Pulled pork is a favorite among many people because this recipe is delicious and versatile.
You can basically pair it with bread or rice or eat it with beans, potatoes, and coleslaw. Of course, they’re most popular as sliders. Click here for slider recipes (video).
Sliders 4 Ways Via Tasty
If you accidentally or purposely cooked a lot of this dish – there’s nothing to worry as long as you know how to reheat pulled pork.
There are tricks and techniques to retaining the moist, juicy quality of pulled pork, you know. Reheated pulled pork can then be your food for several days.
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What is Pulled Pork?
Pulled pork is basically shredded pork. The pork is cooked so well – that the portion becomes so tender and easy to be shredded or pulled apart. So, that’s how it got its name.
Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork Via allrecipes
Ideally (or in most pulled pork recipes) the shoulder cut is recommended. The reason for this is that this part is quite fatty – the fat contributes to having moist and juicy results.
Of course, you can always trim off some of the fat (before and after cooking) as this is not very healthy for you.
Smoky Pulled Pork with Chipotle Mayonnaise Via Gordon Ramsay
As with other types of dishes, there are several ways to cook and season a Pulled Pork recipe (video). But one thing is required – it requires a slow and long cooking process. This is the most effective method for making a tough piece of meat really soft and tender, you see.
Cooking Pulled Pork can be done in different ways, using different cooking devices such as:
Crock pot or other types of slow cooker
Crock-Pot 7-Quart Oval Manual Slow Cooker Via Amazon
Smoker
A Guide to Offset Barrel Smokers Via barbecuebible
The Best Skillet Via thesweethome
Can You Freeze Pulled Pork?
If you’ve cooked a lot of pulled pork and have leftovers – yes, you can freeze this dish. However, follow the proper freezing procedures as listed below:
Cool freshly cooked pulled pork (about 2 hours) before storing in the freezer.
Being out for more than 2 hours can already expose the food to bacteria growth.
In this case, it’s best to reheat the dish before freezing it.
Put the pulled pork in freezer bags and seal tightly (click here to buy freezer bags).
Hefty Slider Freezer Bags Via Amazon
You can also use airtight freezer containers.
How to freeze food without plastic Via treehugger
Put the freezing dates (use permanent marker for this) on containers and freezer bags
If you plan on eating or serving the pulled pork, thaw and reheat the desired portion only
How to Keep Reheated Pulled Pork Soft and Juicy
Reheating pulled pork can ruin its texture and taste – unless you know how to do it right. The best way to reheat pulled pork is to add one or more liquid ingredients to the recipe. Aside from water, you have several options for the liquid ingredients.
Barbecue Sauce
Five Regional Barbecue Sauces for Pulled Pork Via barbecuebible
Pulled pork is best served with barbecue sauce – so, there’s a good chance that you have some leftover barbecue sauce around. If not, you can just make a homemade barbecue sauce (video) or simply use a store-bought one.
Homemade Barbecue Sauce Via Chef Tips
Pulled Pork Drippings
Pulled Pork Drippings Via bbq-brethren
If you’ve saved the drippings from the dish, you can use this as the liquid ingredient for the reheating process.
But first, you need to remove the layers of white fat that have formed at the top so as not to put this back into the dish.
Apple Juice
How to Make Homemade Apple Juice Via motherearthnews
Apple juice works well as the liquid ingredient when reheating pulled pork. Apple juice is naturally sweet, and it’s loaded with vitamins and minerals as well.
For this method, you can either make a homemade apple juice (you can use a juicer) or use a pre-packed one from the grocery.
Broth
Broth is another tasty liquid ingredient that will add moisture and flavor to your already cooked pulled pork recipe.
To make your own broth, you can boil some meat, vegetables, and spices in a pot – then strain the resulting mixture. You also have the option of using bouillon cubes (1 bouillon for per cup of boiling water).
Cola or Soda
Homemade Soda Via huffingtonpost
Soda or cola liquid ingredient will add sweetness and moisture to the dish
Combining Liquid Ingredients
Aside from the above-mentioned liquid ingredients, you can also combine one or more of those same ingredients into the pulled pork mixture.
You can experiment with combinations (according to your taste) or you can also use the proven combinations as listed below:
Apple juice and drippings
Broth and cola
Broth and cola Via diddlesanddumplings
Broth and barbecue sauce
Broth and Barbecue Sauce Via realfoodrn
Apple juice and barbecue sauce
Angry Orchard Crisp Apple BBQ sauce recipe Via sheknows
How to Reheat Pulled Pork in Crock Pot or Slow Cooker
Since a crock pot is a type of slow cooker, I am listing the steps below under the same category.
The Difference Between a Crockpot and a Slow Cooker Via leaf
- STep 1
- Step 2
- Step 3
- STEP 4
- STEP 5
Place the pulled pork in the crock pot
Put pulled pork in the crock pot Via soupbelly
How to Reheat Pulled Pork in Oven
Using the oven is a popular choice when reheating pulled pork (even if it was not originally cooked in the oven). Just follow the steps below.
- STep 1
- Step 2
- Step 3
- STEP 4
- STEP 5
Use a deep baking tray to hold the pulled pork and liquid ingredients
Use a deep baking tray to hold the pulled pork Via dimplesanddelights
- Note: Since aluminum foil reacts to the presence of acid in food, I recommend using water, broth or drippings (or a combination of those ingredients) when using this method.
How to Reheat Pulled Pork Using a Skillet
If you are in a hurry, reheating pulled pork in a skillet is one of the fastest ways of doing it. Just follow the instructions below.
Reheat Meat in a Cast Iron Skillet Via thekitchn
- STep 1
- Step 2
- Step 3
- STEP 4
- STEP 5
- STEP 6
For this method, know that using a cast iron skillet is highly recommended because of its heat retention quality. Cast iron cookware also ensures even heating throughout the cooking process.
Iron Skillet Pulled Pork Sammich..Garage Cookin Via BolognaRingRanch
- Note: Use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of the pulled pork. The pulled pork temperature reading should be 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
How to Reheat Pulled Pork Using a Smoker
If you’ve cooked pulled pork in a smoker, you can actually reheat it using other cooking devices (such as on a skillet or crock pot or oven). Still, if you want to reheat the pulled pork in the smoker, just follow the steps below.
How to Smoke Pulled Pork Via Art of Manliness
- STep 1
- Step 2
- Step 3
Place the pulled pork in an aluminum pan with cover (you can use aluminum foil)
Place the pulled pork in an aluminum pan Via kamadostyle
Tips on Reheating Pulled Pork
Needless to say, reheating pulled pork is really easy. However, you need to keep certain things in mind so as to make the result as good as possible (as if the pulled pork was freshly cooked).
Remember, you are using liquid ingredients to avoid having dry meat – but you don’t want the reheated dish to be too watery.
- Tip #1 – If you plan on reheating frozen pulled pork, put the needed portion in the refrigerator the night before (to thaw it).
- Tip #2 – If you only need a small portion of the frozen pulled pork, just reheat that part and keep the rest in the freezer.
- Tip #3 – If there are some leftovers from reheated pulled pork, you can freeze these like they were newly cooked meat.
How to Reheat Pulled Pork Without Drying it Out
BBQ Pulled Pork Recipes Via foodnetwork
Since you can freeze and reheat pulled pork recipes, there’s no need to worry about cooking too much of this dish.
The whole cooking process takes a lot of time anyway, so why not make a large batch in advance, right? I’m sure everyone in your family loves this dish and will welcome repeats throughout the week.
Well, now you know how to properly reheat this type of dish without drying it out. I have just provided you with a lot of options in this post to help you out.
As always, I will be happy to hear from you – so, you can leave your message in the comment section below. You can also share this article with your friends so that they will always be inspired to cook pulled pork recipes in advance.
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