Storing a whole cooked pig overnight

RatLabGuy

RatLabGuy

You look like a monkey and smell like one too
Joined
May 18, 2005
Location
Churchville, MD
So I have been "voluntold" to handle a situation.
Our Director is retiring and we're having a party for her on Wed.
A guy is buying a whole hog, to be cooked, for somebody to pick up for it.
Unfortunately the place that is prepping said hog is not open on Wed morning, so they said, come get it Tues evening, I guess they are gonna smoke it all day that day. Place closes at 9pm.

So the question is, what is the best way to handle this so it will still be nice and yummy at say noon Wed?
We're only talking like 15 hrs between pickup and eating it so technically refrigeration isn't mandatory, especially since it isn't too warm yet, but obviously you don't want it to get too dried out.

Just find a huge ass cooler and drop it in for storage? Any need for ice? Something better to wrap it in?

And yes, I'd rather just smoke it on site or have it delivered, but this is a federal research installation and doing that kind of thing requires 432 forms of paperwork.
 
We've always just emptied the shop fridge and removed the shelves to store the pig til we were ready to cook. That's all I've got.

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Put it on plastic. Stuff about 4-6 bags of ice around it. Keep ice in bags so it doesn't water log the pig. Put a couple more on top/bottom, etc. Keep in shade, covered in plastic to keep bugs off.

Many times we very lightly pack with ice so it reaches room temp before hitting the grill. But, it being a work function, don't want to take any chances of it spoiling. :)

This is how we do it in eastern NC.
Smoke and enjoy. :)
 
Guys he is asking about storing an already cooked pig.

I'm like Rob for storing a raw pig before cooking. But storing a cooked pig and not having it go bad....that's gonna be tough
 
Put it on the cooker the night before. If you leave right now, you probably have time to drive down here, borrow a cooker from somebody, drive back home, put the pig on, get some sleep, then have a good time on Wednesday.
 
That's going to be tough, considering it's going to be cooked then sit for 15 hours, unless you go ahead pull the hog apart wrap it up in aluminum foil and reheat it when you serve it not sure how I'd do it with a whole hog
 
Hmm. That's tough.

How will the pig be handed to you? A whole cooked pig doesn't toss around like a raw pig and doesn't handle very well as it falls apart. Usually they give it to you in disposable chafing pans. This is important info!

If it's in chafing pans, store in a cooler(s) of appropriate size with ice on the bottom.

You'll have to reheat to serve.
 
Double wrap meat with aluminum foil, wrap with towels, place in coolers to keep somewhat warm, to reheat place in disposable pans with a Sterno burner underneath and add a little liquid to keep from drying out.
 
Isn't there a concern that wrapping it in foil that long will cause moisture deterioration of the meat ?

That's the main reason I won't wrap ribs like so many do, good pork should pull and not "fall off the bone"
 
ncpartsguy said:
Worth reading again:
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Yep. Dave has been handed the shittiest job because it involves taking the most risk. When holding on to food like that for that long and you are feeding a group of people, you really need to consider food safety as your #1 priority.

We may push the limits some at home and with family, but around a group it kind of gets a little less discretionable.

Your employer is also takin a major risk (food poisoning liability), and they are likely unknowing of it. It would be best to delay pickup or cooking and pick it up as close to the time you plan to eat as possible.


I've been sick for days due to poorly prepped and cooked and temp maintained food, hence why i am somewhat passionate about it. And, pork is nothing to play with.
 
Yes, it is being cooked. I'm not actually picking it up, just had to find somebody else who lives nearby to do it :D. But the question of preservation is the issue.
I don't know how it will be handed off. It's a Chinese food prep/restaurant in Baltimore that does a lot of prep/take-out stuff. If I'd been handed the task to start from I would have just found a place that could have it ready that same day. but that's irrelevant.
Same guy setting this up got one about 4 years ago, my vague recollection is that it was mostly whole (not pre-chopped) minus innards etc, already on a big tray and in a cardboard box or something. In that case he just picked it up and brought it in.
He wants the whole "presentation" factor, e.g. pig laid out.

The challenge IMO is size. I'm hoping tomorrow he can call back and find out dimensions to work with. I'm thinking an option would be to acquire a GIANT cooler, pack layer of ice, lay plastic over it, lay it in, and seal up, wrapped in plastic to keep it from getting water logged?
I don't know how hot it will be at pick up, hoping not, but it will just have to be served cold b/c I don't see any way to reheat it. Cold ham is yummy too, although cutting it is way less fun.
 
If it's a whole pig, good luck finding a cooler to put it in.

I'd pick up some foam board and make your own cooler and cover with bags of ice. How you reheat something like that without a cooker is beyond me
 
That's a tight spot to be in.

Really does need to be stored cold and heated prior to serving. Ideally you know a walk in cooler to use. Heating becomes the problem with a whole pig if you don't have the smoker or something to handle something that large.

You have the advantage of knowing the meat kinda needs to be pulled for folks to eat. Could you get the meat pulled in bags or pans from the guy handing it to your? Roll up rest of the pig and stuff it in a big trash bag. Refrigerate everything.

Heat the meat while the pig lays on the table and serve.

Or more likely just keep the head and set it in its own pan and keep the meat separate. Only way I see to keep sanitation and food quality somewhat controlled.
 
That hog isn't going to have any preservatives in it like a ham, don't serve cold BBQ y'all liable to be in a bad way
 
Honestly I think I'd be making a large make shift oven. Charcoal bed, stacked brick, sheet of steel, then sit the pig on that and insulate the fuck out of it. Or just find someone with a smoker and keep it that way, that'd be the easiest.

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I'd say pass it on to Mr. Presentation....it's his ego that's created the issue.
Honestly it just isn't a good idea period. Chopped and in stainless pots or the like, big church fridge, reheat serve. Otherwise you just dealing with all sorts of headache and piss poor results. Tel the dude to find some plastic fruit and a pigly wiggly sign.

Edit....who in the right mind hires Chineese dudes to do BBQ?? Is it Mongolian or Lexington Vinager based?
 
I'd assume its all getting shredded or chopped anyway. go ahead and shred it, put it in large foil pans. toss in the fridge. Easy to store, easy to reheat on grill or in oven, and ready to serve.

If you're worried about presentation, I've seen people serve shredded pork right off the Pig skin as a serving platter. Place Skin on cooker/grill, toss pans of shredded BBQ on top, reheat, and serve.
 
Tim88XJ said:
I'd assume its all getting shredded or chopped anyway. go ahead and shred it, put it in large foil pans. toss in the fridge. Easy to store, easy to reheat on grill or in oven, and ready to serve.

If you're worried about presentation, I've seen people serve shredded pork right off the Pig skin as a serving platter. Place Skin on cooker/grill, toss pans of shredded BBQ on top, reheat, and serve.
Click to expand...
This s what I'm going to advocate
 
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