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These past few months, I’ve been asked a lot of times how to reheat pulled pork and keep it from getting dry.
I’ll start this tutorial by showing you a couple of my favorite ways to smoke a pork butt. Next, I’ll show you how to make pulled pork that tastes like it was just taken out of the smoker, even though it was cooked the day before. The meat will be more juicy than ever and taste better than when it was first taken out of the smoker. It will even have more smoke flavor.
You don’t have to do this step, but I really think you should: put the pork butt in a half-size foil pan fat cap up. If you have multiple pieces of meat, use a separate pan for each one.
Why use a pan? It keeps your smoker clean and makes sure you get all the tasty juices from the pork butt.
Apply a thin coat of mustard to the fat-cap and sides of the pork butt. This helps the rub to stick really well to the meat.
Once the rub and mustard are on the butt, let it sit for 10 minutes so the rub can mix with the mustard. Then, turn it over so the fat cap is facing down.
Note: if you are using a pellet smoker, here are some tips to help you out.
Make sure you have good smoke flowing. I used hickory wood, but you can use any smoking wood you have on hand or your favorite.
Smoke for at least four to six hours, but you can smoke the whole time if you want to.
Keep the temperature at 107°F (225°C) while smoking the pork butts. It should take about 14 hours to finish.
When it gets to 160°F (71°C), some people like to wrap or cover the pork butts, but I don’t do that often.
In the thickest part of the meat, the pork butts are done cooking when they reach 207°F (97°C). They can now be brought inside to cool down.
Heres some instructions for separating the fat from the juices if you want to do that.
Note: You can also leave the juice in the pan and pull the meat apart while it’s still wet. This is not as healthy but it tastes amazing and the meat is SO juicy and flavorful!.
With two forks, pull the meat into pieces after it has been cool for about an hour. Dont shred it too much. just let it fall apart into its natural sections.
Pulled pork is a classic barbecue dish that’s all about savoring succulent, smoke-infused pork shoulder that pulls apart easily. Most recipes call for seasoning the raw pork with a dry rub before smoking. But what about seasoning after it’s pulled and shredded? Here’s a complete guide to seasoning pulled pork after pulling.
Why Add More Seasoning After Pulling?
There are a few good reasons you may want to add more seasoning after pulling pork:
- Reinforce spice flavors that mellowed during long cooking times
- Brighten flavors that may have dulled while resting
- Moisten dried-out shredded pork
- Add a finishing touch of acid, sweet, or heat
- Personalize flavors for different diners
- Refresh leftovers before reheating
Seasoning again after pulling and shredding allows you to tweak flavors and textures It helps balance the unctuous richness of pork with brighter seasonings
Best Practices for Post-Pull Seasoning
Follow these tips when seasoning pulled pork after pulling for best results:
- Mix seasonings in thoroughly so flavors evenly coat shredded pork.
- Allow 10-30 minutes for seasonings to fully absorb after mixing.
- Begin with a light hand – you can always add more.
- Fine tune flavors with acids, sweeteners, or heat to taste.
- Add extra moisture if needed with broth, juice, or sauce.
- For reheated pork, reseason to revive flavors.
Go slowly and evenly when seasoning to prevent overpowering pork or uneven flavor distribution. Give the shredded pork time to rest and absorb additional spices and liquids before serving.
Top Seasonings for Pulled Pork After Pulling
Extra Smoked Paprika
Smoked paprika is often already part of the initial dry rub, but extra after pulling doubles down on smoky flavor. It adds richness without too much salt.
Barbecue Dry Rub
Sprinkle on more of the original dry rub to reinforce those same spice flavors, bringing back notes that mellowed during smoking.
Chile Powder or Hot Sauce
Chiles and hot sauces like Tabasco bring back heat that dissipated during resting. They balance the rich unctuousness of pork.
Vinegar Sauce
Splash of vinegar brightens flavors and cuts through fatty pork’s richness. Cider white, or red wine vinegars all work well.
Finishing Sauce
Sauces with a sweet-sour-spicy profile add moisture and flavor contrast. Mustard- or vinegar-based versions penetrate shredded pork.
Extra Pork Broth or Juices
Adding reserved defatting juices or pork broth moistens dried-out pork and provides meaty richness.
Reserved Dry Rub
Hold back some of your original spice rub to mix with shredded pork after pulling for reinforced seasonings.
Step-by-Step Guide to Post-Pull Seasoning
Follow this simple process for properly seasoned pulled pork:
Ingredients:
- 1 smoked pork shoulder
- 1⁄2 cup barbecue dry rub, divided
- 1⁄2 cup vinegar finishing sauce
- Hot sauce, broth, etc. to taste
Instructions:
-
Pull pork into shreds, removing bones and fat.
-
In a bowl, mix shredded pork with 1⁄4 cup dry rub and 1⁄2 cup vinegar sauce.
-
Let rest 10-20 minutes for flavors to absorb.
-
Taste and add more rub, hot sauce, etc. to achieve ideal flavor.
-
When reheating leftovers, add more seasoning to refresh.
-
Moisten with extra broth or sauce if needed before serving.
Letting the pork rest gives time for the seasonings to penetrate. Taste and adjust until you reach perfect flavor balance.
Frequently Asked Questions About Post-Pull Seasoning
Does resting pulled pork dilute smoke flavor?
No, resting allows smoke compounds to absorb fully into meat fibers. Seasoning again adds flavor depth.
Should you sauce pulled pork before serving?
Saucing just before serving avoids sogginess. Let diners sauce to taste. Offer vinegar-based and tomato-based sauces.
What liquid goes best on pulled pork?
For moisture, use defatted pork juices, chicken or pork broth, apple cider, or water. Add to taste while reheating until juicy but not soggy.
How much vinegar sauce should you use?
As a general rule, start with 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup vinegar sauce per pound of pulled pork. Mix well and add more to taste.
What’s the best reheating method?
Low, moist heat, like a 250°F oven in a covered pan with broth, works best. Reseason and sauce again just before serving.
An Award-Winning Method for Seasoning Pulled Pork
Barbecue legend Chris Lilly uses a polished method for seasoning pulled pork after pulling:
- Apply a moderate dry rub to raw pork shoulder
- Smoke until ultra tender
- Pull pork and mix with vinegar sauce and reserved rub
- Let rest 10-20 minutes for flavor absorption
- Taste and adjust seasoning as needed before serving
The post-pull rest allows the pork to soak up flavors. Chris tweaks with more rub, vinegar sauce, and other seasonings until it’s just right.
Pre- and Post-Seasoning for Flavor Layering
Many competition pitmasters advocate seasoning pulled pork twice – once before smoking and again after pulling.
The initial dry rub adds deep flavor to the raw meat. After pulling, sauce or reserved rub give a finishing touch.
Take it easy on initial seasonings so later additions have room to shine. And adjust to taste after each seasoning addition for ideal flavor balance.
Conclusion
Properly seasoning pulled pork is an art. The shreds can take on big flavor, but need time to absorb spices. Seasoning again after pulling allows you to penetrate the meat, balance flavors, add moisture, and revive leftovers.
Take your time dispersing spices evenly. Let the seasoned pork rest before serving. And keep tasting and tweaking until each bite makes you smile. Your patience will be rewarded with juicy, perfectly seasoned pulled pork.
Juice Up, Flavorize and Reheat Pulled PorkI am going to show you how to take that already cooked pulled pork (a day later) and make it taste like you just pulled it out of the smoker. It’ll be juicier than it ever was, taste better than it did right out of the smoker and even have more smoke flavor;-)
- ▢ 1 Boston Butt (Pork Butt)
- ▢ 1 half-size foil pan
- ▢ 2 TBS Yellow mustard
- ▢ ½ cup Jeffs original rub
- ▢ 1 stick butter (¼ lb)
- ▢ ¼ cup Jeffs Texas style rub
- Put the pork butt into a half-sheet of foil with the fat cap facing up.
- Spread about 2 tablespoons of yellow mustard on the meat’s top and sides. Then, cover the meat’s top and sides with Jeff’s original rub.
- Once the time is up, turn the pork over so that the fat cap side is facing down.
- Put the same mustard on top of the “now” side and rub it in. It’s now ready to cook.
- Set up your smoker so that it can cook over indirect heat at 225°F (107°C). If your smoker uses a water pan, fill it up.
- The pork butt should be put on the smoker grate once the smoker is ready. It should smoke cook for about 14 hours, or until the thickest part reaches 207°F (97°C).
- Take the pan off the smoker and let the meat cool for an hour.
- If you want, you can pour the juice into a different container. Then, use two forks to pull or shred the meat into pieces. You can also let the meat’s juices mix with the juices in the pan as it’s pulled apart.
- Serve immediately!
- Put the meat in a cast iron skillet or a foil pan. Put a piece of butter on top and sprinkle the meat with about ¼ cup of Jeff’s Texas style rub. You can also pour the juices that you saved on top if you have any.
- Uncover the meat and smoke it at 225–275 degrees for 30–60 minutes, or until the butter melts and the meat is hot all the way through.
- Pellet smoker: Leave the lid off and heat it to 160 to 180 degrees for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the meat is hot all the way through and the butter melts.
- Place the meat in the oven without a lid for 30 minutes at 275°F or until the butter melts and the meat is hot all the way through.
- Serve immediately!
Jeff’s Golden Driller Sauce
$7.99
Jeff’s Original BBQ Sauce
$7.99
Jeff’s Original Rub
$7.99
Jeff’s Texas-style Rub
$7.99
How to Reheat Pulled Pork
As I said before, I get a lot of questions about how to reheat pulled pork so that it doesn’t get dry or taste like it was cooked yesterday, even though it wasn’t. It will taste even better and more juicy than the day before if you follow this simple step:
If you can, reheat this on the smoker. If not, it will still work fine in the oven or even on the stove top or grill.
Place the meat into foil pans or even large cast iron skillets like I did.
If you have reserved juices then pour that evenly over the top of the pulled pork. Since I use these juices when I serve the meat for the first time, there isn’t much left when it’s time to reheat. No problem!.
Add a stick of butter to the top of the meat.
Because I didn’t have enough butter for the whole picture, I had to use half a stick on each pan. That was enough but in my opinion, a whole stick is best.
During the reheating process, the butter will melt and juice up the meat.
For more juice, put butter on top of the meat. Then, sprinkle more seasoning on top of the meat. I dont measure this but rather do it to taste. Add a good sprinkle then taste it. You can easily add more if needed right before you serve it up.
During cooking, I used Jeff’s original rub, which is a great mix of sweet and spicy without going too far in either direction.
During the reheat, I prefer to use Jeffs Texas style rub instead of the original rub. It tastes a little better because it has a little more salt than the original.
Set the smoker to 225°F (107°C), or if you need to get things done quickly, go as high as 275°F (135°C). Cover and heat again for 30 to 60 minutes, or until the butter melts and the meat is hot all the way through.
If you have a pellet smoker, set it to the smoke setting so that the reheating gives you the most smoke flavor. Cover the meat and heat it up again for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the butter melts and the meat is hot all the way through.
Put it back in the oven at 275°F (135°C) with the foil on top and heat it for about 30 minutes, or until the butter melts and the meat is hot all the way through.
Stir the meat well after it’s done cooking to mix in the butter, extra seasoning, and smoke (if you used a smoker).
Call dinner and enjoy watching everyone dig in!
I do this all the time, and I can tell you that it tastes just as good as the first time it came off the smoker. Some people even say it tastes better, and I don’t disagree.
Let me know how it goes in the comments below if you give it a try.
