Meal planning comes with many challenges, especially if you’ve got a hectic work schedule or a big family. Cooking pork ahead of time is a fantastic way to get ahead of schedule and make an great meal for your family.
You can cook pork ahead of time by roasting it until the internal temperature of 145º F (62,7º C) degrees. Reheating pork works best with cuts that have more fat like the shoulder. When you’re ready to reheat, place the cooked pork in the oven at 350º F (176º C) for 20 minutes.
Can you cook pork in advance?
Pork is a great option if you’re looking to do some meal prep and cook ahead of time. The key to cooking pork ahead of time is to make sure that you reach a safe internal temperature of 145º F (62,7º C). This is necessary to kill off any potentially dangerous bacteria in the pork.
Pork is very flexible when it comes to cooking techniques. You can roast whole shoulder, cook your pork shredded barbecue style, or even have fan pan fried pork chops that are reheated the next day. This makes pork an ideal meal for busy households and for people who want to test out doing their own meal prep.
Can you cook any pork cut ahead of time
All pork cuts can be cooked ahead of time. Here is a list of the most popular pork cuts you can cook ahead of time:
| Can you cook pork ahead of time | |
|---|---|
| PORK CUT | Can you cook ahead of time |
| chops | Yes |
| tenderloin | Yes |
| pulled pork | Yes |
| baby back ribs | Yes |
| schnitzel | Yes |
| wellington | Yes |
| loin | Yes |
| ribs | Yes |
| spareribs | Yes |
| butt | Yes |
| ham | Yes |
| shank | Yes |
| pollock | Yes |
Can you make pulled pork ahead of time
Sure you can, you can use your preferred cooking method, like the oven or smoking. Make it as if you would serve it right after cooking. But instead of serving, you shred it and store it in the fridge tightly covered in an air-tight container for up to three days.
You need to reheat it low and slow by using your grill, oven, or even a large pan with a lid. Reheating pulled pork on high and quickly will evaporate too much moisture, and the pork will be dried.
How to keep pork moist while reheating
Pork might have a bad reputation for drying out, but with a few clever cooking techniques you can keep pork nice and moist even after reheating. You can keep your pork moist while reheating by heating it low and slow.
This will take a little longer to reheat, but your pork will be just as moist as it was when freshly cooked. The best way to retain moisture is 20 to 30 minutes in an oven at 350º F (176º C) degrees when you reheat pork.
You should also reintroduce a little liquid to your pork while it’s reheating. One of the best ways to do this is to add a little apple juice to the pan which will restore some moisture and add some flavor. You can also try basting the pork in any liquids you reserved from the cooking process or vegetable stock.
Best way to store cooked pork
Now that you’ve got your pork cooked ahead of time, what’s the best way to store it? Contrary to popular belief, it’s not the reheating that costs pork a lot of moisture, it’s improper storage.
Pork needs to be tightly wrapped when it goes into the fridge or freezer in order to prevent moisture from escaping. Your pork needs to be kept outside of the “danger zone” where bacteria grow which is between 40º F (4,4º C) and 140º F (60º C). Pork can be stored in the fridge for up to four days or in the freezer for four to 12 months.
Never leave pork sitting on the counter for more than two hours. This is the culinary equivalent of rolling out a welcome mat for bacteria. Storing your pork right after cooking and serving is the best way to keep it fresh.
One thing to avoid when storing cooked pork
There’s a dangerous myth around storing meat in the fridge that we need to dispel. If you’ve ever heard advice about leaving meat out to cool before storing it, you’ve been misled.
Leaving meat out to cool before putting it in the fridge actually causes more bacteria growth than putting in meat directly into the fridge. Tightly wrapping freshly cooked meat and putting it in the fridge will not only cool it faster, but it will also work to prevent bacteria from being able to set up shop in your freshly cooked dinner. This means that it’s best to wrap and store your cooked pork right after cooking.
Can you partially cook pork in advance?
While we’re on the subject of cooking pork in advance and reheating it, we need to talk about partially cooking pork in advance to finish it later. While it’s perfectly fine to fully cook pork, put it in the fridge, and reheat it for later, you should never partially cook pork and try to finish it later.
Browning pork in a pan, or otherwise partially cooking it and then storing it in the fridge for later, is actually a recipe for disaster. This creates ideal conditions for bacteria to grow in your meal which can cause serious health problems. Trying to break up the cooking of pork also loses a lot of moisture and ruins some of the texture making pork very tough.
There is one acceptable way of cooking pork in advance. You can partially cook pork in the microwave before transferring it to a grill to finish it off. This is a great trick for keeping pork moist and tender while still getting striking grill marks and flavor.
How to thaw frozen pork which was cooked ahead of time
If you cooked your pork in advance and froze it, you’re going to need some tips for reheating frozen pork. The trick for thawing pork is the same as reheating it: you want to go “low and slow.”
The best way to thaw frozen pork is in the fridge for four to five hours. This will fully thaw your pork without ever having the meat enter the “danger zone” we talked about earlier. You can also place your pork in an air-tight bag and thaw it in cold water or thaw pork in the microwave.
If you decide to thaw your pork in the microwave, just make sure you immediately cook or reheat it after it’s done thawing. Thawing pork in the microwave is the riskiest of these three options when it comes to staying out of the danger zone.
Wrapping up cooking pork ahead of time
Cooking pork ahead of time is all about balancing moisturizer, tenderness, and food safety. You can cook your pork ahead of time by roasting it or using any of your other favorite cooking techniques. Just make sure to go low and slow when you reheat it and add some moisture back into your port to keep it nice and tender.
