Cook before pork

[nickdel]

Hi All

Has anyone cooked a pork butt the day before they needed it and then warmed it up the following day?
The thing is I've got a BBQ tomorrow and was going to get up at silly O'clock to fire the ProQ up for the pork to be cooked at about 2pm. Then I thought I could cook it the day before and gently warm it in the ProQ an hour before I needed it.

What do you think?

Nick

[Steve]

If you have a vac sealer at home, cook it, pull it then seal it up in bags and warm it up in a sous vide ie boil the bags in water.

If not, I think you'll be ok as long as you wrap your butt in foil before warming it. It may dry out a little but I can't say I've ever doen this so I don't know for sure.

[nickdel]

Thanks Steve

I had reckoned on wrapping in foil and I'm glad that you think it's possible. At the moment I'm still deciding whether to cook today or get up at silly O'clock.
The other point I forgot to ask is to do with the rub. I made my own rub last time and made an "average" rub from all the recipes I found online. They all had quite a lot of salt in it and after leaving it for about six hours before cooking it I found that the salt had drawn out a lot of moisture from the meat. Is this normal?

Nick

[MadCow]

I used to cater for large numbers and always cooked both pork and brisket ahead of time ... with pork the key thing is to get it cooked properly first, then pull it, toss it in bbq sauce (if it's too thick water it down a bit) and pack it into either a foil dish or a roasting tin. Cover first with cling film, pressing the film directly onto the meat and then wrap in foil before putting into the fridge. (you can also freeze it at this stage). When you want to reheat it, remove the cling film and then reheat it slowly in the oven (or in the bbq) .. probe in several places to ensure it has reached temperature and serve.

Hope that helps.

[nickdel]

Thanks Madcow

That helps a lot. However, I decided to get up at silly O'clock anyway because it had gone past the time to start cooking today. Next time though, I'll do as you say.

Nick

[Chris__M]

Excellent, it seems that also solves one of my current dilemmas, in that I want to experiment and try things out, without the worry of people standing around waiting for me to come up with something edible. Up to now, I have done this by using smaller joints, which isn't really a total test of my skills with coping with a big beastie.

But from what you say, I could go ahead and order my first real butt, and give it a good try, then simply pull, sauce, and then freeze in manageable portions for 1-2 people for future consumption?

This would definitely move me forward in my plans.

Chris

[MadCow]

Suggest you try to use those little foil 'takeout' containers ... it freezes well in those, but don't leave them in the freezer for too long (as in a couple of months max) or the product will deteriorate!

[Chris__M]

Suggest you try to use those little foil 'takeout' containers ... it freezes well in those, but don't leave them in the freezer for too long (as in a couple of months max) or the product will deteriorate!

Heh - I don't think my willpower would last that long anyway, I'm more thinking of spreading it over a few weeks. As I work from home, it sounds like a perfect quick lunch to me.

[nickdel]

Thanks all for your advice

Nick