I'm getting married this summer and we're expecting about 100 guests. Because we overspent on music, we have to cook ourselves. (But hey, that's more fun anyway, right?)
The idea is to prepare about 20 kg of sous vide pulled pork ahead of time and finish it off in a smoker at the venue and then make pulled pork sandwiches. And since Kenji's recipes never fail, I think I'll use this one.
Has anyone tried this recipe in larger quantities? I think the sous vide should work for a large amount. But will we need the same amount of time on the smoker?
Also, this recipe does not mix the pork with the barbecue sauce. Is that normal? I thought that would make the pulled pork better, but I don't have much experience with it.
by NicoNormalbuerger
25 Comments
How many immersion circulators do you have? How many tubs? If you have to buy more are you saving money?
I haven’t tried that recipe, but for your comment on BBQ sauce, I prefer to serve it on the side. Most places I’ve had it where it’s premixed, puts on way too much BBQ sauce for my liking. So first there’s the advantage of each person controlling how much sauce they add.
Additionally, it gives you the option to have more than one sauce for people. I generally don’t like a lot of spice in my sauces, but some of my extended family do, so I’ll mix up a couple of sauces, label them, and people can add one or both as they’re dishing up.
Can’t speak to Kenji’s recipe, but as you say, he;s usually reliable.
But not mixing w/ sauce is very common, it lets the diner choose what if any sauce to use (mustardy, vinegary, spicy, ketchupy, or even no sauce). It also makes the leftovers more versitile, it can be used for so much.
Your wedding, your guests, you are free to do whatever, but I vote no sauce, hopefully Kenji’s should be juicy enough not to need sauce. But mix up plenty and put them in squeeze bottles on each table for guests to pick.
But also, BBQ sauce & fancy clothes is problematic, consider encouraging guests to dress down
I have to ask, what did you get for music?
For your wedding?
Trust no one.
Make it yourself and see how you like it.
I’ve tried it and it will scale nicely – I cooked for 150 people, forget how many butts it was but I used 4 large coolers and 4 circulators. I did a 24 SV then on a smoker for an hour – didn’t use liquid smoke. Great texture and flavor.
I also use a Carolina mustard/ vinegar sauce after pulling and serve with a sweet bbq on the side. I find the vinegar sauce cuts the fat nicely.
Yes.
It was amazing.
But you really need to plan this out ahead of time.
Yes it should scale nicely. But one big logistical thing to keep in mind; if you’re finishing it with smoke at the venue, its going to take a ton of time and a ton of hands to break down that pork. Nitrite gloves can help, but those butts will stay really hot internally for a long time and makes it tough to work with without adequate resting time.
We use this recipe and it’s a banger. We do sauce in the side too. We like mustard based bbq sauce.
I’ve used it when my smoker became unexpectedly unavailable after I bought the meat. It was fine. Had trouble keeping the bags submerged . The liquid smoke helped, but it wasn’t nearly as good as a slow smoked version. The crust never really developed.
I haven’t tried this recipe but I’ve been to a lovely wedding that served bbq. If the food is delicious, people will like it. And what a flex say I’m getting married and made the food at the reception. I’d suggest smoking the pork first and then cook it in the sous vide. It only needs to smoke for a few hours to get the smoke ring and could be done in advance. I also made bbq for a multi kid graduation party once and would suggest to smoke a few chickens as well for the non pork eaters.
If you’re just reheating/ finishing in the smoker it might not be enough time to get a huge amount of smoke flavour. Plus means someone might smell of smoke.
An alternative suggestion if possible-
Smoke the pork first and then use sous vide to reheat on the day.
I used to make one or two at a time a few years ago till I got a pellet smoker. Doesn’t have the smokiness but super flavorful and best pulled pork have had aside from smoker.
Make sure to reduce the juices till almost a demiglace and add back while meats hot so it absorbs back in. If you’re too busy it’s still good but adding the juices back make a big difference, a shot or two of bourbon goes well too if you cook the alcohol off a bit.
I used to crank my BBQ or oven before adding it back in to get a little bark/ char. I found it you keep it in the oven too long it might dry out a bit. Id usually let it cool/ add to ice bath/cold water before adding to the grill for better results.
I agree with what someone else commented on adding a Carolina vinegar sauce and serve a sweeter sauce on the side. This is what I now do with smoked butts, cuts through the fat and most don’t need to add more sauce. I also currently combine kenjis rub with Malcolm Reeds.
I used to trim fat to 1/4 inch, butcher twine so it stays together getting bark, 164 21 hours on 7.5-8lb. crank oven/grill and get back in 10-20 mins, might get dangerous doing so with too many butts and melting fat. Do a test run if you can.
Served on a bun with fresh coleslaw from a bag using a similar recipe to copycat KFC with less sugar, maybe a little cheese.
These big cuts are great as you can hold them at temp for a long time or make ahead of time and re-heat.
One million upvotes for Kenji’s pulled pork. My southern family that thinks sous vide is heresy for barbecue thinks they’ve never had better.
I use the Prague Powder for smoke ring, more liquid smoke than he recommends, some smoked salt and MSG in my rub, and I split the difference time and temperature at 155 for 24 hours.
No, do not add sauce to the pork. Keep some of the is juices from the bags and add that to the pork, if needed, and add some of the juices to the sauce.
It’s the main recipe I use. It’s excellent. Have had better results on the bark finishing on the smoker/grill vs oven, but tastes excellent and the dry rub mix alone is worth making extra and storing in a spice jar for relevant applications to similar style meals.
I would suggest smoking first and then finishing either with sous vide or in an oven
Meat that is already cooked isn’t going to take on much smoke flavor
It’s a good recipe I’ve found that you can do with just half of the seasoning though which should save you some money. Do a couple test batches
I haven’t done that specific recipe, but pork shoulder is pretty hard to fuck up.
You are going to be way too busy to smoke at the venue and then pull it. Its hot and messy and you are dressed nicely. I’ve made it for several graduations. Days ahead I would smoke first for 3+ hours then I put it in the circulator for a long while. I then pulled and vacuum sealed the pork. Day of I used the immersion circulator to warm it and serve. If you want people to think you smoked it there fine…just toss one on the smoker for the illusion.
I’d smoke the 45 pounds the day before and warm it up with SV. Vac sealed after smoking locks in the awesomeness.
Congrats, have fun and remember the wedding is like half a day, but being married to your partner is hopefully forever. Don’t sweat the small things!
For “Real” BBQ, sauce is an afterthought. It goes on at serving.
You can use a Carolina style pulling sauce (ACV and ketchup).
That’s a great choice for catering. We smoke and sous vide a lot, but would definitely prefer sous vide then smoke if I knew when I’d be needing it.
Imo sous vide 24 at 165. Smoke day of for 2-4 hours to reheat and get some bark.
Imo some ACV tossed with pulled pork and sauce on side.
The easiest answer is to all of this ahead of time. Sv and smoke, then pull, and suck sack. Then use sous vide to reheat the bags for the event. That what I’d do if you wanna make it as easy as possible.
Smoke first, SV After has the advantage of being able to ensure everything stays at a safe temperature while you are off doing other things like…marriage vows.
Think hard about your sides and how you will keep them hot or cold for the duration as well. Food poisoning is not a party favor
Many times. It’s easy and consistent. It can be hard to find appropriately sized bags so plan ahead. You can chill them and reheat when ready. Pink Salt #2 is a must, it’s just whiteish without it.
IMO…I would avoid the pink salt for the fake smoke ring. When one cures bacon, you should add it based on the weight of the protein, usually down to the 100th of a gram if you’re being really safe. Read the Amazing Ribs info about this and why it’s important.
https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/salting-brining-curing-and-injecting/curing-meats-safely/
Adding a random 1/2 tsp per the recipe simply for color when it won’t be in there long enough to dissolve as it would in a cure might be fine but IMO, with 100 guests and no idea of their tolerances, it’s not worth it if you get it wrong. Too much pink salt #1 can cause some pretty serious health issues.
Have you ever catered anything before? There is an ENORMOUS difference between cooking for something like a large family dinner, vs catering for 100 people. There is already going to be 1,000 other things happening on your wedding day. I hope you have really good wedding planner…
I’m rooting for you dude. Really, I am. But I can’t even imagine taking this on myself on my own wedding day. Best of luck to you