The worst thing about serving up your pulled pork at the dinner table is that it might get all dried up and cold.
You don’t want it to dry out and let it become a cold shadow for your guests who’ve been anxiously waiting to have a go at it.
It’s also quite common that you might forget to pack your pulled pork properly in a rush when you have guests or you’re hosting a get-together during the holidays.
Therefore, it’s important that you know about a few different ways for keeping the pulled pork warm and moist.
Here’s all you need to know.
Can You Put Warm Pulled Pork in The Fridge?
Yes, you can put any meat-based meal like pulled pork in the fridge as long as you don’t need to eat it right after preparing.
Health professionals and nutritionists stress that bacteria molds start growing on food within a few hours unless it’s refrigerated.
This is especially important for food containing meat, eggs, dairy and other animal-extracted food products.
Therefore, it’s advisable that you refrigerate your pulled pork within the first few hours of cooking even if it’s still hot.
Leaving food outside in the room temperature encourages bacteria to grow so you should follow the “2-hour rule.”
Never keep the pulled pork out in the open for more than two hours.
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Can You Freeze Pulled Pork?
Yes, you can easily freeze pulled pork.
How you do so depend on whether you want freeze it before cooking or freezing an already cooked meal.
If you want to freeze the pulled pork before cooking it, you can simply store it like any meat.
However, if there’s some pulled pork leftover after you’ve cooked it, it’s better to freeze it in an airtight, resealable freezer bag.
Taking as much air out of the bag in the process is important before sealing because air can cause freezer burns to the meal and affect its taste.
To unfreeze it again and serve, take it out of the freezer to thaw and reheat.
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Can Pulled Pork Be Refrozen?
You can easily refreeze pulled pork whether it’s cooked or uncooked but it’s important to take the necessary steps and ensure food safety for you and your loved ones.
The most important thing for this is how you package the pork before freezing it again.
In order to do so, the best method is to use a sealable freezer bag.
As your pulled pork already has spent some time in the fridge or the freezer, it’s important to take extra care when you refreeze it for the second time after thawing it.
It’s advisable to use it right after thawing the pork for the second time.
How to Reheat Pulled Pork Without Drippings?
In order to reheat the pulled pork after taking it out of the freezer, you will need to put the vacuum-sealed bag containing the pork into a pot and heat it to a boil for about 5 to 10 minutes.
After that, let the boiled pork sit for a while before opening it again.
If you don’t want the drippings to be reheated, you will have to separate them before freezing the pulled pork in the first place.
You can use these drippings in lots of recipes like for making BBQ sauces, gravies, as base for soups or liquid for sautéed stuff.
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How to Make Dry Pork Moist Again?
The key to making dry pork moist again after unfreezing is properly storing and freezing it in the first place.
You should keep the pork in one-piece.
Keeping and storing the pork whole will allow you preserve its moisture avoid getting the typical dry situation.
Freezing the freshly pulled pork right away when it’s untouchably hot is important to make the pork moist again.
If you want to rescue an already dried out pork, first shred it into smaller portions and then simmer the pieces into a stew by boiling them in water, broth or some other liquid over low heat.
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How to Keep Pulled Pork Warm?
Everyone wants to actively keep their pulled pork moist while serving and in order to do so, the most important thing is to keep it warm as well.
Both of them go hand in hand.
Keeping meat warm for more than around 5 hours while also trying to maintain the fresh taste is not very easy.
Waiting for this long means that you’re at risk of getting your food dried up, becoming hard, and subsequently lowering the quality of its taste compared to when it was first cooked, ready to eat.
Thankfully, there are solutions for this.
Crock-pots
All you need to in order to keep your pulled pork warm is a crock-pot with a tight lid, an electricity outlet in your kitchen to power the crock-pot.
It’s relatively easier to have the pork set at a certain temperature. The crock-pot can help you do just that.
Set the crock-pot to a low heat option, put the pulled pork in it and just leave it there to let it simmer.
What this does is use the heat left in the freshly pulled pork to create a warm temperature without letting it go below a certain temperature.
Putting on a higher heat option will cause the pulled pork to overcook and evaporate most of its moisture, making it dry even more.
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Coolers
Another way to keep your pulled pork warm is to heat the pork butts whole, wrap them in an aluminum foil and then keep them in a thermally insulated cooler.
You can pull the pork right when you’re ready to serve, preserving all its moisture and maintaining its juiciness.
You can try out this Igloo insulated cooler that keeps pulled pork moist and warm for longer.
Commercial food warmer
Professional chefs use food warmers to keep the food warm for a longer time and prevent bacteria formation.
The price might make them an impractical solution for your needs at home but you can find a used Cambro food warmer on sites like Amazon.
These devices are particularly good for when you want the meat to stay warm and then transport it to another place in a picnic.
Low temperature oven
Almost everyone has an oven and a roasting pan at home.
160 to 170 degrees is typically the best temperature to keep food warm in an oven.
However, you need to be careful in selecting the temperature so that your meal doesn’t keep cooking.
Wrapping Up
Keeping meat warm for 5 hours as well as maintain its fresh taste is not an easy job. But now you know how to keep pulled pork moist and warm for longer without affecting its taste.
You can use crock-pots as well as insulated coolers for keeping pulled pork warm. These choices are budget-friendly.
Food warmer and low temperature oven are also good choice for enjoying warm pulled pork.
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