How to Reheat Frozen Pulled Pork

How to Reheat Frozen Pulled Pork – The Top ways in 2024

Can you reheat cooked pork from frozen? Yes, it’s possible.

You can cook and freeze your pork meat for later use. There are many ways of cooking a piece of meat.

The most common way is roasting or grilling the meat on an open fire. But there are other methods that will work just as well.

For example, if you want to make some delicious pulled pork sandwiches, then you should know how to reheat frozen pulled pig.

Reheating the meat can be a party saver with you are serving a crowd pulled pork.

How To Preserve the Taste When You Reheat Frozen Pulled Pork

I’m a huge fan of pulled pork. I love it on sandwiches, in tacos and burritos, or just eaten straight from the bone with some rice and beans. But one thing that has always bothered me about cooking this dish is how quickly it goes bad once you take it out of the fridge after frozen to reheat for dinner.

Factors contributing to the taste and texted of pulled pork are – how moist is the pork, has the pork been smoked, and do you have any pork burnt ends? All of these contribute to the overall flavor and texture of the pork.

So if you have made pulled pork for a large group you do not have to waste it.

The best way to preserve the taste and texture when you reheat frozen pork is to warm it slowly. You can use a slow cooker, crock pot, or even an instant pot.  

Also, try to keep the meat in the whole form – for example, a whole pork butt will easily retain more of its moisture than one that has been already pulled.

How to Avoid drying out frozen pulled pork when reheating? – Add liquid! – natural juices that go with pork like apple juice are a great answer.

Using a Foil Container is a good way to reheat food like pork.

How Do You Keep Frozen Pulled Pork Moist when Reheating?

How do you moisten dry pulled pork – you moisten dry pulled pork with apple juice or drippings.

So to answer – How do you keep frozen pulled pork moist when reheating? the best way is to add back moisture by way of liquid. The best liquids for keeping frozen pulled pork, or thawed pulled pork moist are

  • apple juice
  • pork drippings
  • water mixed with a drop of liquid smoke
  • butter
  • beer
  • wine
  • corn syrup if you like sweet pulled pork
  • BBQ sauce

How to Avoid Drying out The Pulled Pork when Re Heating?

How do you reheat pulled pork without drying it out If you’re using a smoker, make sure to keep it at an even temperature? If your cooker is too hot or cold, then the meat will dry out and become tough. You can use this as a guide: if you have a thermometer in there with you, set it for 225°F. This should be enough heat to cook the pork without burning it.

How to Reheat Frozen Pulled Pork over an open fire
How to Reheat Frozen Pulled Pork over an open fire

What Are the Best Ways to Reheat Frozen Pulled Pork?

Re-Heating the Pork – The only way to do it properly is at low temperature and slow heating – and it is better if you let the pork defrost overnight in the refrigerator.

The best ways are

How To Reheat Frozen Pulled Pork in Boiling Water: (Vacuum Sealed Bag Method)

This is almost a sous vide method. Vacuum seal a bag with pork shoulder inside and place it in boiling water for around 6 minutes – this will be pull-apart tender. Using this method it is best if you allow the pork to thaw first. If you are really in a hurry defrost on low power (50% power setting)  in the microwave first. A trick is to also add a little barbecue sauce to the sous vide or freezer bag before sealing and heating in the water.

How To Reheat Frozen Pulled Pork in the Oven

  • Set oven to 225°F and preheat
  • Put your pulled pork in a dish. Add about 1-2 tbs liquid or drippings or bbq sauce.
  • Wrap the dish in a layer of aluminum foil. wrap tightly to seal in the moisture.
  • Place the dish on a baking tray or roasting pan. Use the middle rack of your oven.
  • Bake/Cook for about 30 minutes then test with a probe or meat thermometer. You want an internal temperature of 165°F
  • Now tack off the aluminum foil and set your oven to broil. Tip-over any leftover juice.
  • Broil or grill for 3-5 minutes – watch it does not burn but this will add some crunch back to the pork bark.

How To Reheat Frozen Pulled Pork in a Crock pot

I have been using my slow cooker for years. I love it! It is so easy to use and the food comes out great every time.

Using a crock pot is a set-and-forget way of reheating your frozen or thawed pulled pork. You can also use the keep warm setting on an electric pressure cooker.

  • If your meat is frozen, you will need to add about 2 hours on very low heat
  • Better is to defrost first in the fridge for 24 hours
  • Set your crock pot on the keep warm setting.
  • Either place your meat in a small foil pan or add it directly to the pot.
  • Add 1 tbs of any leftover juice
  • The crock pot will take about 2 hours to fully reheat the meat. Check before serving it has reached 165 °F to avoid any food safety issues.

How Long Reheat Frozen Pulled Pork

You reheat in boiling water for 6 minutes in a vacuum bag for a 1/2 lb of pork. Or if you have a sous vide machine use a vacuum-sealed bag in that. This method lets you make an amazing pulled pork sandwich.

Pulled Pork Sandwich Made From Frozen Pulled Pork.
Pulled Pork Sandwich Made From Frozen Pulled Pork.

The best method to keep the pork moist is to let the meat rest after pulling so that all juices stay inside the meat. This allows the moisture in the meat to remain intact. If you don’t allow time for resting, then the juice will be squeezed out when you pull the meat apart. That means less juiciness. So always remember to give yourself enough time before serving the food.

Using these methods you can reheat almost all types of frozen pork, pork loin, shredded pork, smoked pulled pork, pork chops even pork roast.

How Many Times Can You Reheat Pulled Pork?

The number of times you can reheat pulled pork safely is one.

Every time you reheat you pass through a temperature range called the Danger Zone. This is between 40 °F and 140 °F. This is where bacteria grow and multiply easily.

The other point to note is reheated pulled pork done many times really affects the quality significantly.