Creative ideas to get most pork shoulder possible on a Large?

Egghead_Daron

I am planning on cooking 150lb total for a Lodge fundraiser and want to do it in as few cooks as possible. The most I have been able to get so far is roughly 40lb in 4 butts at one time so far. I have the A/R. Anybody have any other good ideas? Anyone just tried piling them up?

theyolksonyou

I was thinking pile em up, but would that affect the bark and do you care if you are mixing it all together?

Egghead_Daron

I'm sure it would affect the bark but yeah it's all going in one big pan anyway so I was kind of thinking the same thing. Thinking I could probably get at least 5 of them on that way.

fishlessman

if your looking to save time use the egg til you get some color and smoke then wrap in foil and finish in the oven while the next batch goes on

Egghead_Daron

That is a good thought @fishlessman. I'd prefer not to but it may come to that. Thanks!

fishlessman

Egghead_Daron said:

That is a good thought @fishlessman. I'd prefer not to but it may come to that. Thanks!

my thoughts are that the majority of the general public doesnt understand what really good pull is anyways, most will still rave about it, oversauce it, etc

Carolina Q

I recently cooked a butt in my mom's oven. Was visiting and she has no egg. She wouldn't be able to lift the dome anyway - she's 98. Anyway, it wasn't as good, but it was still good! Maybe do as many as will fit in the egg and the rest in the oven. Then pull and mix 'em together.

Carolina Q

PS, if you have time, grab a small butt and try it in the oven to see how you like it. You will, guaranteed!

Egghead_Daron

I have done a few in the oven. I was definitely amazed how well it turned out. Before the Egg I always did everything in a crock pot. Those things are right up there with that vile spew garlic!

@fishlessman I agree. The guys at the Lodge thought I was nuts when I said I refuse to sauce it in the pan. They can put it on the table as a condiment if they wanted but I wasn't going to bring it if they were saucing it in the pan.

Eggcelsior

Pre-egg, I used to do the oven thing at times when I needed the butt done by a certain time and I was loosing fire in the kettle. I'd wrap in foil and stick it in at 250 for around an hour. No difference beyond the bark softening a bit. Cooks Illustrated did a "turbo" test a few years ago where they took the butt to 140 on they grill(that temp is where they claimed the meat stops "absorbing" smoke) and finished it in the oven for 2 or 3 hours. Whole thing to 6 or 7 hours.

If it came to doing the oven thing, I'd egg the meat until it stalls, then wrap in foil and finish in a 225 or 250 oven. You could get into an "assembly line"  process and do 3-4 at a time on the egg. Once one batch hit temp on the egg, the oven batch should be about done. Rinse and repeat.

Egghead_Daron

 Thanks @Eggcelsior. These are all good ideas.

gamason

@Egghead_Daron, I see you referenced a Lodge fundraiser. Would I be right to assume your a Travelling man?

Little Steven

There used to be a guy that could get 8 or 9 on. As I remember he put five on the grid long side up and down. Then another grid (probably smaller) and three or four on top. I looked but couldn't find the post. Celtic Wolf was his handle.

Jeepster47

Little Steven said:

There used to be a guy that could get 8 or 9 on. As I remember he put five on the grid long side up and down. ...

If you're looking for more bark, you could do as Little Steven suggests and add in some bamboo skewers to keep the butts separated enough for airflow between them.  Sort of like folks do with multiple rib racks on a MM.  Might be a little futz, but ...

Or simply rotate them around every hour or so.

DMW

I'm going to attempt cramming 10 - 10lbers on my XL next weekend. I'll have my small and Joe Jr. on standby if needed. Might even bring the Hasty Bake home just in case.

Egghead_Daron

@gamason, I am so taken among Brothers and Fellows.

@Little Steven, that is a good idea and the skewers seems like that would make it much easier to get them on too.

@DMW, looking forward to pictures. That may be the final straw to convince me I need to add an XL to the family.

fishlessman

you dont need to worry about them touching, they shrink during the cook. you do need to make sure theres enough airflow, and dont trust your guru, stoker, or any temp gage as the probes and gages for several hours get false readings from that pile of cold meat.

gamason

@Egghead_Daron, pleasure to meet you Brother. Good luck with you BBQ. We just had our spring BBQ 2 weeks ago. 160 butts and 100 gallons of Stew later we were tired. Many years ago we bought a Southern Pride smoker that will cook around 65 per load. We do this 3 times a year among other things. If your ever down here in Ga. please come visit with us. SMIB