Tips for freezing half a Costco boneless pork butt for another day?

jollyred

Hello all,

I realized last weekend that pork butts at my local Costco come boneless and cut in half with a combined weight of 12-15lbs.

Assuming I just want to prepare one of these halves, what is the best way to store/freeze the other half for cooking at a later date?  And what would be a maximum safe duration of freeze?

Thanks,

Jollyred

DoubleEgger

Put it in the freezer for a little while then FoodSaver it. If no foodsaver, freeze and then put in a two gallon ziplock bag. Use a straw to suck out the air. 

pab

The other thing you can do is cook both of them at the same time. You won't take any more time or use any more fuel. Then pull and divide into meal size servings and freeze in ziplock freezer bags or FoodSaver bags and reheat bag and all in hot water on the stove. This is what I do even though it is just my 90 pound wife and I. I always cook them both and do 1# bags of pork. Often give some to friends as well. Pork butt is inexpensive and it is a good way to spread the gospel of the egg

Scantron

I had the same issue with our Costco butts. I vacuum sealed the second one and froze it. Works great. Yes, I could have cooked both then froze the finished product, but two cooks is more fun. 

jollyred

Thanks, everyone, for the comments.  I had never heard of a FoodSaver before... If I find this happens often, I may buy one.  Otherwise, I think I'll go with the straw and ziplock freezer bag for now.

What about useful shelf life of frozen raw pork butt vs frozen smoked pulled pork?  Is there much difference?

Thanks again for the helpful advice.

abpgwolf

pab said:

The other thing you can do is cook both of them at the same time. You won't take any more time or use any more fuel. Then pull and divide into meal size servings and freeze in ziplock freezer bags or FoodSaver bags and reheat bag and all in hot water on the stove. This is what I do even though it is just my 90 pound wife and I. I always cook them both and do 1# bags of pork. Often give some to friends as well. Pork butt is inexpensive and it is a good way to spread the gospel of the egg

^^ That's what I would do. If always had good luck freezing pulled pork

Photo Egg

jollyred said:

Thanks, everyone, for the comments.  I had never heard of a FoodSaver before... If I find this happens often, I may buy one.  Otherwise, I think I'll go with the straw and ziplock freezer bag for now.

What about useful shelf life of frozen raw pork butt vs frozen smoked pulled pork?  Is there much difference?

Thanks again for the helpful advice.

Shelf life for safety is as long as it stays frozen. Quality depends on your standards. Freezer burn from air in the bag and it going through the defrost cycle is hard to guess.
But if you DON'T have a Foodsaver "I" would not cook, pull and try freezing the 2nd pulled pork butt. But would cook it, pull it and give it away. Even with a 2nd freezer, as cheap as pork is, it's not worth my freezer space. 

JustOneOfTheGuys

jollyred said:

Hello all,

I realized last weekend that pork butts at my local Costco come boneless and cut in half with a combined weight of 12-15lbs.

Assuming I just want to prepare one of these halves, what is the best way to store/freeze the other half for cooking at a later date?  And what would be a maximum safe duration of freeze?

Thanks,

Jollyred

Layers is the key to keeping out air.  We wrap proteins to be frozen twice in commercial food wrap...


then in HD foil, then if possible we put it into a ziplock freezer bag with a tag with all the vital info: date purchased, where, what it is, weight and date frozen.  If you wrap it nice and tight, we’ve gotten upwards of 18 months without any freezer burn.  

logchief

A vacuum sealer is worth every penny.  No more moldy cheese in the frig, etc.

Terrebandit

A vacume sealer beats the heck out suckin raw pork from a straw

blasting

If you really want to save one in the freezer, I agree with @DoubleEgger .

I always do two at a time though, as @pab said.  Then I foodsaver in about 3/4 lb packages so I always have pulled pork for other recipes.

bgebrent

Never cook 1.  Tonight’s butts.  Brined.  Always.  



Put it a plate on top of those to submerge.
Will smoke all day on Mother’s Day.

DMW

jollyred said:

Hello all,

I realized last weekend that pork butts at my local Costco come boneless and cut in half with a combined weight of 12-15lbs.

Assuming I just want to prepare one of these halves, what is the best way to store/freeze the other half for cooking at a later date?  And what would be a maximum safe duration of freeze?

Thanks,

Jollyred

Not to detract from the above advice, but what you have there in that pack from Costco is not a single butt cut in half. Rather, it is quantity two (2) boneless butts in a single cryovac pack. Just wanted to make sure facts were presented.