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Preserving pulled pork

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Charleston Dave
Charleston Dave Posts: 571
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I'm not satisfied with my leftover pulled pork.

Here's what I've been doing to preserve it:

(1) Keep serving tray covered, occasionally moistening with apple juice splashes and stirring until meal is done. I'm trying to avoid having it dry out at the table.
(2) Portion leftover pork in to 8-oz servings (enough for 2 sandwiches).
(3) Foodsaver
(4) Freeze.

To serve, I drop the whole (frozen) bag in simmering water until the bag is warm to the touch.

The flavor's not bad, but it's much less appealing than the fresh stuff. Kinda mushy, and the bark doesn't have the same zing or smoke flavor.

Does anybody have a better technique?
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Comments

  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
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    Try using the same sauce that you serve it with. The pulled pork I freeze is just as good as the original when I vacuum pack it sauced up.

    When you pull the pork you should mix some of the sauce in to it. That way is doesn't dry out during the serving. Keep extra sauce on hand for those that want more.
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  • NJ-GrEGG
    NJ-GrEGG Posts: 171
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    I portion out the pork that I know won't get consumed that day. That portion is left in much larger chunks and placed in ziplocks. After I reheat it I pull it apart some more.
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  • TXTriker
    TXTriker Posts: 1,177
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    Some had also mentioned Coke Cola be put in the bag before freezing. I haven't tried but others say it restores the taste.
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  • civil eggineer
    civil eggineer Posts: 1,547
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    I now place it in vacuum zip bags wih a little North Carolina vinegar sauce and it maintains its flavor pretty well. I think it will always lose a little umph compared to fresh but this method seems to do the least amount of damage to me so far.
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  • Hot Stuff
    Hot Stuff Posts: 82
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    Hello Dave ... i remember meeting you at eggtoberfest ... how are you ? ... my wife and i sat in chairs next to you at the friday night gathering while we were eating ... i would leave the meat in chunks and pull it as you eat it ... also, we have a double boiler with a lid that has a steamer insert (a stainless pan with holes in the bottom) and we keep the meat in there while we are eating ... also, we warm up leftover and frozen meat in this and it will keep it really moist without adding any additional flavors (such as coke or apple juice) ... it will however make the bark a little soggy ... try this and i hope it helps ... i really enjoyed your post on the shrimp abt's and the low country cookout the other day ... a job well done ... regards, david
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,749
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    i add just a little coke and low sodium chicken broth to the bottom of the bag when sealing and usually have some sauce added in when serving, a splash or two of a vinegar sauce when pulling and a sweeter sauce at the table. the bark never really reheats right, so eat it first before packing.
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • mcdraw
    mcdraw Posts: 89
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    CW,

    Any advice on vacuum packing apparatus? Thinking about getting one. Thanks
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  • civil eggineer
    civil eggineer Posts: 1,547
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    I have a vacuum sealer but was pretty disappointed with the sealing wire etc and the bags losing their vacuum. Granted, it isn't a real expensive unit. Purchased a hand pump vacuum bagger made by zip lock for $5 and it seems to work reasonably well.
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  • mcdraw
    mcdraw Posts: 89
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    Thanks CE. I will start looking at my options.
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  • Charleston Dave
    Charleston Dave Posts: 571
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    Thanks for all the tips, guys! And thanks for the Eggtoberfest shout-out, David.

    Looks as if I have two main ideas to pursue:

    (1) Sauce the pulled pork, freezing leftovers with the meat already sauced
    (2) Reserve the meat that I intend to freeze before pulling it, and wait until thawing to pull those chunks apart.

    As to the vacuum packing question, McDraw, I think a Foodsaver is a great buy at $100 or so. It does 90% of what a $6K commercial chamber vacuum can do. They say that the Foodsaver can't be used on liquids, but there are two workarounds for that:

    (1) the factory recommendation is to pre-freeze blocks of whatever liquid you want, and then put a block of the frozen liquid in the bag before vacuuming;

    (2) I get good results locking the bag in place, then moving the Foodsaver over to the edge of the counter so the bag hangs off the counter straight down, and using the PULSE mode to vacuum only until I see liquid being drawn upward. I then manually seal. Works like a charm!

    I've had no reliability issues, although I have noticed that when I seal 5 or 10 bags in a row, the machine slows down considerably.
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