Large BGE Boston Butt capacity question.

CAT Seller

Ok, I may have just put my "big foot in my big mouth", by volunteering to cook, rather then buy BBQ catering from a local vendor, for a good friend of mine. I thought I would get this forum's opinion of what I have agreed to, and maybe you get a chance to laugh at me. I have agreed that I would volunteer to cook pulled/chopped pork for a group of 30 - 40 adults. I plan on cooking (4) 8 lb bone in Boston Butt's on a Large BGE. 1st question is: will that fit amount of meat fit on a large BGE? I do have a 2nd grate that I can install, but I would rather keep everything on 1 level. 2nd question is:based on 30-40 people, will 32 lbs of pre cooked Butt be enough? I rather have too much, then not enough, and there will be sides to go with the pork. I have a didi
Sarcastic comments and helpful suggestions are welcomed. 

prtsman133

I have done 3, 10# several times with no problems. But it was full.

Lo_Gear

I did 5 10# on a 2 level set up and it was tight. 4 should be fine, even more so if you add the second level.

ElkhornHusker

I would think 32 pounds will be plenty.  Shredded or pulled meat can feed a lot people, usually 1/2 pound per person.

bhedges1987

That will yield like 16-18 lbs of meat I think?  Less if your like me and pull it and remove all of the bad fat that didn't render. I would do 1 more to be safe 

lousubcap

32 lbs pre-cooked will yield around 16 lbs after.  Now you have to sort out how much /person along with sides etc will be consumed.  If you go with 1/3-1/2 lb /person you are looking at 32-48 servings.  So, I would go with around 4 9-10lb butts and two levels on the LBGE.  Hopefully those with more multiple cooks will be along.  FWIW-

Terrebandit

I always take the precooked weight and divide by 2 to get to the finished weight.  That gives you 16 pounds and that will serve 30 people easy, if you use small Hiwyanan rolls (2 per person).  I just fed 40 people on 8 lbs of finished meat but I had sliced brisket to go with it.  I had none left but most took only one sandwich. 

I can can put two 10 pounders on a single grate and still have good smoke circulation around them. Anymore than that, I have to break out the dual grate, big meat set up on my AR and then I could get four of that size. 

kl8ton

Bad pic.

30lb protien on large single level. 

Worked fine. 

Toxarch

I have an AR and can fit 4 on two levels of oval grates. 4 on one level would be too tight for my liking. Not enough air flow and touching meat doesn't create bark. Figure 60% yield when done and 1/2 lb per person. Shredding adds plenty of volume.
Here's 2x 8.5 lb butts on the upper rack of the AR in the large and using stock grate.

Raymont

Make it easier on yourself and take the stress out. How about 3 butts the ~week before, bag & freeze (or keep in fridge). Then do another 3 butts on game day. Give your crowd ziplocks for left-overs. Or.. I personally would pre-cook all of it (weekend before) and just reheat the day of. 

hondabbq

It can easily be done with the help of a raised grid thus creating 2 cooking levels.

4x 10lbs butts would be tight no matter the configuration but 4x 8-9 lb butts will be fine. Just know this going into it, they will be touching each other so some rotation throughout the cook will be necessary.

I have done 4 butts numerous times for friends and family etc, but I have now had to buy another smoker to accommodate the volumes I need now. One LBGE isnt enough.

SmokeyPitt

I agree that 4 butts in the 8-9 lb range should be plenty.  I think you will need 2 levels, or you will have to stack them vertically like @kl8ton showed above. 

@kl8ton I was curious about that balancing act?  Did you use anything to hold them?  I have thought about trying that and using metal skewers to hold them. 

kl8ton

@SmokeyPitt

I just rotated the meat around so it leaned into each other. 

Be careful when opening.  Meat may have shifted during the cook and want to jump off the grid.

Toxarch

You could definitely cook before and reheat. Add apple juice when bagging. Put the bags in warm water on the stove to reheat. I've done it many times.

Wood122565

This Saturday into Sunday I finally did my large butt cook. .  Reading through a lot of posts I was able to determine how much I would possible be able to cook at once and the amount of time of rest that would be safe without reheating. Was able to get 40 lbs. on my LBGE.  Took about 16 hours @ 250 - 275.  Started the egg and set my temp to 250 and held for about 45 minutes and set out my meat for about an hour to get to room temp.  Had 6 butts so I put the lager 3 on bottom and the 3 smaller on top in a triangle. Only fall back was the I should have rotated the meat somewhere around 155 -160.  The bottoms of the bottom group was over cooked.  After cook, I triple wrapped each butt in HD aluminum foil then wrapped in a dryer warmed towel and stacked in a cooler for about 6 hours that I had lined with a dryer warmer towel.  Pulled 3 and chopped 3 no problem.  Photo above was about 5 hours into the cook, forgot photo at the end of the cook.  Thanks for the ones who post on this forum.  Makes rookie Eggheads like me look like great cooks. 

CAT Seller

Thanks to all those who replied. I wish I had time to cook them in advance, but my event is this Sunday. I received (4) 8 lbs bone in butts today, from the friend that I am cooking them for, and I did a test fit with them on my LBGE tonight. I am pretty much at max capacity. Laying flat, the butt's touch the sides of the egg, which I am really not thrilled about. However, if I go vertical with them, I have plenty of room - no second grate needed. So, I will be putting on 32 Lbs on tomorrow night and let my didgiQ do the rest. 

tikigriller

I can't want to see how this turns out. Bask in your pork created glory. 

lousubcap

Make sure you have a good-sized air-gapped drip pan to handle the renderings.  Also check to make sure you don't impale a butt with the dome thermo.  Foil protect any parts that overhang your heat deflector.  Above all- have fun.  

CAT Seller

Here they are. 4 lbs, laying flat, then stood up. Standing up is the way to go, I think..

EggHeadinFlorida

Wood122565 said:

This Saturday into Sunday I finally did my large butt cook. .  Reading through a lot of posts I was able to determine how much I would possible be able to cook at once and the amount of time of rest that would be safe without reheating. Was able to get 40 lbs. on my LBGE.  Took about 16 hours @ 250 - 275.  Started the egg and set my temp to 250 and held for about 45 minutes and set out my meat for about an hour to get to room temp.  Had 6 butts so I put the lager 3 on bottom and the 3 smaller on top in a triangle. Only fall back was the I should have rotated the meat somewhere around 155 -160.  The bottoms of the bottom group was over cooked.  After cook, I triple wrapped each butt in HD aluminum foil then wrapped in a dryer warmed towel and stacked in a cooler for about 6 hours that I had lined with a dryer warmer towel.  Pulled 3 and chopped 3 no problem.  Photo above was about 5 hours into the cook, forgot photo at the end of the cook.  Thanks for the ones who post on this forum.  Makes rookie Eggheads like me look like great cooks. 

what do you call these mini thermos?

DaveRichardson

Yes, you can stand them up on the small ends like above or you can go raised grid. 

If you go raised grid, remember that its a little warmer up higher in the dome.  You will want as many thermo probes monitoring temp that you can get.  Might even want to rotate your butts from the upper to lower during the cook to balance things out.

4 butts should be easy on a large.  I can get 3 standing tall on the regular grid with no problem.

blind99

If needed you can put 3 as a triangle, and a 4th in the middle raised on a brick:

Wood122565

To EggHeadinFlorida ,  those were given to me years ago.  I've seen them at Home Depot.