I've been roped in to doing Que (Pulled Pork) for my son's end of season
football party. There will be ~110-125 guests and I've got 73lbs worth of
Boston Butt and a case of hot dogs (60 1/2lb'ers for the QueAtheists:-).

The butts average 9lbs a piece and my smoker can handle 4-6 at a time but
not all 8, so I'll have to run 2 batches. The first group will be finished
late this evening, pulled and sealed in foodsaver bags for re-heating at the
event on Sunday. The rest will start in the wee hours of Sunday am to be
pulled on-site.

My question is this,.......Assuming I pull and bag the first batch tonight
at say....~ 10pm, is 2.5 days too long to hold finished product in the
fridge or should I go ahead and freeze it and just pull it out to thaw and
re-heat on Sunday? I'd rather do batch #1 on Friday night - Saturday, but we
have too many other commitments in the way.

KW

On Dec 13, 11:38 am, "KW" <keith_warrennospamatallteldotnet> wrote:
> I've been roped in to doing Que (Pulled Pork) for my son's end of season
> football party. There will be ~110-125 guests and I've got 73lbs worth of
> Boston Butt and a case of hot dogs (60 1/2lb'ers for the QueAtheists:-).
>
> The butts average 9lbs a piece and my smoker can handle 4-6 at a time but
> not all 8, so I'll have to run 2 batches. The first group will be finished
> late this evening, pulled and sealed in foodsaver bags for re-heating at the
> event on Sunday. The rest will start in the wee hours of Sunday am to be
> pulled on-site.
>
> My question is this,.......Assuming I pull and bag the first batch tonight
> at say....~ 10pm, is 2.5 days too long to hold finished product in the
> fridge or should I go ahead and freeze it and just pull it out to thaw and
> re-heat on Sunday? I'd rather do batch #1 on Friday night - Saturday, but we
> have too many other commitments in the way.
>
> KW

It would probably be okay, I would eat it if it were mine in the
fridge, but when you are messsing with other people who might not have
as hardy constitutions better safe than sorry, freeze it. You don't
want to be known as the food poisioning king, unless you don't want to
get roped in next year, then just leave it out on the counter for the
two days and enjoy your time off next year, that is if you don't get
sued for the medical expenses....

KW wrote:
> I've been roped in to doing Que (Pulled Pork) for my son's end of season
> football party. There will be ~110-125 guests and I've got 73lbs worth of
> Boston Butt and a case of hot dogs (60 1/2lb'ers for the QueAtheists:-).
>
> The butts average 9lbs a piece and my smoker can handle 4-6 at a time but
> not all 8, so I'll have to run 2 batches. The first group will be finished
> late this evening, pulled and sealed in foodsaver bags for re-heating at the
> event on Sunday. The rest will start in the wee hours of Sunday am to be
> pulled on-site.
>
> My question is this,.......Assuming I pull and bag the first batch tonight
> at say....~ 10pm, is 2.5 days too long to hold finished product in the
> fridge or should I go ahead and freeze it and just pull it out to thaw and
> re-heat on Sunday? I'd rather do batch #1 on Friday night - Saturday, but we
> have too many other commitments in the way.
>
> KW
>
>
My unprofessional reaction is that 2-3 days in the refrigerator is
perfectly OK. We sure as heck do it here at home. You might want to
keep it toward the bottom of the box, but I'd not even worry about that.

Along this same topic, has anyone done any serious research into Ozone
or UV bacteria inhibitors for in a refrigerator? The idea of opening
the old Frigidare adn getting a lung full of ozone doesn't appeal to me,
but for long term storage, as in a chest type freezer, it's intriguing.
Likewise, a UV light that shuts off as the door is OPENED would be an
interesting experiment.

I also vaguely recall seeing or reading about some "wand" gizmo that
either kills bacteria by UV light pr discloses it with flourescence.
Anybody know about that? IMHO, for a light wand to work, it'd have to
have LOTS of power and would cause eye or skin problems with much use.
Is it a load of hooey, like I suspect?



Nonny

--
---Nonnymus---
No matter how large your boat,
the person you are talking with will
have a close friend with a larger one.
---Observation by my son

On 13-Dec-2007, "KW" <keith_warrennospamatallteldotnet> wrote:

> I've been roped in to doing Que (Pulled Pork) for my son's end of season
> football party. There will be ~110-125 guests and I've got 73lbs worth of
> Boston Butt and a case of hot dogs (60 1/2lb'ers for the QueAtheists:-).
>
> The butts average 9lbs a piece and my smoker can handle 4-6 at a time but
> not all 8, so I'll have to run 2 batches. The first group will be finished
> late this evening, pulled and sealed in foodsaver bags for re-heating at
> the
> event on Sunday. The rest will start in the wee hours of Sunday am to be
> pulled on-site.
>
> My question is this,.......Assuming I pull and bag the first batch tonight
> at say....~ 10pm, is 2.5 days too long to hold finished product in the
> fridge or should I go ahead and freeze it and just pull it out to thaw and
> re-heat on Sunday? I'd rather do batch #1 on Friday night - Saturday, but
> we
> have too many other commitments in the way.
>
> KW

Thanks to your post, I finally got around to freezing a bone in butt that I
smoked on the 8th. I don't see anything wrong with it. I had it wrapped
good in plastic lined freezer wrap (Reynolds) and kept it near freezing
in the frig until today. It was cooked to 185°F internal, so it should have
been pretty sanitary when it went into the frig. It will be vac-packed,
frozen and subsequently reheated in the bag in boiling water.
--
Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)

Nonnymus wrote:

> Along this same topic, has anyone done any serious research into Ozone
> or UV bacteria inhibitors for in a refrigerator? The idea of opening
> the old Frigidare adn getting a lung full of ozone doesn't appeal to me,
> but for long term storage, as in a chest type freezer, it's intriguing.
> Likewise, a UV light that shuts off as the door is OPENED would be an
> interesting experiment.

> Nonny
>

Interesting idea Nonny. I have done some research into this as I was
developing a process to control moisture content in natural cork using
Ozonated water as a wash. In the case of wine, there was no odor or
taste imparted to the wine from the Ozone, but I think the main thing
you would have to overcome is the corrosion factor. Any metal in the box
would need to be stainless. Breathing the crap is the other thing. It
gives me a metallic taste in my mouth.
--
Dave T.

Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time,
Because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

Dear Dave T.:

On Dec 14, 1:31 pm, "Dave T." > wrote:
> Nonnymus wrote:
> > Along this same topic, has anyone done any serious research
> > into Ozone or UV bacteria inhibitors for in a refrigerator? The
> > idea of opening the old Frigidare adn getting a lung full of ozone
> > doesn't appeal to me, but for long term storage, as in a chest
> > type freezer, it's intriguing. Likewise, a UV light that shuts off
> > as the door is OPENED would be an interesting experiment.

It would leave a "charge" of ozone floating in the cabinet. You'd
need to run it on a timer, say midnight to 2 AM or such.

> Interesting idea Nonny. I have done some research into this as
> I was developing a process to control moisture content in
> natural cork using Ozonated water as a wash.

Ozonated water is used to treat wine and whiskey barrels after a load
is decanted. Also used to rinse vegetables. Too bad it isn't used on
all the lettuce out of CA, ozone is particularly fond of destroying
E.coli. And no chemical residue.

David A. Smith

Dave T. wrote:

> Interesting idea Nonny. I have done some research into this as I was
> developing a process to control moisture content in natural cork using
> Ozonated water as a wash. In the case of wine, there was no odor or
> taste imparted to the wine from the Ozone, but I think the main thing
> you would have to overcome is the corrosion factor. Any metal in the box
> would need to be stainless. Breathing the crap is the other thing. It
> gives me a metallic taste in my mouth.

I have a small, commercial plasma generator for ozone (5 GPH) that I
used to freshen up the house or cabin when we'd be gone for a few weeks.
It hooks to an X-10 timer that is controlled by an always-on computer
and nukes the air for a couple days a few days before we arrive home.
By then, the ozone has dissipated and decayed so there's nothing
remaining but a slight "burned" smell. Naturally, we don't do it with
inside plants or pets. <grin>

The unit I have is about 6" X 6" X 24" and has 5 mica plates plus a
transformer and fan. In our Carolina house, it was hooked to the return
air supply duct of a heat pump, so the ozone was circulated well by the
furnace fan, with no evidence of rusting from its 2-3 times a year use.
With it, we never, ever, had any mold or mildew problems indoors like
our friends and neighbors did.

IMHO, if I still had a chest type of freezer, it'd be fun to hook it to
a cutout opening near the lid (to keep cold air from exiting) and run it
for a few minutes a couple times a day to see what it did, if anything,
to the meat inside.

My recollection was that the old Tender Ray meat sold by Safeway was
just dry hung meat in coolers that had UV lights to hold down mold.
Anyone know the particulars? If UV works, I bet that Ozone would as well.

Nonny
--
---Nonnymus---
No matter how large your boat,
the person you are talking with will
have a close friend with a larger one.
---Observation by my son

Nonnymus wrote:

> I have a small, commercial plasma generator for ozone (5 GPH) that I
> used to freshen up the house or cabin when we'd be gone for a few weeks.
> It hooks to an X-10 timer that is controlled by an always-on computer
> and nukes the air for a couple days a few days before we arrive home. By
> then, the ozone has dissipated and decayed so there's nothing remaining
> but a slight "burned" smell. Naturally, we don't do it with inside
> plants or pets. <grin>

> Nonny

Have to admit I've never heard of this kind of use, but it makes sense.
The corrosion I referred to had to do with the contact with water. It
gives water a much higher oxidation potential.
--
Dave T.

Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time,
Because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

On Dec 13, 12:38 pm, "KW" <keith_warrennospamatallteldotnet> wrote:
> I've been roped in to doing Que (Pulled Pork) for my son's end of season
> football party. There will be ~110-125 guests and I've got 73lbs worth of
> Boston Butt and a case of hot dogs (60 1/2lb'ers for the QueAtheists:-).
>
> The butts average 9lbs a piece and my smoker can handle 4-6 at a time but
> not all 8, so I'll have to run 2 batches. The first group will be finished
> late this evening, pulled and sealed in foodsaver bags for re-heating at the
> event on Sunday. The rest will start in the wee hours of Sunday am to be
> pulled on-site.
>
> My question is this,.......Assuming I pull and bag the first batch tonight
> at say....~ 10pm, is 2.5 days too long to hold finished product in the
> fridge or should I go ahead and freeze it and just pull it out to thaw and
> re-heat on Sunday? I'd rather do batch #1 on Friday night - Saturday, but we
> have too many other commitments in the way.
>
> KW

Season it with salt and paprika after it is not pulled. Then freeze
dry it with the Linomax freeze drying system. On the day of
reconstitution, place freeze dried pork into the Linomax freeze drying
system and run it in reverse.

"Nonnymus" > wrote in message
...
> KW wrote:
>> I've been roped in to doing Que (Pulled Pork) for my son's end of season
>> football party. There will be ~110-125 guests and I've got 73lbs worth of
>> Boston Butt and a case of hot dogs (60 1/2lb'ers for the QueAtheists:-).
>>
>> The butts average 9lbs a piece and my smoker can handle 4-6 at a time but
>> not all 8, so I'll have to run 2 batches. The first group will be
>> finished
>> late this evening, pulled and sealed in foodsaver bags for re-heating at
>> the
>> event on Sunday. The rest will start in the wee hours of Sunday am to be
>> pulled on-site.
>>
>> My question is this,.......Assuming I pull and bag the first batch
>> tonight
>> at say....~ 10pm, is 2.5 days too long to hold finished product in the
>> fridge or should I go ahead and freeze it and just pull it out to thaw
>> and
>> re-heat on Sunday? I'd rather do batch #1 on Friday night - Saturday, but
>> we
>> have too many other commitments in the way.
>>
>> KW
>>
>>
> My unprofessional reaction is that 2-3 days in the refrigerator is
> perfectly OK. We sure as heck do it here at home. You might want to keep
> it toward the bottom of the box, but I'd not even worry about that.
>
> Along this same topic, has anyone done any serious research into Ozone or
> UV bacteria inhibitors for in a refrigerator? The idea of opening the old
> Frigidare adn getting a lung full of ozone doesn't appeal to me, but for
> long term storage, as in a chest type freezer, it's intriguing. Likewise,
> a UV light that shuts off as the door is OPENED would be an interesting
> experiment.

It would be best from a food preservation perspective not to use ozone.
Ozone, being unstable O3, is very oxidative. Oxidation destroys food. It's
the mechanism that your body uses to digest food and release energy, but
better to wait until the food gets into the body to oxidize it. Otherwise,
you end up with rancid oils, blackened hemoglobin and protein, gray fresh
meats, and rotting fruits and vegetables. Ozone can inhibit bacteria and
yeast which are anaerobic or microaerophilic, but overall, I would say it
would have a negative effect on food.

Craig Winchell

>
> I also vaguely recall seeing or reading about some "wand" gizmo that
> either kills bacteria by UV light pr discloses it with flourescence.
> Anybody know about that? IMHO, for a light wand to work, it'd have to
> have LOTS of power and would cause eye or skin problems with much use. Is
> it a load of hooey, like I suspect?
>
>
>
> Nonny
>
> --
> ---Nonnymus---
> No matter how large your boat,
> the person you are talking with will
> have a close friend with a larger one.
> ---Observation by my son

"KW" <keith_warrennospamatallteldotnet> wrote in message
...
> I've been roped in to doing Que (Pulled Pork) for my son's end of season
> football party. There will be ~110-125 guests and I've got 73lbs worth of
> Boston Butt and a case of hot dogs (60 1/2lb'ers for the QueAtheists:-).
>
> The butts average 9lbs a piece and my smoker can handle 4-6 at a time but
> not all 8, so I'll have to run 2 batches. The first group will be finished
> late this evening, pulled and sealed in foodsaver bags for re-heating at
> the
> event on Sunday. The rest will start in the wee hours of Sunday am to be
> pulled on-site.
>
> My question is this,.......Assuming I pull and bag the first batch tonight
> at say....~ 10pm, is 2.5 days too long to hold finished product in the
> fridge or should I go ahead and freeze it and just pull it out to thaw and
> re-heat on Sunday? I'd rather do batch #1 on Friday night - Saturday, but
> we
> have too many other commitments in the way.

2 1/2 days at near-freezing temperatures should not be any problem,
especially as you're using foodsaver bags, presumably vacuum-packing. But
you should make sure the fridge is set low.

Craig Winchell

>
> KW
>
>