Pulled Pork Help

Unknown

I am planning on cooking a Boston Butt next weekend for about 25 people. This will be my first attempt at a Butt. Does any know of a good game plan for cooking a butt? I've seen some posts with dome temps of 230 and internal temps of 190-200. How many people will a 6 lb butt feed? After butt is done what is the best way to go about "pulling" the meat? Any help on cooking a Butt would be greatly appreciated.

EggCamper

Big Red BBQ,
Wow, so many questions.[p]I cook at a dome temp of 250. I cook untill internal of 198 then pull off and wrap in foil for about 45 minutes to an hour. Im not sure what the rule of thumb is for lbs/person ratio. I usually cook an 8lb and its plenty for 5-6 adults plus plenty left over. I use a couple of forks to pull it apart. It doesnt take much effort.[p]Tom

Mike in MN

Big Red BBQ,
4 oz's of meat per sandwich, with about 1.5 sandwiches per person. There is about a 60% retention rate on the finished meat..allowing for shrinkage and loss (bones, fat, etc.)so...to feed 25, you'd have to start with about 15.5 pounds of meat. All estimates, of course. And, it depends on the group...the ladies church group, or the senior high baseball team? [p]I always plan more, because you can always reheat or freeze. [p]Leave ample time to cook, set, and pull. It is a long process, but rewarding. I cook at 225, and start really slow (no preheating of the egg) This slow start adds time to the cook. With the amount of meat and effort, I might be starting the show 24 hours ahead of party time. (grill starting, etc.)[p]You could always do it a day ahead of time, and reheat at party time. If you do, I use a large fry pan or griddle/grill and add apple juice, water, and a vinegar based BBQ sauce to reheat. Leave your pulled pork pieces a little bigger when you pull it, as the meat has a tendency to break up when it is reheated...if it's too small (initially) it turns to a mushy, ABC (already been chewed) consistency. It tastes OK, but the texture is unfavorable.[p]Mike in MN

nikkig

Big Red BBQ,
Go read Elder Wards recipe on doing butts. It is how we do opur butts, and we have never been dissappointed. It has everything from fire building to cooking. The only thing you need to change is the dome temp. Cooking at 200 is too difficult to maintain, especially if you are new. Most everyone now cooks theirs at about 250 dome temp. Ours personally usually settle out around 230-250.[p]
~nikki

[ul][li]Elders method[/ul]

The Naked Whiz

Big Red BBQ,
I'd say you need 3 8-pound butts for 25 people. You might get away with 2, but you want left overs don't you? I recently did 32 pounds for 37 people and had about half a butt left over.[p]TNW

Wise One

The Naked Whiz, I'd say those 25 people must have been the high school baseball team. You should be able to get 2.4 servings from a pound of raw meat so you should have been able to get about 77 servings from that 32 pounds and with each kid eating about 3 servings that should be about right. I cooked 20 pounds for my son's basketball team (15 guys) and was informed there were no leftovers. On the other hand 20 pounds fed 25 people at work with about 6 pounds left over. I guess the lesson is: Know your audience. :-)