It is simple to make “too much” pulled pork, since “too much pulled pork” isn’t really a thing.
It’s a little harder to reheat pulled pork the next day, and if you don’t do it right, you might end up with a disappointingly dry mess.
This article will talk about how to store pulled pork so that it stays in great shape and how to reheat it so that it tastes just as good, if not better, than the day it was cooked.
Pulled pork is a classic barbecue dish that’s great for feeding a crowd. But leftovers are inevitable, and reheating them can be tricky. Traditional methods like the oven or microwave often lead to dried-out overcooked meat. That’s where sous vide comes in!
Reheating pulled pork with an immersion circulator results in pork that’s just as moist, juicy, and flavorful as the day it was smoked Here’s everything you need to know about reheating pulled pork sous vide
Benefits of Sous Vide for Reheating Pulled Pork
Sous vide offers major advantages when reheating leftover pulled pork:
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Preserves moisture – The gentle heat of the water bath warms the pork without drying it out.
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Restores texture – It returns the shredded meat to a tender, juicy consistency.
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Intensifies flavor – Sous vide infuses the pork with its own juices and seasoning.
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No overcooking – It’s impossible to overdo it with the precise temperature control.
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Safe – The heat kills any bacteria, making it safe to reheat in the danger zone.
Simply put, sous vide reheating brings pulled pork back to its peak, just-smoked condition.
Step-By-Step Guide to Reheat Pulled Pork Sous Vide
Reheating pulled pork sous vide is easy. Here are the steps:
1. Prepare the Water Bath
Fill your sous vide cooker or precision cooker with water and heat to 165°F. This temperature is ideal for reheating pulled pork without drying it out.
2. Seal the Pork in Bags
Put the pulled pork in one or more zip-top bags. Push out excess air before sealing to prevent the bag from floating.
For quick portions, use smaller bags with 1-2 servings per bag. For big batches, use a large gallon bag.
3. Submerge the Bags
Put the bag(s) in the 165°F water bath, using weights to keep them fully submerged.
4. Heat the Pulled Pork
Heat the pork for 45-90 minutes. The time depends on thickness:
- 1-inch bag – 45 minutes
- 2-inch bag – 90 minutes
- 3-inch bag – 2 hours 15 minutes
So a gallon bag filled with pork should heat for around 1.5 hours.
5. Remove and Serve!
When time’s up, remove the bags and open carefully to avoid burns. Pull out the piping hot, moist pork and serve.
And that’s all it takes! Now let’s look at some tips for the best results.
Handy Tips for Reheating Pulled Pork Sous Vide
Here are some tips and tricks for reheating pulled pork with a sous vide cooker:
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Smaller bags = faster reheating and easier portioning.
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Leave some juices = they add delicious flavor when reheated sous vide.
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Pat off excess fat = for a less greasy finished product.
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Season before bagging = a pinch of rub or sauce adds a flavor boost.
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Use a thick bath = 5-6 inches deep for more stable temps.
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Pre-heat water = for faster recovery when adding cold bags.
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Weigh down bags = prevents floating that can lead to uneven heating.
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Dry thoroughly before searing = helps get a nice crust after sous vide.
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Shred after reheating = makes the pork extra tender and saucy.
Following these best practices will take your leftover pulled pork to new heights!
Other Ways to Enjoy Reheated Pulled Pork
Reheated pulled pork straight from the sous vide bath is delicious enough to eat on its own with just a squirt of barbecue sauce. But you can also use it in so many other ways:
- Tacos, burritos, and quesadillas
- Eggs Benedict breakfast tacos
- Pizza and flatbreads
- Sandwiches like French dip and Cubans
- Nachos, baked potatoes, and tater tot casseroles
- Savory pies, hand pies, and pot pies
- Salads, pasta, rice bowls
- Soups like split pea, bean, and broccoli cheddar
- Omelets, breakfast burritos, and hash
Get creative with your leftover pulled pork! The flavorful, tender meat reheated via sous vide can elevate just about any dish.
Storing and Freezing Sous Vide Pulled Pork
To extend the life of your leftover pulled pork:
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Refrigerate for up to 5 days after initial cook.
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Freeze for 4-6 months in an airtight container. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating sous vide.
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Refrigerate for another 3-4 days once reheated. Don’t reheat pork more than once.
With proper storage in the fridge and freezer, you can enjoy your sous vide leftover pulled pork for up to a week.
Make Your Own Juicy Pulled Pork
Want to cook up your own pulled pork to enjoy as leftovers later on? Sous vide lets you turn out foolproof pulled pork that’s incredibly moist and fall-apart tender:
- Cook pork shoulder or butt 24-48 hours at 165°F.
- For flavor, add spices, liquids, or sauces to the bag.
- Finish with a quick sear or broil to crisp the outside.
- Shred and sauce the pork.
It’s hands-off cooking that gives you mountains of succulent pulled pork anytime the craving strikes!
Reheat Leftover Pulled Pork to Perfection
Reheating pulled pork sous vide is a great way to revive leftovers to their original glory. The gentle precision cooking leaves the pork irresistibly juicy, tender, and packed with flavor.
Whether you have leftover sous vide pulled pork or traditionally smoked barbecue, give this simple reheating method a try. Just seal, submerge, and heat until piping hot and delicious.
So put that sous vide machine to work on your leftover pulled pork. Enjoy every last bite just as much as the very first, and cut down on food waste too. It’s a win-win!
How to properly store pulled pork
If you have too much pulled pork, the best thing to do is vacuum seal it in individual servings.
I’ve been vacuum sealing most of my leftovers for the last few years. Not only does it preserve the food, but it also saves so much space in your freezer.
It’s hard to store everything you have because most of the containers you have have extra space and air around them. This makes it hard to fit everything in your fridge and freezer.
Vacuum sealing has stopped waste in my household. But more so it has changed our way of storing frozen goods. When we get home from shopping, I’ll divide the food up, vacuum seal it, and freeze it. When we take out all the extra packaging, what used to fill up our freezer after a normal shopping trip, it only takes up half the space.
We have a whole guide with all the best vacuum sealers here. Vacuum sealers are now cheap and easy to find.
There’s a simple way to save all that barbecue food: let it cool down all the way before cutting it up and vacuum sealing it.
To cool it down quickly, put it in a bag that won’t let water in and bury it in a cooler full of ice until the temperature drops below 40°F.
Reheating your pulled pork
We’ve all had reheated pulled pork that was dry. We’ve also heard a lot of different ways to reheat food without drying it out, such as using a microwave, slowly raising the temperature, putting it in the oven with the door closed, and so on.
By sealing the pulled pork in a vacuum sealed bag, you have also sealed in the juices. Those juices can’t get out until the bag is cut. Now comes the tricky part: how to best reheat it to the perfect eating temperature?
You need one secret ingredient when it comes to reheating, and its name is boiling water.
If you put a bag of vacuum-sealed pork into boiling water, you’ll have warm, delicious pulled pork in 5 minutes.
You can make pulled pork that tastes like it was just taken off the smoker in 5 minutes by putting the unopened bag into boiling water. It may sound too easy, but there aren’t any tricks or gimmicks.
If you have bigger portions, like if there were twice or three times as much in the bag, you may need to heat it up for up to ten minutes longer per bag.
Sous Vide Reheating Pulled Pork How -To
FAQ
What’s the best way to reheat pulled pork?
Can you reheat cooked meat in a sous vide?
What’s the best way to reheat pork without drying it out?
How do you reheat frozen pork in a sous vide machine?
Bring either your sous vide machine or a sizeable stove-top pot of water up to 165°F. Place the vacuum bags filled with pork into the machine/pot. Let the bags sit in the hot water bath for 45 minutes per inch of the thickness of the contents. If you are reheating your stored pork from frozen, leave it in there for an additional 30 minutes.
Can You reheat pulled pork from frozen?
You can buy a sous vide machine, or you can use a large stove-top pot. Sous vide can also be used to reheat your pulled pork from frozen, which is excellent if you don’t have 24 hours of defrosting time. The downside of the sous vide method is that you will need a vacuum sealer to store the pork.
Can You reheat pulled pork in a vacuum pack?
The sous vide technique is a great reheating method. It involves letting meat inside a vacuum plastic pack sit in boiling water. To reheat pulled pork in boiling water, you should have already stored it in a vacuum pack. Most vacuum packs today do not melt in the water, so don’t sweat the cancer-causing stuff.
Can you use a sous vide machine to cook pulled pork?
You can use sous vide, which literally translates as ‘under vacuum,’ to cook your pulled pork right from the get-go and it’s a great way to cook beautifully tender meat. You can buy a sous vide machine, or you can use a large stove-top pot.