Reheating ribs or pulled pork?

[bozer]

Hey all,

I have a big picnic to go to on Saturday afternoon. My plan originally was to cook a pulled pork beginning at 9PM on Friday night. I'm worried it won't be ready in time early Saturday morning when I need to leave for the picnic. Just seems to risky with how the time could vary.

My next idea was maybe to just do ribs the night before, then put them in the fridge. What would be the best way to reheat the ribs the next day? There will be grills at the picnic that I could use. I was thinking to just wrap the ribs in foil with apple juice and heat them on the grill. Would just cooking them on the grill be smarter? I usually do my ribs 3 hours smoke, 2 hours in foil, then a final hour with sauce on the grill. Maybe I just do 3/2 and do that final hour on the grill the next saturday with sauce?

Or am I being a big wuss and I should risk it and go with the pulled pork idea I had originally?

[Ka Honu]

3-2 on the ribs with a grill finish at the picnic will work just fine.

If you want to go with the pulled pork, do it earlier in the week and refrigerate until reheating on Saturday.

[Kahunas]

3-2 on the ribs with a grill finish at the picnic will work just fine.

If you want to go with the pulled pork, do it earlier in the week and refrigerate until reheating on Saturday.

Yup,
What he said x 2.

[TedEbear]

My plan originally was to cook a pulled pork beginning at 9PM on Friday night. I'm worried it won't be ready in time early Saturday morning when I need to leave for the picnic. Just seems to risky with how the time could vary.

Figure on 1.5 - 2 hours per lb for the pork to cook and plan accordingly.

[bozer]

When you reheat the pork, do you put apple juice or anything in there? Do you just keep it in a large foil container with the lid on, on the gas grill until its hot?

For the ribs, just throw them on and sauce them for an hour? Or would ribs be better in foil too?

[Ka Honu]

For the pulled pork, if you're reheating on a grill, I'd bring it to room temp, and then heat it slowly in a foil-covered pan on a low flame (don't want to "boil" it or dry it out).  Apple juice or drippings make good moisturizers if necessary.

Bring the ribs to room temp and finish as you would if you were doing the last part of the 3-2-1.

[Habanero Smoker]

If they are spare ribs, fully cook them and do not separate into individual ribs. When they need to be reheated, I use the flash reheating method. The flash method works well on thin cuts of meat, and chicken parts. The below link will give you more information; though it speaks of using 425 - 475°F, I have used 375°F with great results. I use the lower temperature, because I also apply the sauce at this time; if I am saucing. I don't like baby backs, and never tried this method with them.

Flash Cooking

[bozer]

So if I do ribs or pulled pork, and need to reheat it, I would put it in a large foil tray, and cover the tray with foil, then reheat it on the gas grill until its warmed up? So figure maybe 20 minutes? I might just do ribs as that may be easier to do overall. I'd use spare ribs and would cook them using the 3-2-1 method. For the last hour of that method, I wouldn't use any sauce? Then when I reheat, put the sauce on? Does that make sense?

[Habanero Smoker]

If you are using the flash method, putting the ribs in a foil pan will not work as well. I generally just throw them directly on the grill (but if you want to play it a little safer, foil each rack individually), and heat until they are warmed through; which is generally 5 - 10 minutes. The time depends on the thickness, and the temperature of the ribs when placed on the grill. I start them meat side down, then about half way through the process I turn them over and if I sauce I apply the sauce after turning the ribs meat side up.

If you put all of them in a foil pan, I would use a lower temperature and reheat for a longer period of time. I've never tried to reheat pulled pork on a grill, so I can't help you there.

[Consooger]

How big is the butt you are making? I would put that baby in no later that 7 PM. I just got done doing a large amount of butts and the ones that I put in around 7-8 were not finished until 2-3 o'clock and these were 8-9 lb butts. I cooked my pork butts ahead of time and vac sealed them and threw them in the fridge. Once I was ready I threw them in a heating pan with apple juice on 200 degrees and that warmed them up real good. If you don't have an electric warming pan you can easily use a crock pot as well. I have used crocks before and they work just fine.

X's 2 with Habs on the fully cooking the ribs if they are spare ribs. I have also done baby backs where I did 3 hours of smoke and let them cook for almost 2 hours, then threw on a grill for an hour in foil with apple juice and when i was ready to sauce I basted them and threw them on the grill for a few minutes (but not too high you don't want to burn them or dry them out)

[bozer]

Ok - wife wants me to make pulled pork, so ribs are out.

I'm going to start it at 7PM the night before and pray its done by the next morning. Then I will FTC for as long as possible. When I need to reheat it at the picnic, I'm going to put it in a foil pan with some apple juice and cover it with foil wrap. Then it will go on the grill. Should I have it over the flame or away? I'm going to try to just get it warm enough to eat but don't want it to burn or dry out. In theory I may be able to FTC until its time to eat, but would it be a bad idea to do that? Could you FTC for too long?

[Consooger]

What time are you planning on eating it? I don't FTC my pork, by the time mine is done its all good to go. I foil it for about an hour after I pull it out of the smoker and then pull it after that. Some people FTC it, when I do mine I don't feel the need. Some may think differently though.

[bozer]

Well the store only had bone in pork shoulder, so thats what I got. How screwed am I??

I can eat it anytime the next day, lunch or dinner.

[Ka Honu]

You're fine - you make pulled pork the same way with a shoulder as with a butt - just go to the same IT and it will fall off the bone.  I'd trim the rind first though.

[squirtthecat]

Ditto.

I've done shoulders, and while it is a different cut, it's all a wash in the end when you run it up towards 200°..