How much Butt do you want?!?!?!

wkahler · July 18, 2010, 01:03:28 PM

Well the wife is planing a b-day party for my big 30 and of course i insist on cooking the pulled pork, so how big of a unit should i get for about 20-30 people?? I was going to go to Sams club to get a big piece, but not sure what size to get. I'm the king of over kill so i usually go with the bigger the better idea, but i don't want to get something that will not be done in time also!!! What is a good rule of thumb for a big piece of meat like that? I've never cooked on for this big of a group before so not sure what my plan of attack will be!! Any help would be great.............oh I'm cooking on my Traeger!!

FLBentRider · July 18, 2010, 01:22:46 PM

My first question would be... How many butts can you get in the Traeger?

A 40-50% loss on a pork butt is what most get.

How much per person depends on how hearty the eaters are and are there lots of sides, or is the pork "the" event.

30 people * 1/3lb each = 10lbs of pulled pork * 2 = 20lbs of raw butt.

You can fit ~30lbs in a four rack smoker.

wkahler · July 18, 2010, 01:46:33 PM

I have the larger Traeger, I think its the 070 or something so i would venture to say it will be a tight fit for two 20 pounders!! At least that gives me a idea for the large picture!!

GusRobin · July 18, 2010, 02:40:47 PM

Don't think he was recommending 2 each of 20 pounders. I believe he was saying a total of 20 lbs.

wkahler · July 18, 2010, 03:35:17 PM

;D LOL..............glade someone clarified before i went to Sams!!! Sounded like a lot but i was thinking BIG!!! ;D

squirtthecat · July 18, 2010, 04:13:48 PM

Oh, you can get a fair amount of butt in a Lil Tex!

50 pounds, give or take.

TestRocket · July 18, 2010, 04:32:19 PM

"I like big butts and I can not lie" Thank you Sir Mix-A-Lot ;D

wkahler · July 18, 2010, 06:11:14 PM

That has to be the funniest thing i have seen!!! Also love your home made rack!!! Hate to know your cook time!!

Quote from: squirtthecat on July 18, 2010, 04:13:48 PM

Oh, you can get a fair amount of butt in a Lil Tex!

50 pounds, give or take.

squirtthecat · July 18, 2010, 06:25:11 PM

Quote from: wkahler on July 18, 2010, 06:11:14 PM
That has to be the funniest thing i have seen!!! Also love your home made rack!!! Hate to know your cook time!!

Here is the entire saga.

A good chunk of it was done overnight.

Quarlow · July 18, 2010, 09:57:57 PM

Definitely go with smaller butts just more of them. You'll be glad you did. My 8 1/2 lb'r took 19 hrs last night. But if you did 4 5lb'rs they should be done in about 15 hrs or less. Of course that is only a guideline, you just never know.

squirtthecat · July 19, 2010, 04:44:13 AM

If I set my Traeger at 225°, it will bounce up near 245° from time to time. And with the convection fan moving air around, those butts will finish faster than you think.

12-14 hours for me for ~18 pounds o' butt.

watchdog56 · July 19, 2010, 06:10:12 AM

Looks like it might be a little tough to get the smoke between the butts. Looks like the butts are packe din there pretty tight. Don't get me wrong,nothing wrong with a tight butt ;D ;D

squirtthecat · July 19, 2010, 06:12:15 AM

Quote from: watchdog56 on July 19, 2010, 06:10:12 AM
Looks like it might be a little tough to get the smoke between the butts. Looks like the butts are packe din there pretty tight. Don't get me wrong,nothing wrong with a tight butt ;D ;D

I went back and rearranged them a bit. They shrunk by almost 1/2 overnight.

However, I wouldn't try that again... It made quite a mess. 4 will fit comfortably. 6 w/ the upper rack.

wkahler · July 20, 2010, 04:13:29 AM

Is there suck thing as a safe time range on the idea to try and figure for cooking it..............Heres my tentative game plan!

Eat at 5 on sunday, put butts (or butt) in at 11PM on Sunday morning
Planing foe 16-20 hours of cook time?!?!?!
Will stick it in the cooler if it gets done to early

squirtthecat · July 20, 2010, 04:33:52 AM

Do you mean start the butts at 11PM Saturday night?

I'd think that would work fine..