Large load of Pork Butt

[slinden]

I have a large party coming up on Saturday. I will be doing 3 butts (want to do 4 but IDK if my 4 rack digital can handle that.) I need to have the food served at 5pm. Im going to smoke at 210* and cook them to 195* all in the smoker. What time should I start at? I was thinking noon on Friday. That will give me 24hrs of smoking time and 5hrs of FTC. Or should I start the earlier and reheat it. Also is 8hrs of smoke good? Should I do more smoke or less?

[TedEbear]

Noon on Friday would ensure that they'll be done by Saturday. You can always pull them and put in the fridge and reheat if they finish too soon.  Reheated pulled pork is pretty good.  I put mine in a large aluminum pan with a cup or so of apple juice, seal tightly with foil and place in the oven at 350*F for a couple of hours.

As far as the smoke time, 8 hours is a bit long.  Most people seem to go 3-4 hours max. 

[crestman]

I sure wouldn't start any later!...It's easier to pull, cool down, and re-heat than it is to hurry the cook up to get everyone fed on time. I know it's nice to have the food timed out so it's as "fresh" off the smoker as possible, but really, I've had re-heats that are just as good. Reserve some of that juice that you get out of the foil, add some of your favorite BBQ sauce, some apple cider vinegar, some apple juice, and throw it all in a slow cooker to re-heat...I don't like it to sloppy so I just add enough moisture to well, make it moist!...then I set some sauce out as a side.

Good luck!

[Wildcat]

I normally do 2 large butts at a time and smoke from 200 to 210 degrees (205 average). It generally takes me 20 to 30 hours to get to 195 on the rare occasions that I go to 195. When cooking this low you can actually stop cooking around the 170 degree range with similar results as taking it to 195 while cooking at 210 to 230. Do the fork test to determine if it is ready for pulling vice the final internal temp.

Also, I have found that pulled pork actually tastes better if you smoke and cook it, let it rest until cool enough to pull then pull it, distribute the chopped up bark all thru the meat, seal in an air tight container and place in the fridge overnight, then do a reheat.

[squirtthecat]

Also, I have found that pulled pork actually tastes better if you smoke and cook it, let it rest until cool enough to pull then pull it, distribute the chopped up bark all thru the meat, seal in an air tight container and place in the fridge overnight, then do a reheat.

What he said..