How many butts on a large? And a few more questions.

GK59 · March 2012

1) How many pounds of butts can be put on a large?

2) Is a butt any different then what I always refered to as a shoulder from the butcher ?

3) Once the butt comes up to temp of 200* or so, do you try to maintain it for a while or just pull and wrap ? Never paid to much attention when I did them on my gas smoker.

Finding a world of info here.

Need to feed the masses for St. Pat's day after the parade . Will do it on Saturday and warm it up.

Thanks , Bill

stike · March 2012

1.) dunno. three or four whole butts seem to be fairly common around here

2.) a butt isa part of the shoulder (from the front leg). the hoof is the hock, the lower part of the shoulder is the picnic (has skin on it, like a ham would), and the butt is the butt end of the shoulder, where it attaches to the body. a 'whole' shoulder would have a butt and picnic.

3.) it's done when it hits 195-205. sliceable at 165, barely pullable at 185, pulls easily at 190-195. after that it is a question of fat (seems to melt more excess fat by the time it hits 205) there's no benefit to holding them in a cooler (unless you are done early). no need to 'rest' the butt like a roast. ..except that after resting them other, it is not as hot on your hands.

pull them, then reheat saturday

GK59 · March 2012

My question #2 seems a bit dumb (as I reread ) as my dad was a butcher all his life . Yet I didn't get into cooking to much untill after he passed. I was also not able to find his recipe for Kielbasa for which he made thousands of tons at the corner meat market of over 50 years span.

I should write some of my stuff down for my daughter.

Bill

lousubcap · March 2012

@ GK59-welcome. stike is the resident guru when it comes to meat drying, preping, and cooking so listen well to his offerings. That said, you will get lots of worthwhile info here from many others as you have alluded to-enjoy the BGE journey.

evenwhenitsraining · March 2012

I find that the butcher's have usually cut the BB's in half to put them out on the shelves. You can call ahead and ask them not to do so. When I do this, I usually get two 10-12 lb. BB's. This helps for the timing of the BB's so you can do the overnight smoke without worrying they'll overcook. When you stack two full-size BB's into the Large BGE, you'll have to lean one up against the other, but this is okay. During the cooking process, they will shrink a bit and fit perfectly. I have done it this way every year. Also, for some concise information go to the Naked Whiz's website.

hogaholic · March 2012

I've done three before using a raised grid. Probably could have godden four on there.

From wikipedia:

In pre-revolutionary New England and into the American Revolutionary War, some pork cuts (not those highly valued, or "high on the hog," like loin and ham) were packed into casks or barrels (also known as "butts") for storage and shipment.^[2] The way the hog shoulder was cut in the Boston area became known in other regions as "Boston butt". In the UK it is known as "pork hand and spring", or simply "pork hand".

CaptainSpaulding · March 2012

GK59,

With a spare grate and a few balls of HD aluminum foil, you can fit a bunch. Picture below is six butts, averaging around 9 pounds a piece.

The large BGE is a cooking machine.

Cheers,

Captain Spaulding

How many butts on a large? And a few more questions.

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