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!!
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.
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!!
Don't think he was recommending 2 each of 20 pounders. I believe he was saying a total of 20 lbs.
;D LOL..............glade someone clarified before i went to Sams!!! Sounded like a lot but i was thinking BIG!!! ;D
Oh, you can get a fair amount of butt in a Lil Tex!
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/S_ca9qFM_8I/AAAAAAABKKU/xKqUZ6mrP7g/s800/DSC01279.JPG)
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/S_ca_eqHQuI/AAAAAAABKKc/77uWXpC-eik/s800/DSC01280.JPG)
50 pounds, give or take.
"I like big butts and I can not lie" Thank you Sir Mix-A-Lot ;D
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!
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/S_ca9qFM_8I/AAAAAAABKKU/xKqUZ6mrP7g/s800/DSC01279.JPG)
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/S_ca_eqHQuI/AAAAAAABKKc/77uWXpC-eik/s800/DSC01280.JPG)
50 pounds, give or take.
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 (http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=16057.0).
A good chunk of it was done overnight.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
Do you mean start the butts at 11PM Saturday night?
I'd think that would work fine..
Yeah that was my typo!!! Thinking of going with 3 8lbs butts might make it easier and allow some room for some corn or vegetables also!! Might have to to the corn on the propane smoker!!
Quote from: squirtthecat on July 20, 2010, 04:33:52 AM
Do you mean start the butts at 11PM Saturday night?
I'd think that would work fine..
Quote from: wkahler on July 20, 2010, 04:49:28 AM
Yeah that was my typo!!! Thinking of going with 3 8lbs butts might make it easier and allow some room for some corn or vegetables also!! Might have to to the corn on the propane smoker!!
Sounds like a plan. They'll be all but done by early-mid afternoon on Sunday. Just FTC while you are cranking on the corn..
Just run it overnight at 225°. Do you have a hopper extender for your Traeger? You might need to set an alarm clock to run out and dump some more pellets in early in the morning...
Being me, I would start a few hours earlier. You can always FTC longer if done early; sucks when it is done late and every one hungrily looks at you as if you we part of the Donner party menu. ;D
I would start them around 9pm.
starting at 11pm only gives you 18 hours until serving time.
Assuming a 9pm start time, I would empty/refill water bowl at 1AM, rotate racks.
Rotate Racks again around 6-7 AM, check ITs.
Don't be surprised if one is done a couple of hours before the others.
If you get a temp reading that seems out of line (too high for too short a cook time) stick the probe in another spot. If you hit a fat pocket you will get a high reading, since fat is denser than lean.
Speaking of which I need to get some more pellets!!! LOL that would be a bad thing!!! I picked up two 7 pounds and a one 13 pound!!! So i will get a good rub on them and shot them with some injection maybe and let it rip i guess!! Might have way to much but at least i will have left overs to vacuum seal and make some soup later!!
Sometimes the pellets don't "fall" correctly and you'll get a cone forming in the hopper... A couple whaps and they'll fall into place. I would just top it off sometime in the wee hours of the early AM.
Put the big one on the far right side. That's usually a bit hotter than the rest of the pit. They should cook a little more evenly that way..
Drop an empty salsa jar in your drip bucket... You're going to have a lot of fat rendering out of 27 pounds of butt.
Good luck!
That's for all the help and advice. I think i might take some pictures of the process to let you guys know how this green horn does!! Got two bags of pellets and think i am ready to go.................any good rub ideas?? Was going to coat with some sauce in about the last two hours or so!!
Ok she just notified me that we are eating at 1 not 5 sooooooooooooo no i'm thinking start time at 4pm on saturday and then should be good to wrap them up at least 1 hour before so i can hit the corn up. Any thoughts on that time frame with everything??? I have two 7 pound butts and one 13 pound so i am guessing the two 7 pounds will probable be done before the big one?!?!?!
Just make it easy on yourself... Start them FRIDAY night - whenever is convenient - and deal with them (pull, clean up) on Saturday. Reheat on Sunday morning in a crock pot(s) with some Cider Vinegar - or check out the 'Vaulted Vinegar' recipe..
It's almost always better left over IMO. No need to panic getting it all ready to go right out of the smoker... Nobody will know the difference! Mine is always frozen/reheated to serve.
I've done the re-heat gig, definitely for large groups..
but there is nothing like a fresh butt out of FTC.
If you decide to do them on saturday, STC has posted some good times for the Traeger.
Allow yourself 20 hrs for cook and FTC.
If the cook goes longer, shorter FTC.
If the cook goes quicker, longer FTC.
4 to 6 hrs hours in Heavy wrapped foil, double towel wrapped, and a warm cooler will hold
your piggies.
Got it guys think I'm going to stick with the Saturday cook idea, reheating just doesn't sound as good to me!! Will shot for a good start time and then hopefully things work out!!! Will be in touch!!
Need a rub idea for my butt ;D LOL!!!!
Quote from: wkahler on July 21, 2010, 10:27:15 AM
Need a rub idea for my butt ;D LOL!!!!
The Renowned Mr. Brown Barbecued Pork Butt, Memphis Rub; Smoke & Spice, by Cheryl and Bill Jamison.
Ingredients:
* 1/4 cup Black Pepper, fresh cracked
* 1/4 cup Paprika
* 1 /4 cup Turbinado Sugar or Brown Sugar
* 2 Tbsp. Salt, Kosher
* 2 tsp. Mustard, dry
* 1 tsp. Cayenne pepper
(Makes enough for one 6 - 8 lb. Boston Butt)
Quote from: wkahler on July 21, 2010, 03:41:01 AM
Got it guys think I'm going to stick with the Saturday cook idea, reheating just doesn't sound as good to me!! Will shot for a good start time and then hopefully things work out!!! Will be in touch!!
STC was sharing the word on pulling the piggie, bagging or vac pak, and reheating later.
When you pull it and let everything mix together, the smoke will distribute better thru the meat.
Maybe you will have some left over so you can see for yourself.
It might help in a future date when you have to pre-cook several days in advance.