Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I am going to be serving pulled pork and pulled chicken for our annual Super Bowl party this year -- I am thinking of preparing CI's indoor version. Since we will be serving at least 40 people, I'm trying to figure out how to streamline things, so is it possible to freeze the meats, say after pulling and before adding the sauce? Any advice will be much appreciated....as would suggestions for cole slaw to work with this recipe. Thanks!

You absolutely can freeze them. Dress them lightly with sauce before freezing, and if you have a foodsaver, use that. Freeze the rest of the sauce as well, and dress the meats with the rest of the sauce after you've gently reheated the meats.

I'm a sucker for the KFC copycat recipe of slaw, but with a lot less sugar, and a little more vinegar. I like this version with pulled meats.

Amy

Thanks, Amy. Just wondering-- why you add a bit of the sauce first? And yes, have a food saver and will use that.

Is the KFC recipe on-line somewhere? I can't stand gloppy mayonnaise-y slaw....so the less mayo and more vinegar the better!

Cookie. This is the KFC Cole Slaw copycat recipe I have. Amy, is this the one you have?

KFC COLE SLAW
(from Top Secret Recipes)

8 cups finely chopped cabbage (about 1 head)
1/4 cup shredded carrot (1 medium carrot)
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 tablespoons white vinegar
2-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Be sure cabbage and carrots are chopped up into very fine pieces, about the size of rice). (Note: Just shred them and don’t worry about getting them that small.) Combine the sugar, salt, pepper, milk, mayonnaise, buttermilk, vinegar, and lemon juice in a large bowl and beat until smooth. Add the cabbage, carrots, and onion, and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Serves 10-12.

Cookie,

I dress it lightly before I freeze it because the just pulled pork (or chicken) pulls in flavors really well, and they just wouldn't have that sauce flavor throughout the meat in the same way if you did it on re-heated meat. This is more my theory than something I've tried side-by-side, but I freeze pulled pork frequently (basically whenever I pull one, as there are only two of us) and put the meat (about four sandwiches worth) into vac bags and seal them. I freeze the sauce in ice cube trays. So, whenever we want a sandwich, I pull out one of the bags and drop into low-boiling water for a few minutes. I pop out a couple of the sauce "ice cubes" and nuke them. Instant pulled pork.

Fran, that looks like the recipe, although looking at it now, I know I lower the sugar and milk, and I just eyeball the mayo and buttermilk. I also increase the pepper. And, it's important to salt your shredded cabbage in a colander for at least a half hour to draw the excess water out. (Otherwise you end up with runny slaw). After the half hour, rinse the slaw really well. I then run it through the spinner to get out all the water I can. This slaw benefits from age, so I'd make it a day or two before the party. I've doctored it in different ways with different successes, it really just depends what you're looking for.

Amy

Slight hijack - I'm doing a pot roast for Sunday and also was considering making it the day before or at the very least earlier in the day. Same premise, sauce a little and then reheat slowly?

Make it the day (or two) before and let it bask in the glory of all its sauce. Reheat slowly. As with any braise, the flavors develop over time.

Amy

I pretty much freeze my excess pulled pork the way Amy does. Sometimes I make it with a more Mexican-inspired spice blend for tacos. The extra makes amazingly good tamale pie.

thanks, everyone! I'll get it done soon this way and let you know how it turns out. Has anyone ever done CI's indoor version?
Gayl

Not me...I'm a traditionalist when it comes to pulled pork.

I've use my Smoking Gun to smoke smaller cuts of meat/seafood/etc., but for a full-on pork butt I've only ever done it outside in my smoker.

Amy