Cooking 30 pounds of butt

nomdeplume · Joined: 25 Jul 2009 Posts: 7

Hi folks! New to the forum and my first post...so go easy on me!

I'm going to be doing 30 pounds of pulled pork for a large birthday bash tomorrow. The butts are each about 7.5 pounds. I'll be cooking on a Traeger smoker and was wondering about timing. I was planning on serving around 3 pm Saturday and was trying to come up with a workable timeline. Some people say 1.5 hours per pound, and I'm hoping that that holds true in spite of having 4 of them in the grill. If so, then that's about 11 hours of cooking time, and therefore my rough timeline looks like this:

12 am: put the meat on and set grill to 'smoke' mode
2 am: turn grill to 225
1 pm (or whenever meat hits 195): remove from heat, wrap in foil, place in cooler.
2 pm: pull meat, toss with sauce in foil pans, place in oven on warm.
3 pm: eat!

What do you guys think of this schedule? Think it will take more or less time? What about wrapping in foil after 8 or 9 hours of cooking?

Thanks for your help!

Sean

hldhm · Posted: Jul 25 2009 Post subject:

Butts in my Traeger take longer than that- average is 12-14 hrs at 250.

Thumper · BBQ Fan Joined: 14 May 2009 Posts: 389 Location: Kansas

I agree with hldhm. In my llimited experience my butts take longer as well. I don't have a trager, but I would allow more time if I were doing it. I would probaly start @ 9:00 pm, but YNNV.

Good luck and lets us know how it turns out.

nomdeplume · Joined: 25 Jul 2009 Posts: 7

nomdeplume · Joined: 25 Jul 2009 Posts: 7

One other question for the two of you: do you think it's a good idea to wrap the butts in foil at some point in the cook process? Or do you do it only at the end and during the rest phase?

Thumper · BBQ Fan Joined: 14 May 2009 Posts: 389 Location: Kansas

I only wrap butts in foil if I am feeling pressed for time. If I do it I wait toward the end of the cook, just to help get them up to temp. I prefer not to wrap until the end, and then only if I am holding them for a couple of hours before pulling. If I am pulling in an hour then I just cover them loosely with foil.

If I am trying to hit a solid serving time, I prefer to get an early start and half to hold them wrapped in foil, wrapped in a towel, and in a cooler for up to 4 hours. I am usually just cooking for the family at home so eatin time may vary wildly here. Its done when its done!

nomdeplume · Joined: 25 Jul 2009 Posts: 7

Here's a summary about my first pulled pork on the Traegar. I prepared the butts in a manner similar to the sticky thread. I made a couple of rubs using various combinations of paprika, chile powder, garlic powder, cumin, clove, pepper, brown sugar, onion powder, etc. I rubbed two butts with mustard and then applied the rub, wrapped them in saran wrap and refrigerated them for 8 hours. The other two butts just got a spicy rub before placing on the grill (lack of time). I injected all 4 butts with the cider/whiskey mixture and was real happy with the flavor profile and how moist the meat was.

I started smoking the butts at 9 pm and turned them to 225 at midnight. I used apple wood exclusively. At 9 am the two smaller butts were at 197 and I pulled them, wrapped them in foil and a towel, and placed them in an ice chest. The two remaining butts were ready to come off at 11 am. Same procedure for resting.

I pulled the meat at 2 pm, so the first butts had sat for 5 hours and the meat fell apart with just the slightest pressure. The bark was real nice and the flavors amazing! I tossed 1/2 of it with the South Carolina-style mustard sauce and the other 1/2 with a Texas-style BBQ sauce. This was my first use of the mustard sauce and I have to say it was awesome! Big hit with everybody, for sure.

I'd upload a picture of the butts on the smoker, but I can't seem to find the upload feature.

Many thanks to those that offered input! Look forward to the next smoke adventure....

JimmieOhio · Posted: Jul 28 2009 Post subject:

To be sure that you don't mess up your party's schedule, be sure to err on finishing on the early side. I discovered this last time I made pork shoulder.

You can always hold the wrapped, finished shoulder in a cooler for a ridiculous amount of time (hours), without degrading the quality. You will definitely screw it up if you do something radical in an attempt to rush it at the end.
_________________
Jimmie Ohio
KCBS Certified BBQ Judge

"Never criticize a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes. Then, criticize him all you want since you're a mile away and you have HIS shoes."