so it's the whole deal. 

    that's the way I would try to do it. If not, pull it and seal in in food saver/ziplocs in meal sized portions. They can reheat in warm water when they are ready to eat it. They can freeze what they don't eat and they can do the warm water thing right out of the freezer
    You need to leave the butt whole. DO  NOT PULL.  If your wish is to provide them dry pulled pork them by all means pull it for them but it will dry out no matter what anyone tells you.  Wrap it in foil, wrap in towel and cooler it and let them transport it that same way.  It will stay hot for hours and be extra yummy when they pull.  When I make butts for work I wrap them at 5am and they are hot to the touch at noon when they are pulled.

    This is the greatest signature EVAR!
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  • XLBalco
    XLBalco Posts: 607

    im not going home with them and i am not sending them off with whole butt.

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  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,505

    im not going home with them and i am not sending them off with whole butt.

    how about breaking (not cutting) off a chunk for them, then wrap and put in dry cooler?  with a short 45 min drive it'll still be steaming hot for them to shred when they get home. just my 2 cents.
    canuckland
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  • XLBalco
    XLBalco Posts: 607
    edited August 2012

    things didnt go exactly as planned...  so it turns out they didnt bring our daughters home til 7pmish...  i ended up pulling it about 4hrs after i took it off the egg.  it probably could of sat another 2 hours... it was steaming hot still after being wrapped in AF, a towe and in the cooler.

    in all honesty, this might of been my best butt- very moist.  didnt use any mustard and put the fat side down- that was a first for both for me.  it finished in just over 12 hours.

    i sent them home with 2 ziploc bags of pork - 1 sauced and 1 no sauce.

    image

    image

    image

    image

    image

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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,958
    dude- homerun. Very nice!
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • XLBalco
    XLBalco Posts: 607
    thanks... i gotta attack a brisket next- i think i have psyched myself out of doing one
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,958
    thanks... i gotta attack a brisket next- i think i have psyched myself out of doing one

    nah- we'll get you there. Just commit to doing 5 or 6 in 6 weeks and you'll be golden. Just give the ones you don't eat to buddies and neighbors. They will love you and you will learn
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,314
    @XLBalco-great job!  Glad it all worked out.  Now about that brisket-listen to Cen-Tex (when he is talking brisket).  He knows that cook inside and out.  Just fire away with any questions before the launch.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • XLBalco
    XLBalco Posts: 607
    Thanks... yea i have been reading some of those threads for play by play already lol!
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  • FanOfFanboys
    FanOfFanboys Posts: 2,615
    Damn that looks tasty!
    Boom
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