Food Saver

squish · December 17, 2013, 06:33:56 AM

So I've been tasked with bringing pulled pork, and brisket for the family Christmas dinner. Well the family lives about 4 hours away and we're leaving the day prior, and I'm not carting a BDS across two states. So what I'm thinking is get both cuts smoked and done and seal them in vaccum bags for transport. Thoughts?

rexster · December 17, 2013, 10:06:42 AM

When are you cooking them? If a day before, why bother sealing them? Wrap the briskest in plastic wrap put the pulled pork in a Ziploc bag, refrigerate.

squish · December 17, 2013, 01:24:06 PM

Quote from: rexster on December 17, 2013, 10:06:42 AM
When are you cooking them? If a day before, why bother sealing them? Wrap the briskest in plastic wrap put the pulled pork in a Ziploc bag, refrigerate.

Should finish cooking before we leave on the 24th......maybe late on the 23rd, but you know how this stuff goes.....it's not done until it's done. My main concern is maintaining the moisture content. Y'all know that there's nothing worse that dried out BBQ. Well there is, but you know.....LOL.

Saber 4 · December 17, 2013, 06:30:40 PM

You can put the pulled pork in a crock pot when you get there and add a little apple juice for moisture, for me I would use the vac bags so I know it doesn't leak in transport. If you time the brisket right it could be FTC'd for the 4 hour trip, otherwise I would vacuum bag it and heat it up in a water bath when I needed it.

squish · December 18, 2013, 03:17:30 AM

Quote from: Saber 4 on December 17, 2013, 06:30:40 PM
You can put the pulled pork in a crock pot when you get there and add a little apple juice for moisture, for me I would use the vac bags so I know it doesn't leak in transport. If you time the brisket right it could be FTC'd for the 4 hour trip, otherwise I would vacuum bag it and heat it up in a water bath when I needed it.

That was my train of thought as well. Just wanted to see what others had done/tried, and if it worked out or not.

Pachanga · December 18, 2013, 03:26:15 AM

All of the above are fine suggestions. I would just comment on the water bath. I regularly cut up and freeze butt and brisket that is in chunks. They are vac sealed. A water bath reheating of the still sealed meat at 190 to 200 degrees brings them back to original finished temp without losing any moisture. Think of it as FTC in a bag. This gives you a choice to add or not add additional liquid when hot and opened for slicing or pulling.

I would also note that a little butter will restore that "mouth feel" of moisture if dryness is a problem.

Good luck and slow smoking,

Pachanga

Saber 4 · December 18, 2013, 08:48:46 AM

That sounds like a good tip with the butter Pachanga, thanks for sharing.

renoman · December 20, 2013, 06:56:22 AM

Quote from: Pachanga on December 18, 2013, 03:26:15 AM
All of the above are fine suggestions. I would just comment on the water bath. I regularly cut up and freeze butt and brisket that is in chunks. They are vac sealed. A water bath reheating of the still sealed meat at 190 to 200 degrees brings them back to original finished temp without losing any moisture. Think of it as FTC in a bag. This gives you a choice to add or not add additional liquid when hot and opened for slicing or pulling.

I would also note that a little butter will restore that "mouth feel" of moisture if dryness is a problem.

Good luck and slow smoking,

Pachanga

X2. This is absolutely the best way to bring your meat up to eating temps without drying it out.