[CharliMarley]

I am starting to panic as I feel I have a lot to do on Christmas Day. I have a turkey and vegetables and Jamie Oliver roast potatoes, plus a huge piece of rolled pork to cook. Can I cook the pork the day before and just reheat on Christmas Day, without anyone getting food poisoning.

[Pearson]

I personally would not touch the pork if it had been cooked the day before - the vegies yes, the turkey yes, but I get freaked out at pork reheating.

[CharliMarley]

O.K. I will cook the turkey the day before and leave the pork to be cooked on Christmas Day. I am a bit freaked out with pork also.

[Swahili]

I don't think doing the pork a day ahead is a problem. Why are you freaked out at reheating pork?

[♥~Bodhichitta~♥]

I don't think doing the pork a day ahead is a problem. Why are you freaked out at reheating pork?

I was wondering the same.

I am very cautious when it comes to rice (one thing I won't keep leftovers of).

[quin]

It is completely fine to reheat the pork the next day. How do you think pubs and bistros serve roast? They dont cook it as soon as you order it or you would be waiting hours for your meal! Cook the pork, don't cut it while it is hot or it will fall apart. The next day, slice it up (cold) then you place it on a plate with a little water and glad wrap over the top, heat it in the microwave. Trust me it will be tender and moist.

[jovana]

As a family from South European background we always do pork on the spit for big family gatherings.
It's actually the best the day after, served cold. It's usually being eaten at least for 3-4 days and sometimes leftovers are frozen and defrosted and used at a later date.
I don't see why you should be scared of pork cooked properly the day before and then reheated as needed.

[CharliMarley]

It is just that I once partly cooked a pork roast and then finished it off the next day and everyone had food poisoning, but if I cook it properly on the day before Christmas and then do as you suggested quin and jovana, to reheat it on Christmas Day. This will free up my oven and my anxiety very well. Thank you.

[Jillian_10]

I think it's nicer cold too. Ex-FIL used to cook pork and leave it on the bench to cool over night before refrigerating (not advocating that) until one day the cat knocked it down and spread pork drippings over every single square inch of the kitchen floor.

[*LucyE*]

It is just that I once partly cooked a pork roast and then finished it off the next day and everyone had food poisoning

That was your problem. You can't partly cook meat and leave it til the next day. Certain recipe for food poisoning because the bacteria wouldn't get killed with the first cooking but reaches a nice warm temperature that's ripe for multiplying. Then you store it for 24 hours to multiply some more before heating again, to multiply again until it finally reaches a temp to kill the bacteria. The food poisoning isn't always the bacteria itself but the toxins that they produce as a byproduct. You can eat food that has been heated enough to kill bacteria and still get sick from the toxins that don't get removed with heat.

If you want to do it ahead, I'd cook it through, cool it quickly and then slice and heat again the next day. I would think a rolled pork roast would be easier to do this with than a whole turkey that is prone to drying out anyway.

Do you have a BBQ or webber that you could borrow. I prefer to cook fresh on the day and roast pork is delicious done on a webber.