Boston Butt Questions - Feeding a Crowd

stuckman

I've made a few boston butts over the past year since I first bought my egg.  Now, I'm looking to feed a crowd.  My oldest daughter is about to graduate high school and we're throwing a graduation party in a few weeks for several dozen people.  Here are my three questions.

1.  How many boston butts (~7 pounds each) can I get on a Large BGE?

2.  Will multiple butts affect the cook time?  My worst nightmare is having a crowd gathered around the egg waiting for the internal temp to hit 195!!  

3.  Even when I keep the dome temp between 225 and 250, the butts (boneless) cook in about 1 hour per pound. Seems kinda quick.  Thoughts?

Thanks in advance for the advice!!

Mike

Que_n_Brew

Mike, 1) at 7lbs I would say you could get (3) without adding a level. If you have access to 10-11lb butts, I'd go with (2) of those vs (3) 7 lbers. 2) cooking time shouldn't alter. I haven't experience that with multiple butts. 3) I cook at 275 so not much help there. Good luck

shtgunal3

I done 3 8lbers on my large awhile back. All on the stock grate.

Tjcoley

I've done 3 ten pounders on the large, all on one level.  They cook the same as if you had one.  They may (will) finish at different times, so monitor temps separately.  Not uncommon for a larger one to finish before a smaller one.  I'd bump dome temp up to 300 - 350.  Finish early and FTC until ready to eat.

SamFerrise

I have had good success cooking at the 235-250 range.  If you use three 7 to 8 pounders you are looking at a cook time of at least 12 hours maybe more to get to internal of 190-195 then FTC for an hour or 2 to let it relax.  Get those puppies out of the fridge at least 2 hours before putting them on the EGG.  I rub the butts with olive oil and sprinkle a liberal amount of my favorite homemade rub on them, into a big plastic bag for a minimum of 24 hours.  I use Wicked Good Lump for all my slow and lows.  It has never failed me yet.

stlcharcoal

Like others have said, it's easier to get three larger butts on there vs. four small ones.  On the Large, I'll shoot two 10-lbs butts side by side, then a skinny 8 lbs perpendicular to them.

I run for 225F, then may ramp it up toward the end if I'm running behind.  At that temp, I usually end up going 26-28 hrs before it hits 200F internal.

I try not to open the lid at all, but recently I started turn the butts around after noticing a big temp difference between the outer and inner sides.  Sometimes I'll rotate the grid in case of hot spots.  This is more of an issue with the XL as there is a lot of dead space in the middle.  The more I cook with it, the more I believe in have a few Larges vs. an XL.