I always thought that the primary reason for letting food cool to room temperature before refrigerating/ freezing was to avoid raising the temperature inside thereby affecting the other food in the storage space.

Think about it. Most probably, your packaged pork spent less time in the temperature danger zone handled the way it was vs. being allowed to cool to room temp on the counter and then being processed and frozen. I would eat/ serve it without hesitation.

I like to put mine up warm in my Food Saver. It packs down better that way. I have done it that way for years. I have done it cold also. The only thing I freeze first, is to fill the bags with soup, gravy, ect; put upright in the freezer until frozen and then seal.

Yes, it is safe. Thaw in the refrigerator or thaw in the microwave.

I put up turkey, ham, roast, ect the same way. You wouldn't put boiling hot in the bags, but warm or cold is fine. I haven't ever heard of freezing first, then sealing.

Thanks. I have probably read too many articles about botulism growing in vacuum sealed food. I have a friend who vacuum seals everything, willy-nilly, and so far she hasn't killed anyone. Perhaps I should take a more laissez-faire attitude!

A sealed container will cool down slower than an open one. If the portions are small it should be fine. Why we like to portion flat-pack. Cools/freezes faster and thaws quicker. (like your travel mug....an open mug cool quickly)

Flat-packing stores easier and a package can be opened, a chunk broken off and re-sealed.

I would only be concerned with big volume where the inside of a big pot or meats will take forever to cool down. Yes, a hot pot of soup in the fridge will quickly raise the temp of the fridge and put contents in possible danger. And makes your fridge work hard to get back to cool. A lidded hot pot will cool very slowly.

Your instincts are correct to er on the safe side. Just good practice to play. I use ice for hot stocks and anything that makes sense. (Like you have been doing). I doubt the meat was extremely hot when sealed.

sleevendog, DH is always wondering why when I make a pot of soup, the pot of leftovers sits in the sink with the lid off, surrounded by ice water, and me stirring it every few minutes! (I've been doing that for the 25 years of our marriage, and he's still amazed!)

And, like you, everything that gets frozen in a zip top bag, lays flat until it is solid. btw, beer and wine both freeze well to use for cooking.

The meat was a bit warmer than room temp when it was frozen. It was originally a HUGE pork butt. We had a large group for a football party. What wasn't consumed was vacuum sealed and frozen in two packages. One package is about enough for one meal for me and DH. The other could feed several people.

Zip-Lock bags are great and I use them for things that I am not keeping frozen more than a month or two. The Food Saver keeps the meat better long term. Since you are removing most of the air, it doesn't get freezer burn and still tastes just cooked when reheated.

I wouldn't know about the wine or beer, I haven't ever had any left over to try! LOL

Now, I do have one question. You said the pork was for a party. Did it stay hot, like a crock pot, the entire time until the party was over and then cooled to warm OR did it set out for hours on the counter?

If it set out for hours, I would not eat the leftovers.

Safe? Questionable.

"A friend brought a wonderfully delicious smoked pork butt when he came to visit several months ago. It was way more than we could eat. He got out my Food Saver and packaged up the leftovers, which were still warm.----"

Do you know how long it had been out from the smoker to your house and how long before it got to your freezer?

"Still warm" is also a problem. Germs like "still warm" a lot.

For me, I will eat it because I know my body can take it. I am not sure I would serve to others.

dcarch

The pork butt was brought to my house chilled. We re-heated it when it came time for dinner. Unfortunately, I have no idea how it was handled before it got to my house. No one was sickened by it at the time.

It's fine then.

Spoiled meat smells bad.
For food to be tainted with botulism, first of all it has to have the organism in it....then be in a non acid enviornment ( was the BBQ sauce vinegar-ey?)....then be sealed air tight and kept t a temp where the botulin spoors can grow.
The meat might have been tainted with botulin, but cooking long and slow killed them....and if any were reintroduced, likely they didn't have a chance to grow in the cold and acid.
I sure would heat and eat....but I wouldn't keep any leftovers. Left-over reheated leftovers that were originally reheated are not my thing!!

HA! foas, my paranoia kinda falls in line with yours.

I'll check on the sauce, but considering we're in the South, I can't imagine that it didn't have a good dose of vinegar in it. The meat was cooked for 7 or 8 hours.

How would you suggest re-heating it? I'm thinking I should add a bit of some sort of thin BBQ sauce, then wrap it in foil and heat it slowly in the oven. I know the goal is not to dry it out.

To reheat, leave in the food saver bags and immerse in simmering water or just nuke it, in the bag or in a covered Corning Ware dish w/ added BBQ sauce.

I would put it in a pan on top of the stove, add a couple of T. water and put a lid on it and turn it to medium....or put it into a covered container in the microwave.
But a non stick pan with a little water of broth or white wine...or beer...a lid and a fairly fast fire, would be my choice.
A slow heat to anything acedic wrapped in foil can sometimes dissolve a little of the foil.

Forgot the acid/foil issue. Thanks, Linda.

Your best bet, check the following:

How strong is the smoke flavor? How deep is the smoke ring?

Smoking is an old method to preserve meat.

Smoked meats can be kept safe much longer.

dcarch

Parties get complicated for leftovers as it is social and we loose control over what we would normally do.

I often chill meats immediately while carving, into a small platter or bowl and into the fridge, make stock after, then add chilled stock to the meat for the freezer. (knowing i'll have leftovers)...not always possible.

NewYears was easy as we had so much ham. Half of the ham, sliced, went into the fridge early. I now have ham/veg stock with big ham chunks for soups. Rather than make a big soup, then freeze, i freeze parts. Soup 'kits'.

Saturday, while multi-tasking for a SuperBowl party, i made a bone broth as i was prepping so much stuff anyway and had lots of veg going, chopping...

Nice meal, kitchen clean, dishwasher started, party prep done, i turned off the stock and sat down for a brief rest....fell asleep. DH dealt with the stock.

Woke at 3am and had no clue what happened. (a dozen questions later)

He did great by removing solids, straining, adding ice, chilling in the downstairs fridge....un-covered. Thermopen temp, containered and labeled and frozen.

Our gut systems are designed to handle all messes of bacteria with no issues. Compromised is young and old or dealing with any number of infections...medications, antibiotics....if your system is fighting something, it is working hard to deal with it. No need to add to a weak immune system working overtime. Friends and family trust my cooking above all others as i cook fresh organic stocks and fresh organic produce especially if in chemo or under health stress.

cilantro nailed it. That is exactly how I reheat. It will be great!

Re-heating i would do parchment in foil wrap tight in the oven on a sheet pan. A vinegar bbq tomato sauce on the stove top and add the pork to that when both are hot. A fresh salsa on the side at the table. Avocado. etc. salad greens, and/or a slaw.

Y'all are making this WAY too hard. There are just two of us most of the time. I do two 8 to 10 pound butts in my smoker at a time. We eat a meal or two and then I package the rest in 1 to 1 1/2 pound Food Saver packages. This is the premade quart size. They are instant meals. I take out of the freezer, put in the microwave on auto defrost, and then cut the bag open, put in a big bowl and heat until hot (microwave). If you don't have a microwave, take out of freezer and put in dutch oven full of water and heat gently the unopened bag until hot.

Serve on a bun, with fries, catsup, my barbeque sauce, and tabasco sauce. I like it very spicy and my husband doesn't. I also like the vinegar slaw on them. My grandkids prefer the white barbeque sauce usually used with chicken.

If I want to get fancy, it is potato salad, baked beans, and rolls.

My son usually cooks for a crowd and he puts about 10 or more huge butts on his smoker at a time. He has a Tragor.

ETA: the Tragor is his small grill. He has a huge one that has four or five big racks that rotate. Can't remember the name to that one.

I'd eat it without worry. If you are really worried about botulism, reheat the food thoroughly. The CDC says:

While the botulinum spores can survive in boiling water, the toxin is heat-labile, meaning that it can be destroyed at high temperatures. Heating food to a typical cooking temperature of 80°C (176°F) for 10 minutes before consumption can greatly reduce the risk of foodborne illness."

My food safety classes suggested that canned corn, spinach or meats be reheated 20 minutes to be "sure".

Now, that's just botulism. If you believe the food might be spoiled, you're talking food poisoning, and that's a whole 'nother matter. From Listeria to Salmonella to e Coli, they all have different symptoms and requirements for optimal growth. If you are serving the elderly, or small children, or the immuno-compromised, then it's a chance I wouldn't take.

Annie

Thanks, Annie. I don't believe the food is spoiled. I think it was handled properly. It is just that anaerobic/botulism thing that always worries me.