50lbs of Pork Butt - and all the stress that goes with it!

Defiant · April 25, 2013, 11:43:51 AM

If you run out of time, you can raise the temperature for the time in the oven to 325 -350 for an hour or so. I have had to do that and it has turned out fine. Lower temperature longer is better, but this works good if you are in a hurry, still very tender. Good luck.

hal4uk · April 25, 2013, 08:32:01 PM

OK... Like the others said... START AS SOON AS YOU CAN.
You can even freeze and reheat later (Pulled pork holds up great to freezing).

Anyhow... You're expecting 50 people?
BBQ has a way of inviting people all on its own...
So you might want to think "70" in your head...
Teenage guys? THEY CAN EAT.
So... think 100.
Just saying.

Listen to what the others have recommended to "git-r-done"...
And then, think about this...

How are you going to serve it? Over what time period?
Pulled pork is excellent right off the pit, or refrigerated (or frozen) and reheated (slowly)...

However, you don't want it to sit out too long waiting for people to come get it.
You can use crockpots, roasters, or whatever you have to keep it warm, but if they don't all come at ONE TIME -- IN A LINE...
It will get dry and rubbery (seriously lose quality) just sitting there.

IF that's the case (people will come over a period of time), I HIGHLY RECOMMEND making 2lb or so foil packets.
You can pile those in whatever you are using, and when one is empty --- even the DUMBEST guests will figure out to open the next foil packet.

Anyhow... FYI --- I just made that crazy idea up just for you.
It's NOT something I ever learned the HARD WAY.
That's my story. OK?
Awrighten.

terry08 · April 26, 2013, 06:26:20 AM

Just relax and enjoy yourself. With all the great advice you have been given here there's no way to go wrong. Keep us posted.

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GoCobbers95 · May 07, 2013, 10:06:39 AM

I truly appreciate the advice, and have made modifications to my plan accordingly. As I said in my original post, I REALLY would have like to start doing this sooner, it just isn't possible in my current living situation.

I have upped my pork butt total to 70lbs as of this morning, and procured a food saver in case of leftovers. I will be smoking in 2 batches using 3 smokers starting Friday. I am planning on finishing the cook inside of ovens. Timeframe is obviously not ideal, but I can make it work.

I have been mulling over reheating options for the pork. I have access to as many roasting pans as I need. Being that the pork will not be in food saver bags, what is the NEXT BEST OPTION for reheating? Slowly inside roasting pan w/ apple juice and defatted drippings?

As far as serving, I am told it is not my problem. I figured I would provide apple juice and shaker of rub for doctoring. The serving window is 2 hours. Hal4uk has be all sorts of stressed that if reheated too early, the meat will be junk... I really would like to avoid this.

Having read the thread (knowing my constraints), what would you recommend for reheating and serving (2 hour window)?

Thank you for all the help!

tskeeter · May 07, 2013, 01:39:23 PM

Last night we just finished gobbling up the pulled pork I made Sat/Sun (finished at 5:00 AM, then FTC until about 8:00AM). Reheated in a 250 degree oven. Took about an hour to warm up about seven pounds in a foil covered glass cake pan about 1 1/2 inches deep in pork. Poured defatted drippings into the pork and added a pulled pork finishing sauce that I found on the smoking meat forums before heating. I really liked the finishing sauce. Adds a touch of spice and adds moisture to the pork.

Finishing Sauce Recipe

1 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust for your taste)

Warm vinegar to help dissolve brown sugar. Add rest of ingredients.

Use at rate of 1/2 cup per 10 pounds of pulled pork.

As far as the reheating goes, you could stagger your reheating so that the last of the pork doesn't sit too long. Have half to 3/4 of the pork ready for serving when you start and plan that the last of the pork will be ready to serve about half way through your serving period. If you can hold the warm pork at about 200 degrees, you should be able to hold it for a couple of hours without it getting rubbery. Use variations on the FTC technique. I remember my Mom wrapping casserole dishes in many layers of newspaper and then tying a dish towel around the casserole to keep the newspaper closed. This works really well to keep food up to serving temperature for more than an hour. If you wrap, then cover with a couple of layers of beach towels, you can probably keep things up to serving temps for close to an hour just sitting on the kitchen counter. If you can, use smaller serving pans, especially after the initial rush, so that you have smaller quantities of food out getting cold.

ragweed · May 07, 2013, 02:18:27 PM

For my 2 cents, I use a crock pot with a little water added. Stays hot and moist forever. Since you have a large amount of meat, get hold of a bunch of roaster ovens. (Like we use to poach our sausages) Worked great for me when I made sloppy joes for a large group.

terry08 · May 10, 2013, 05:09:01 AM

Glad it all went well. If you do it again, vac seal the pulled pork in gallon bags, boil water to around 220* and pour in a good ice cooler. Place the bags in the cooler of water, and remove and serve as needed. The water temperature will drop about one degree per hour in the cooler, thus giving you several hours of serving time at correct temperature.

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GoCobbers95 · May 10, 2013, 11:52:47 AM

Smokers are being warmed up as we speak. This chaotic and stressful weekend is finally upon us!

Wish me luck!

Redneckinthecity · May 10, 2013, 12:50:35 PM

Good luck. Give yourself plenty of time and you'll be able to work through anything unexpected.

ragweed · May 10, 2013, 01:34:13 PM

Good luck! I'm "pulling" for you. :D

terry08 · May 11, 2013, 05:43:49 AM

Quote from: GoCobbers95 on May 10, 2013, 11:52:47 AM
Smokers are being warmed up as we speak. This chaotic and stressful weekend is finally upon us!

Wish me luck!

Good luck, just remember it might get chaotic, but should never be stressful. Some folks fish, play golf and use other means to unwind after a stressful work week. I turn to the smokers to relieve stress, never to create it. ;)

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GoCobbers95 · May 11, 2013, 11:41:28 AM

Well said Terry...

Things have gone great so far.

Smoked 35lbs last night for 5 hours then finished in the oven. 2 roasts were done after 13 hours, other 2 took 15 hours. FTC'd for 3ish hours and meat was still HOT! Pulled like a dream and is currently sitting inside my fridge divided into 4 gallon sized ziplock bags. I have yet to add any extra rub, apple juice, or defatted drippings.

Put second 35lb batch into smoker at 8am this morning and just now transferred to oven after 5 hours of smoke. If all goes well I will be pulling it out by midnight. Can I FTC with heating pad till morning?

REALLY considering double bagging the gallon size batches of pork for reheating as if they are packaged via food saver... What are your guys thoughts?

Only other thing to mention is my OBS has crapped out on me, leaving me just a DBS and propane smoker. (I'm done smoking at this point, so it really doesn't matter short term) I always have a spare heating element around after a debacle with sausage making last year, so I swapped it out. Still nothing. Just noticed my heating light doesn't turn on... Is my slider/board thingy bad? I'm not very electronically smart.

Thanks for everything guys. I mean it! The smoothness of this cook (so far) is thanks to you all!

Back to making BBQ sauce...

Habanero Smoker · May 11, 2013, 01:53:16 PM

If you have roasting bags, or crock pot liners, they will be more reliable than using sealable bags during reheating.

GoCobbers95 · May 11, 2013, 05:05:53 PM

I have neither croc pot liners or roasting bags. Does it make any better that I have "freezer" Ziplock bags?

Habanero Smoker · May 12, 2013, 02:06:51 AM

After reading your post again, I'm not sure if I have a full understanding of what you are using the sealable bags for. Is it just for storage, until you can reheat the pulled pork. Then yes, a single freezer bag will work.

When I first read this my thought was, you want to reheat the pork in simmering water while they are still in the bags. In that case I'm not sure. I've never have tried it, though the freezer bags are more sturdier and would be more reliable. You should do a test run to make sure that the seals on those bags will with stand the heat and weight. Fill the bag with dried beans or something, to test it.