Multi Butt Questions


 
Tommy B

Tommy B

TVWBB Pro
My son is turning 1 and we will be hosting a birthday party for him over the weekend.
We are expecting 30 adult guests.
I am planning on cooking pulled pork and sides.
Do you think two shoulders would feed 30 people?
I have never cooked more then 1 shoulder at a time. Should I expect a longer cooking time? Should I fire up more charcoal then usual to start the cooker because more cold meat will be put on?
I am running an 18.5 WSM. When cooking multiple butts do you put one butt per rack or can you squeeze both on a single rack? If multiple racks do you switch what butt is on top/bottom during the cook?

The most people I have cooked for at a time was 10. I cooked a large turkey on the WSM for Christmas dinner. I want to make sure I have a plan to nail it!
 
If you figure 8 ounces per person (probably less if lots of them are kids), you'd need about 15 pounds of PP. If you figure 30% waste in a shoulder, you'd need to start with about 21-22 pounds of pork. Shoulders around here typically run 7-9 pounds, so I'd probably go with 3 and figure on having leftovers.
 
Bone in butts yield 40 to 60 percent meat when pulled, so plan on getting about half the uncooked weight as a guide.
Like DB said, cook plenty and have possible leftovers.
I'd go 2 on top, one on bottom, try to get three close in weight.
Cook time might take a little longer, but shouldn't be much more.
I'd load the ring and let her rip.
 
I always figure 2/3 lb uncooked per person. 2-10 lb. butts or 3 smaller ones should be fine.
 
Bob Correll said:
Bone in butts yield 40 to 60 percent meat when pulled, so plan on getting about half the uncooked weight as a guide.
Like DB said, cook plenty and have possible leftovers.
I'd go 2 on top, one on bottom, try to get three close in weight.
Cook time might take a little longer, but shouldn't be much more.
I'd load the ring and let her rip.
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Sounds good to me. I'd try to find 3 butts that are similar in proportions as well as weight, since that will make it more likely that they'll all be done at the same time.
 
WRT your other questions, no, the increased mass doesn't add much time. Say you figure 1.5 hrs per pound for a butt, you don't double the time simply because you are doubling the amount of meat. You are absolutely correct though that you should add more fuel (lit and unlit) to account for the increase in thermal mass as it will require more energy to cook 30lbs of meat compared to 10. But even here, it's not like you have to double everything. I'd preheat your cooker to about 25 degrees higher than you normally would for a single butt.
 
I'll have to disagree with some of the others. i think 2 butts will feed 30 and then some. I always plan on 1/3lb/person uncooked weight. So a twin pack of butts weighing in at 15-20lbs should feed 45-60ppl. I've done lots of pulled pork cooks for lots of people and this seems to always work. Depending on there size I'd put them both on the top rack, but if they're big butts one on each level is just fine. Also i would just start the wsm the same way as you would for just one butt. Perhaps a little more lit like Dave said too. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
 
S.Six said:
I'll have to disagree with some of the others. i think 2 butts will feed 30 and then some. I always plan on 1/3lb/person uncooked weight. So a twin pack of butts weighing in at 15-20lbs should feed 45-60ppl. I've done lots of pulled pork cooks for lots of people and this seems to always work. Depending on there size I'd put them both on the top rack, but if they're big butts one on each level is just fine. Also i would just start the wsm the same way as you would for just one butt. Perhaps a little more lit like Dave said too. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
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1/3rd lb is 5.3 ounces. Given that butts only have about a 50-60% yield, 1/3 pound raw would be between 2.6 and 3.2 ounces of meat. That's between 1/6th and 1/5th of a lb cooked per person. That's an awfully tiny sandwich.

Are you sure you aren't thinking cooked weight of 1/3lb per person ?
 
Did the same thing for my twins first bday! I think 3 is a good number unless you can find 2 rather large ones. I'd do two on top and one on the bottom and I wouldn't bother swapping them. It shouldn't take significantly longer.
 
I agree with Bob. You'll get around a 40%-60% yield. You should figure about a half pound per person.
 
Thanks for all the answers. I think I am going to look for two large butts or 3 smaller ones depending on what the store has.
I have cooked several butts in the past but never more then one! I will make sure to report back with some pictures!
 
So it looks like we will actually only be hosting about 20 people. I purchased two 9 pound butts.
 
DaveW said:
1/3rd lb is 5.3 ounces. Given that butts only have about a 50-60% yield, 1/3 pound raw would be between 2.6 and 3.2 ounces of meat. That's between 1/6th and 1/5th of a lb cooked per person. That's an awfully tiny sandwich.

Are you sure you aren't thinking cooked weight of 1/3lb per person ?
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I think your right! 1/3lb cooked! Maybe more like 1/2lb/person uncooked weight is more like it, sorry. Anyways, somewhere around there.
 
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