Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

My first butt cook, for 40 people

mikenmar
mikenmar Posts: 32
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Had my large BGE for a couple weeks now, and I really love it!

So I volunteered to make pulled pork for a friend's party. About 40 people, so I figured I'd make two butts. This is the first time I've tried making any butt, let alone two.

I'm planning to follow the Elder Ward method. Anything else I need to know, especially given that I'm doing two butts? Will it take longer than expected with two?

I've got two Polders, FWIW.

Am I crazy to try this? I doesn't *sound* that tricky, based on the directions I've read anyway. But is it?

Comments

  • Mark0525
    Mark0525 Posts: 1,235
    They are easy :) 2 is just as easy as 1. My advice would be not to plan on the butts being done right when you're ready to eat. Have them done early (not quite as early as mine today) but take them off and wrap in alum foil and towels and throw in a cooler until you're ready to eat. Good luck
  • mikenmar
    mikenmar Posts: 32
    Thanks.

    Actually, I was planning on having them done a bit early.

    The party is at my friend's house, about a half hour away, so I figured I'd pull them and sauce them at home, and carry the pulled pork to the party in pans. They won't get too dried out that way, will they?

    How long will it take to pull two butts?
  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    Don't sweat the little stuff.. One or six they will cook individually. Plan your cook based on the heaviest and start checking based on the lightest..

    Yes with the right setup you can get six on a LBGE..
  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    less than two minutes..

    They will be fine!!
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    If you have learned to hold your temperature reasonably steady, say 250 dome +/- 25 over a three hour period, you shouldn't have any problems. Butts are vary hard to ruin. I've gone to bed with the dome at 265+ (and seemingly steady), woke up with it down around 235, and the results were almost indistinguishable from a steady dome at 250.

    The usual allowance for a portion is 1/4 - 1/3 lb of cooked meat per person. The pork cooks down to around 60% of weight. So 40 x .25 = 10. To get 10 lb of cooked meat, you should start with around 16 2/3 lb of butt. 2 butts might do it, but I think I'd add another.
  • phar71
    phar71 Posts: 44
    I would pull them at your buddies house, show off a little :woohoo:
  • Lei'd-n-Egg
    Lei'd-n-Egg Posts: 289
    Mike,I agree with phar. Pull the butts at your friends house. Think of it as dinner and a show!
  • Abe Froman
    Abe Froman Posts: 95
    My friends must be pigs, 2 butts would be demolished by the time the 10th person hit the line. I'd consider 2 more butts, unless 30 of those 40 people are women.