Pulled Pork Questions

egghead

I'm making pulled pork for my home beer brewing club this weekend. (Along with some smoked ham and salmon.) Though I have owned my medium egg for serveral years, I have never done pulled pork on it before. I've done lots of pulled pork on my big cooker with an offset firebox, but not on the egg. I am using Elder Ward's instructions to help me through it. I've read the instuctions several times, but have some questions and need some help.
1. Will this method work just as well with the medium as is does with the large? Will the fire burn as long as it needs to in the medium, or will I need to replenish charcoal during the night?
2. Should I use the plate setter for this cook? If so, legs up or down?
3. If plate setter is not to be used, what is the setup? I have an extra grill with folding legs to put over the existing grill or hang from it. I would assume in this case the extra grill would go on top with a drip pan on the regular grill beneath.
4. Does the plate setter block a lot of heat requiring the vents to be open wider to maintain dome temperature? It seemed like this was the case when I did ribs.
5. Is there a way to calculate the time needed such as 1 1/2 hours per pound or something? Need all the help I can get. If these questions are answered, I'll probably be back for more by cooking day on Friday. -Egghead

Haggis

Egghead,[p]Although I have a medium, I've never used it for a butt so I can't help you there.[p]Yes, you need to cook indirect. If you have a plate setter, that'll work - legs up. But you can do it with other indirect setups also, such as those you mentioned. And you'll need a drip pan - these things lose a lot of grease. [p]Yes, the plate setter blocks the air flow - that, in fact, is its primary benefit. You will want to measure temps at the grid (meat) level, not at the dome. Dome temps will be much higher than grid temps in the early part of the cook because of both the air flow issue and the cold meat. As time goes by, the temps tend to come together. I'd recommend a remote thermometer at the grid level for this kind of cook.[p]Estimated time is 2 hours per pound, but don't plan on that being exact since each butt is different. [p]Another thought - the dome thermometer measures only in one part of the dome. If you are using a plate setter and one of the legs is under the thermometer, its possible (and this is simply my convoluted logic) that the dome temp in that area will be lower than where there is no leg blocking the air flow. You might want to move the legs around to another point. Again - just a wild guess here. [p]You should get plenty of other responses . . .[p]

MasterMason

Egghead,[p]See inline[p]I'm making pulled pork for my home beer brewing club this weekend. (Along with some smoked ham and salmon.) Though I have owned my medium egg for serveral years, I have never done pulled pork on it before. I've done lots of pulled pork on my big cooker with an offset firebox, but not on the egg. I am using Elder Ward's instructions to help me through it. I've read the instuctions several times, but have some questions and need some help.
1. Will this method work just as well with the medium as is does with the large? Will the fire burn as long as it needs to in the medium, or will I need to replenish charcoal during the night? [p]I don't have a medium, but from what I have read your fine[p]2. Should I use the plate setter for this cook? If so, legs up or down? [p]Yes legs up with a drip pan between grate and platesetter[p]3. If plate setter is not to be used, what is the setup? I have an extra grill with folding legs to put over the existing grill or hang from it. I would assume in this case the extra grill would go on top with a drip pan on the regular grill beneath.
4. Does the plate setter block a lot of heat requiring the vents to be open wider to maintain dome temperature? It seemed like this was the case when I did ribs. [p]It won't block heat, it makes it like an oven.... But adjust the vents as needed to maintain your temp[p]5. Is there a way to calculate the time needed such as 1 1/2 hours per pound or something? Need all the help I can get. If these questions are answered, I'll probably be back for more by cooking day on Friday. -Egghead [p]Start with 2 hours a lb and go from there.... They get done when they want to be done is what I have found.[p]Good luck and enjoy[p][p]

uncbbq

Egghead,[p]I am a one month newbie with a medium, and did a 6 1/2 lb. butt for my first longish cook. Worked great--11 hours all told, with plenty of lump left over. I didn't have the nerve to do it overnight, though. Temps 225-250.

JohnF

Egghead,[p]I have a medium and have done a pulled pork. Keeping the dome temp pretty close to 250, I had about a 3.5lb. boneless boston butt take close to 8.5 hours.[p]I cooked indirect feet up on the plate setter. Set a pie pan underneath the butt.[p]Temp rose fairly steady for the first 3 - 4 hours then stopped at 165 for almost 1.5 hours. Like everyone, I thought there was a problem. But no, slowly but surely one degree or so at a time it started getting higher.[p]I pulled it off when the temperature in the butt reached 195. Wrapped it in foil and a towel and placed it in a cooler. Temp went up to 207 within about 40 minutes, then stopped. Took it out, pulled it, and placed it on a bun.[p]Family thought it was great.

61chev

Egghead, I have a medium and just did 2 7+# butts last weekend.turned out great the most important thing to do is start with a full load of lump fill to the top of the fire ring just almost touching the plate setter start with a slow fire and let it build to the desired temp if you get it hot to sttart it will take a long time to cool down. the setup should be- plate setter drip pan either dry or if you want add liquid grid with butt or butts on it with probe in the meatiest part of the butt. I tried to maintain 250/275dome temp did the 2 butts 13 1/2 hrs then moved to cooler in foil and towels for 4hrs before pulling
Good luck
Gerry