Retherming Pulled Pork

Hey everyone! I'm loving the new BBQ class! I'm firing up my Pit Barrel Cooker this weekend for the 4th and had a quick question:
I have to smoke the pork shoulder in Utah, chill it and then transport it to Idaho the following day. I'm planning on retherming the pork in my circulator.

Should I chill and retherm the pork shoulder whole or would the integrity of the product be better retained if I shred it immediately post cooking, then chill and retherm it?

Thanks guys!

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mike.minasian

I don't necessarily have major experience with this, but my thought would be: Cook it, chill it, transport it, pull it, retherm it. I feel like when it's cold it would retain the juices better, such that when you retherm pulled, it would be "releasing" the juices for the first time.

When I did a whole shoulder (this recipe, which is great btw: http://www.adamperrylang.com/recipes/bone-in-pork-but-with-gren-apple-and-crushed-hot-red-peper ) I pulled enough to make sandwiches and stored large chunks in bags. I reheated as necessary, often in the microwave with some sauce, which worked fine because it was so juicy.

Brendan_Lee_56950

pull it first, it will make reheating a lot quicker since you have cut down the size of the overall product.

Tim_Sutherland_52834

I would pull it first as it is easier to do when warm. Bag the pork with a bit of the sauce you plan to serve it with.

Pulling the pork at home means you also get chef snacks and you can leave some there for when you get back.

grandpa.yum

I did this today actually, smoked a pork shoulder yesterday and it took a little longer than I had planned for so I chilled it. I reheated it at 160F for 4 hours mostly whole (I cut it into two smaller pieces because I didn't have big enough bags) and shredded it after. It came out well; I got about 1/4 cup of liquid which I sieved and added to the barbecue sauce I had made earlier. I noticed that the bark had noticeable softened but other than that it was fine.

I would imagine shredding it first would accelerate reheating significantly but it works both ways.

Lee_Williams_29440

Consider pulling it first to get it chilled faster. To reheat, nothing beats a thorough sear to put a little crunch on the pulled product. Reheated pork shoulder can get a little funky, I assume from prolonged time at spoilage-friendly temperatures during low & slow smoking and slow cooling afterward. You'd think it would be pasteurized after so many hours of smoking, but experience says otherwise. Whatever the reason for the funk, we get much better results with quick cooling and quick hot reheating.

ParkerCook_66639

Hey guys,
I ended up pulling the pork and then bagging/chilling it. I reheated it at 160 for about 4 hours before throwing it all in a pan and torching it on top to crisp it up a bit. It worked beautifully; the meat was succulent and juicy. The bark did take a turn to the soft side but over all it was a delicious result.