my first butts......cooking for 40 people..


 
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Ron F

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Yep, here's a pic of my first butts. Getting ready to put them in the fridge for overnight. Using the Mr. Brown recipe. Can't wait!. One thing I am kind of worried about is having enough food. Originally there was only spose to be about 25-30, now its looking like 40. All I have room for is 4 butts on the WSM(I think). Will this be enough? We're going to of course have many other types of food but I want everyone to get their share of a real pork pulled sammich.

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ronf27/detail?.dir=/1a11&.dnm=5bc3.jpg
 
You're a maniac, Ron.
OK, At least you're ambitious.

If that's a 2 litre bottle in the picture then you have way more than enough pork to feed 40 (the buns and cole slaw alone are quite filling).

My concern would be the cooking time, certainly give yourself 2 extra hours on top of the 2 hours per pound rule; just in case.

You need to let it rest and pull a ****e load of pig!
 
Whew! Thats a load off! Yes that is a 2 liter bottle in the background, along with 1/3 of the WSM water pan showing, and the butts are sitting on a normal size dinner plate. I know you lose some weight in shrinkage and fat rendering, so I was a little worried. Also we wanted to give some away as people leave. As long as there is enough food for the party tho is my main concern. There is a total of about 29lbs. of meat, with each butt weighing in at around 7-7.5 pounds. Now if we can just squeeze 40 people on my small lot!

Ron
 
speaking of pulling the pork, how should I go about that? I was just going to use a couple forks and start hacking away! Also, what temp. should I bring the butts up to? I was thinking 195*...let rest for a few hours wrapped in foil and packed in a cooler...

An after thought I just thought of
icon_biggrin.gif
I'm going to have a few different Q' sauces. What is a good way to allow everyone to taste the different sauces with the their sammich?

Ron

Ron
 
Ron, i take mine to 200 - 202 gets a little more of the fat out of them, less to sort through. Depends on how anal you want to get about picking all the nasties out. I get pretty anal about it but thats just me. Bryan
 
Let your friends help pull the pork!

I've done this before and everyone has a great time. I let the butts sit until they are cool enough to pull and then give everyone a pair of gloves and two forks.

MikeZ
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ron F:
Yep, here's a pic of my first butts. Getting ready to put them in the fridge for overnight. Using the Mr. Brown recipe. Can't wait!. One thing I am kind of worried about is having enough food. Originally there was only spose to be about 25-30, now its looking like 40. All I have room for is 4 butts on the WSM(I think). Will this be enough? We're going to of course have many other types of food but I want everyone to get their share of a real pork pulled sammich.

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ronf27/detail?.dir=/1a11&.dnm=5bc3.jpg <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Looks good! I'd like to be 1 of the 40.

You might consider standing butts on their edge to cook. I've got 6 small butts on my WSM by doing this. They cook just fine.

Jim
 
Hey I just noticed I need to simmer the Southern Sop for the Mr. Brown recipe....how long do you let it simmer? Also, I need to run out and get a mop. How do those chain type ones compare to the cotton ones? Thanks again, I'm sure there is more to come!

ron
 
Lately I've been skipping the Southern Sop. The butts still taste great without being mopped. It doesn't take much time on the stove to simmer, but my wife hates the strong vinegar smell that permeates the house.
 
Heck I wouldn't mop it, let folks put on their own sauce...provide a variety on the side (in bottles). Four (6-7 lb.) butts is just right for 40 ppl, I've done it numerous times. Have fun!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Let your friends help pull the pork! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's actually a pretty fun idea, although I've usually pulled my pork days before a big event. I don't like the thought of people waiting for my Q to get done if it takes longer than I planned, that would be a disaster. And yes, 195+ is the magic temp for pulled pork.
 
Ok I like that idea! NO SOP! What are some good vinegar based sauces I can get at the local grocer? All I have here is tomato based....

Ron
 
Well the butts have been on for almost 17hrs. now. Bottom ones are holding at 176* and top ones at 183*. The top one just actually dropped a couple degrees. Hope this is normal. Lid temp is steady at 245*. One thing I didn't do is use the sop in the mr. brown recipe. I also didn't baste them AT ALL. Will this affect the meat or just the outside? The bark looks a little charred and I think this may be because I didn't baste them with anything.

Ron
 
Ron, I don't baste mine...don't worry about the bark. I think it looks like that because of the ingredients in the rub, not the fact that it is burning!

The temp dropped a few degrees because the fat is contiuing to render and fell over the probe, no worries, it happens to everyone!

Good Luck with the rest of the cook! BTW, did you wrap them in foil at any point!??
 
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