First time large cook


 
S

Stacy Hudson

TVWBB Member
I have been cooking for my family and friends gatherings for some time now. My largest group that I have planned for is about 40 with pulled pork and sides. A mix of age and gender ranges. Church was asked me to cook for their summer kickoff, and while I am happy for the chance to fire up for others, I am intimidated. I am confident in the rub and sauce I provide. I just need quantities and planning on how to make this work on a WSM 18". Planning on chilling and storing pulled and ready pork in hotel pans for reheating the day of, just trying to plan amounts and times to commit for a larger cook. Church is buying the protein, so I don't want to be wasteful. They will be buying double packs from Costco, so no waste from injection. It will be served on buns. I appreciate the help. This is more pressure than making a family member happy, this is me on a plate and I don't want people lacking...nor
Do I want to be wasteful with others funds. Thanks in advance.
 
I've done the same thing for a few years now. In fact this weekend is our summer time bbq too! For 40 people i think that 4 butts will do it. Imo if Costco is your best option go for it, butt i really don't like the boneless butts they have. Bone in holds it's self together way better. also what i prefer to do is cook them the day of so they're nice and fresh. I'll foil them after i pull them off the wsm and put them in a cooler with a towel to keep them warm till the bbq. Then once things get going I'll pull them out of the cooler and start shredding right there. Trust me it tastes way better freshly pulled. Try to plan it so the butts are done at least 2hrs before the bbq. A 2+hr rest really helps. Good luck and let us know how it goes. Don't sweat it, butts are easy!
P.S. I'll be cooking 4 butts and 2 briskets.
 
I agree, I think 4 should be plenty. I'd also tie them if they are boneless. I've cooked a few of the Costco butts and sometimes the butcher does a number on them when they remove the bone. I tie, probably over tie, them to keep the flaps nice and tight. Can't wait to hear how it goes!
 
I would have to agree with the above comments as 4 is plenty. If it were me I would cook and pull the day before. I have done that and never had any complaints.
 
So sorry that I realized that I omitted a valuable bit of info in the original post. I have done cooks for 40 people multiple times. I will be cooking for 125 for this cook. Had a meeting with the church tonight and I get to pick my own butts from SAMs Club, so they will absolutely be bone in. I am planning on 4 double packs of butts and two cooks to allow for enough space for a decent smoke ring around 4 butts per smoke. Butts are not my favorite since they are pretty low maintenance during the cook. But we were looking at volume of protein per pound. My challenge is increasing the size of the cook from my comfort zone. Having a minister announce it to three differents services to encourage attendance tends to make it a little more pressure. I am excited for the challenge, but would rather be looking at a nice flat and burnt ends. I prefer beef, but have to stay cost effective.
 
Stacy, it sounds like you have all the experience you need to pull off this event. Actually, it sounds like it will be fun!

It's too bad you don't have several smokers, so you could cook all the butts at the same time. That would be impressive at a church event!
 
Yea I would lean on a friend if possible and see if you couldn't borrow another smoker. If not I am sure you can pull it off (lame pulled pork joke).
 
So I got the bone in pork butts as planned. Don't have any local friends that have a vertical water smoker, and didn't think this was the time to learn how to manage an offset, so I went with two cooks. Planned on a cook Friday and Saturday, with service on Sunday. Bought pork Thursday, and my mother needed major emergency surgery Thursday night. Spent Friday and today bouncing between the hospital and home to manage cooks (I work in healthcare, so I am her healthcare proxy, and the go between between the staff jargon and the rest of the family). Friday cook was converted to a high heat finish since I was needed at the hospital (I live minutes away, I am not heartless.). Tonight's cook went as planned with a decent amount of unattended smoker time. Used two different flavor profiles to give some variety, one sweet and one garlicky. I just hope they both warm well tomorrow. I have them in half sized hotel pans with the cooking jus and some apple juice. The plan for tomorrow is to warm to serving temp and store in a Cambro until serving where it will be over sterno. Hopefully all turns out well. It's been a stressful roller coaster.

On a funny side note, had a nurse walk into moms room yesterday, and say "what smells so good? Like barbecue?" Mom told her it was me, and she said I could walk through the the department because that was a great smell even if it made her hungry. I will have to update y'all tomorrow if the reheat goes well. Fingers crossed!!
 
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