Big game wings & butts


 

Jim H.

TVWBB All-Star
Since the NFL won't allow us to use the name <STRIKE>Super bowl</STRIKE>, I call it the big game. I cooked 40 lbs. of pulled pork, 20 lbs. of wings with two sauces, 40 burgers and 20 dogs for 50 people, my biggest cook yet. Everything came out great and the people loved it.

Got these from GFS. Not a bad price for around here. They were very good quality wise.
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Here are 4 butts, rubbed. Tried a different modified rub, and it was a big hit. Thanks to Kevin Kruger for mods to this particular rub, which really enhanced the flavor. I left the rub on for nearly 18 hours, and re-rubbed just before putting on the WSM.
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Set up a full ring of GFS (a.k.a. RO) briquettes. These seem to burn longer and maintain an even temp for a long time. Used three hickory chunks, one apple and two cherry for flavor. Started 20 briquettes in the chimney for a Minion start. Coals were still going strong after 8+ hrs. when I pulled the butts off the smoker.
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After 8 hrs. on the WSM. I took them off the WSM and used the crutch method until they were done because I was cooking everything else on a large grill @ church, so I couldn't let them go the whole time on my WSM.
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Once they started to feel probe tender, I wrapped them in foil for a couple of hours to rest and then had a couple of quickly trained volunteers pull the pork into serving pans. No pics of the whole serving setup because I was too busy getting the wings & burgers finished up before gametime. These had some great bark and a nice smoke ring too. Very tender and juicy.
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I brined 20 lbs. of wings in a basic brine of brown sugar & kosher salt, and I added some soy sauce and a couple of other things for flavor. Brined for two hours, which gave them a terrific flavor. Here was the cooking setup on the grill. Yeah, I know, this isn't a Weber grill blah blah blah, but it does a great job with basic cooks like this. It is an 8-burner monster that will really cook some food in a hurry.
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As people started showing up for the party, I let a few have a wing or two to sample. They said these wings were excellent even without sauce, so we ended up putting a tray of unsauced wings out on the table. They were gone as quickly as the Teriyaki and hot wings that I made. Wonder if this means I need to change my sauce recipes, or serve plain wings too from now on?
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I regret not getting a pic or two of the serving table. We asked folks to bring side dishes, which included slaw, potato salad, ABT's, various chips & dips and too many desserts to count. Based on how little food was left, I'd say that the party was a big hit. We did take home about 2 lbs. of pulled pork, which made some awesome nachos for dinner on Tuesday night.
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Next time I have a big cook like this, I will make sure to take more pics.

Thanks for looking!
 

 

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