Reheating pulled pork? help

I'd be curious to know this also. I know the ins and outs of reheating smaller portions because I vacuum seal everything and just boil in the bag to reheat. I had thought about vacuum sealing whole briskets and butts etc . I think I saw a reference to this in a different message that said something about re-heating in the CS at 140 degrees or something to that effect. I'd think you'd want the meat itself wrapped in foil to lessen moisture loss....

You can put it in half pans,a little apple juice and reheat 225�250� in two - three hrs.

Last weekend I packed pulled pork in 1 gal ,freezer ziplocs,about 2 in thick and chilled.

This was a setup for 60 people,with a 5 hr window.

You can reheat at 80 % power in microwave and add it to the serving dish,as you need it.

Worked great,as always.

I've done several big cooks in my Smokette that took 2 to 3 loads. So I'd cook the meat to within 15 to 20 degrees of being done, double wrap in foil, quickly cool and store in the fridge.

On the big day I'll put all the wrapped meat (still whole) in the oven at 300 degrees. I gradually reduce the oven temp and bring the meat up to the desired temps, then I'll transfer to a cooler and hold until it's time to server.

I waited until minutes before serving to cut or pull the meat. The buffet line started with the meat pans only partially filled while a friend and I cut the briskets and pulled the pork, filling the pans fast enough so that everyone had hot, juicy meat. I did this last weekend with excellent results, feeding 100.

Plus you get the "wow" factor from everyone when you unwrap a big ol' brisket, and the crowd gets to see what they're eating first-hand.

Dennis, Your answer is just what I've been looking for. A couple of questions.. I've been volunteered to provide pulled pork for my son's wedding reception and I'm using a smokette. How much meat did you start with for that sized group? And, how much meat were you able to pack into the smoker at a time? Thanks in advance- Brian

Brian - What's the size of the group?

Dennis - great idea! For this one though, I've already pulled and put in the fridge. I have chicken, salmon and sausage to cook in the morning, so I need every minute I can get. I'll post pictures. thx all!

dls- I'm looking at about the same sized group, 100 or so. I'm still working on the math for how much boneless pork butt to buy, given that I'll lose about 40%. Butt, at least I've got the reheating part figured out for me thanks to the group here.

Brian

Brian.

I'd plan for about 50% shrinkage. Then you need to calculate 1/4 or 1/3 cup per person. To cut down on quantity of pork, fill them up with sides.

See if this works.

100 people, 1/4 cup (say 4 oz), that's 25 lbs. So you need 50 lbs of butt pre-smoked weight. You can change to 3oz, etc and figure it out to your own method.

Smokin'

Brian - I agree with SO. I figure 50% shrinkage and about a 1/4 lb PP.

One thing to consider is service (especially with 100 people). Are you going to pre-assemble or do individual assembly at the time of serving. Obviously, the former gives you greater control and accuracy but you may suffer on the quality of the final result if the product has a long wait period. I prefer the latter method but I tend to become a little heavy handed when serving, especially during the initial rush. That said, I tend to err on the high side when it comes to weight. Say, in your example, 60 lbs. instead of 50. If nothing else - you've got leftovers.

What you need to do is allow 50% shrinkage, find a scoop that is the size you need to get 4 oz. of pork. Only use that scoop. Don't sit a pan of pork out for people to help themselves. If you do, let the pan run empty, then refill. It looks like a fresher product.

I'd use a person to serve the pork. Lay the sides out in front of the pork. Your bread or buns just before you get to the pork. Sauce at the very end. I think sauce can be pretty expensive, too. Maybe have the person who serves the pork apply the sauce. I've found squirting a bit from a squeeze bottle, then asking "would you like more? just tell me when." squirt a bit at a time, until they tell you to stop.

That's worked well for me.

Peggy

I did the research a while back and was told the following--which I've found by experience to be true:

1 Pork butt = 15 servings
1 Brisket = 18-20 servings
1 Chicken = 8 servings
Beans 1/2 cup per person
Sauce: 1 gallon feeds 90-100 people

I always cook more because leftovers are better than running out of food and because people love taking some home. I take a roll of HD foil so people can take home the leftovers.

Thanks one and all for *all* your useful tips and suggestions, this won't be quite the pain I thought it might be. Brian

Dennis you anticipated my question. I have a tough time with what Prisonchef and you big-time people feeders would call "portion control."

As I mentioned, my last experience was to have 10 friends go through 5 lbs of brisket for sandwiches at lunch. I suppose the best way to head off running out of food is to use serving sized ladles?

I agree that leftovers are great, but are there any formulas or tips you have for deciding how much food, over and above your estimate of servings per pound, to fix for a specific sized group? I'm usually afraid of not having enough and I cook too much. Then I have to deal with packaging and freezing it. Not altogether a horrible problem, I must admit.

Hook

One of the tricks is to put all the sides first and meat last.

Also, if you let them serve themselves, they'll take more than you planned.

Hook, don't confuse me with Prisonchef. He's a full-time caterer. I'm a full-time computer geek who has done a few small catering jobs in my Smokette for friends and neighbors--mostly for fun and the experience. You really learn a lot when you HAVE to produce excellent results.

The above portions are very accurate. My last job was for a father-son campout dinner. There were a few small kids but a lot of big dads and teenagers. I used the above portions to figure the quantity of meat and threw in one extra butt for cushioning. For leftovers I had about one butt worth of meat. I also served buns, rice & beans, salad, & slaw.

Here's some more info I gleaned off some Web site (can't remember which one):

Catering Barbecue

Sides
Figure on 1 cup per person of sides: 1/2 cup of beans and 1/2 cup of your second side per person. If you're doing 3 sides, figure on 1/3 cup per person per side.

Sauce
Figure one gallon of barbecue sauce for each hundred people served.

Meat
On meat, figure:

� 3 oz. and 1 bun per person for a light meal
� 4 oz. and 1 1/2 buns per person for a regular meal
� 5 oz. and 2 buns per person for a heavy mea

Plate Size
The size of the plates you use will definitely affect how much people will eat. We use:

� 7�-inch plate for light meals
� 9-inch plate for medium meals
� 10�-inch plate for heavy meals

Buffet arrangement
Put your side dishes at the beginning of the buffet line, your buns and sliced meats in the middle. Put your ribs at the end of the buffet line. This keeps those retired football player types from coming through the line and taking a whole slab of ribs which would cause you to run out before everyone gets a chance to eat.

We have our servers say "Brisket ma'am?" and "Baked Beans sir?" to make sure we don't load up someone with something they don't like. With ribs we say "Do you care for ribs?" Depending on the enthusiasm expressed for ribs, we will put 1 or 2 on the plate. If they are wildly enthusiastic about ribs, we put 3 on their plate. We always say "come back for more, there's plenty!"

Ribs
If you're feeding just ribs for the meat, figure 1/3 to 1/2 slab per person (that's for REALLY meaty ribs, like a top quality 1.75-2.0 lb. babyback, more if you're using a less meaty rib). If it's ribs in combo with other meats, figure 1/4 slab per person and 3 oz. sliced meats and one bun per person.

What to charge
To figure out how much to charge, take your raw food costs and multiply by 4. That will cover your labor, your overhead, your utilities, your wood, your charcoal, your insurance, soap for the dishes, etc., and leave you with a 10-18% profit margin, depending on how carefully you manage your labor force and your other resources.

Once again, you guys come through.

The tip about the plates is one that wouldn't have occured to me. And since I'm the guy that's doing the serving, I guess I'll practice up on my "brisket Ma'am?"

Thanks again

Hook

Dennis,the info above came from Elizabeth/Boss Hawgs restaurant and catering in Kansas and she posted it to Ray Basso's forum.

It has become a standard.

Dennis, would you care to go into a little more depth on the re-heating process. I have 8 butts that I smoked yesterday to about 185 deg. The butts are double wrapped in foil in the refrigerator. You mentioned starting at 300 deg. and slowly lowering the temp as the butts heat up. What kind of time frame are you talking about from start to serving. Thanks for idea prior to your post I wasn't sure how to handle this. I am in charge of the meat for a graduation party this weekend. Roger

OK, so here's what I did. It really was no big deal at all. I pulled, seasoned a bit, placed in a foil tray, put foil on the top and stuck in the fridge. 1.5 hours before the guests showed up, I put in the oven at 225 for approx. 30 minutes and then lowered to 180. Pulled it out, was just as moist as the day before, and stuck it in front of them. It was just fine. In all reality, it doesn't have to be reheated too long, or too hot. One you put it on the table and it sits for several minutes, it pretty much gets back to room temperature. Next time I will just re-heat quickly for less time. Just my experience.

Sorry for the confusion. I just started heating the wrapped meat up at a higher temp because it would take all day if I left the oven at 250. I checked the temp of the meat with an instant-read thermo and the closer it got to the target temp the more I lowered it. That's all--I was just nervous it wouldn't be done in time.

If you pre-cooked your meat fully, and Tom or Smokin' can verify this, I think you only need to reheat to 160 to eat. I usually smoke mine to 180 or so and try to finish the cook in the oven.

Then I put the wrapped, whole meat into the awaiting cooler as each piece reaches its target temp. I like pulling/slicing on-site right before and during the feast. The meat is hot that way, moist, and people love watching the process and even participating in pulling it.

I seem to have the best luck reheating pulled pork if I leave the butts whole. Wrap the cooked PB in foil and refrigerate. Then place the entire PB wrapped in foil in a pan in a 200 oven. It will come to temp very slowly and is almost as good as it is right out of the smoker. It will take several hours to warm through. Pull the pork right before you are ready to serve and moisten with a little vinegar sauce.

I generally smoke two butts at a time. I often will freeze a whole butt for use later when I have something spur of the moment and don't want to take the time to smoke. I have put the frozen butt in the oven and gone to the golf course. When I come home dinner is ready.

Good Luck!

I have generally placed a couple of table spoons of water in a pot, placed the pulled pork (shredded) in the pot, covered and placed over a low, real low flame, turning occasionally. Then saucing. Takes just a few minutes.