Best way to freeze without a Vacum Sealer

Yep,the best choice is usually to freeze in as big pieces as possible.

You can wrap in HD plastic,and then double wrap in HD foil,and they should keep just fine.

You can even do the reheat,just that way.
Pork holds well in an event like this,but briskets are a little trickier.

There are a couple other techniques,about getting them ready to serve,we can discuss when you get closer to the event.

What Tom said!

Ribdog even has a great technique to reheat the pork butts, while frozen.

Many of us use it,so you might check with him,closer to the event.

quote:

Originally posted by jcohen1005:
I’ve searched the forum, just wanted to confirm.

I have an upcoming picnic end of May(35-50 people). I plan to smoke about 8 PB’s and 4-6 Briskets. I would like to start smoking at least two weeks in advance, freeze the meats, and thaw few days before event, re heat in CS or Oven.

I do not have a vacuum sealer, so I thought I just double wrap in foil, let cool down for 4-6 hours, leave in foil, wrap in Saran wrap, insert into big ZipLoc, put in freezer.

This sound about right.

Open for comments.

Thanks.

You might make someone seriously ill with that method. The idea is to cool your meat down below 40 degrees as quickly as possible to prevent bacterial growth, with the danger zone being between 40 degrees and 160 degrees. Double wrapping in foil is great for letting it rest until you eat it (same day) but the wrap will actually keep the meat from cooling quickly and you will be right in the danger zone for several hours. Any more than four hours in the danger zone and you should just throw it away, and this includes serving time at your picnic. Freezing the meat will not kill bacteria, it just stops the growth until you defrost it again.

My suggestion would be to take your meat out of the smoker and let it rest for about 30 minutes uncovered, then throw it on a sheet tray and into your freezer uncovered until it gets cold enough to wrap, then take it out and cover in plastic wrap first, then foil. Sam's Club carries restaurant grade plastic wrap that will not melt during reheating, and plastic before foil really helps keep the moisture inthe meat. Keep the meat in big pieces if you wish, but on the PB's I would break them in thirds and pull the bone out to cool faster. Defrost in the refrigerator as close to your serving date as possible, not "A few days before".

quote:

Bacchus2b

Appreciate the advice.
Thanks.

Jay

Sticking butts in the freezer that have only been out of the smoker for 30 minutes will be tough on the freezer. Depending on the number of butts you put in the freezer like that, it can overwork the freezer and potentially put it into a partial defrost mode.

When I cool butts off, I will let them sit on a sheet tray for 1/2 to 1 hour inside the house. No more than an hour though. I then put them in ziploc bags and place them in an ice and water bath inside a cooler. This brings them down below the 40 degree very quicly. Then you can repack them and put them in the freezer.

More sound advice.
Thanks very much.

Looks like butts won't be done until about 10-12 tonight and I like the ice bath, then wrap and freeze idea.

Jay

Bacchus has some good points, from food service/food safe approach and tend to be used with restaurant walkin cooler,etc.

Those of us that may not have the facilities,do well with the approach Ribdog mentions,as we also conform closely to foodsafe standards.

Nice to have folks share approaches that help us all.

Just a little on the high side. The danger zone is generally reported as 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. For food service, cold foods should be kept colder and warm foods should be kept warmer. This is to keep any bacteria from multiplying. One to two hours in this zone is maximum before the food has to be discarded, and reheating would not necessarily destroy any toxins that the bacteria were able to generate.
For initial cooking and reheating, 165 degrees is recommended to kill any bacteria present.