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17lbs of Boston butt today

wardo
wardo Posts: 398
in EggHead Forum
My little one turned 2yrs old and we are having a birthday party today to celebrate.  We are having about 30 people over and I wanted to show off the egg so I committed to making pulled pork for the crowd.  I picked up 3 pork shoulders but made a little error in size haha.  One is 4.95lbs, one is 5.5 and the other is 7.8lbs.  Worried that the big one would take too long before kick off I cut a huge piece off so now I have 3 pieces of pork in that 5lb range and one that's 3.  I'm hoping that'll make it more likely to have the whole batch finish about the same time.  Everything starts at 1pm and I'm looking to finish the cook at 12 so I can FTC for an hr before chow time.  I'm cooking at 350 with cherry and pecan smoke and using my own rub pictured below.  Fingers crossed I haven't made any errors in timing!  I'm at my target temperature and I'm waiting on the smoke to blue (or rather smell right since it's dark out).

NC - LBGE
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Comments

  • JethroBodeen
    JethroBodeen Posts: 526
    Looking good. Youll be fine. In my experience, once people smell the smell. They aint goin no where. Unless of course they are vegan and then well.....
    Good luck!
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  • wardo
    wardo Posts: 398
    Figured out real quick the edges of the egg where the platesetter is not will start to torch the meat.  Put down foil tags to hopefully mitigate that.  I've never done this big of a cook so hopefully I've got the pitfalls covered. 

    My wife is prepared to order pizza if needed lol
    NC - LBGE
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  • wardo
    wardo Posts: 398
    Double checked to make sure I wasn't burning anything an hr in and snapped a quick pic before closing er up for the next several hrs.  Jam packed

    NC - LBGE
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  • 500
    500 Posts: 3,188
    Try and provide an air gap between the pieces so they cook as 3 5#ers and not 1 15#ers. I’m sure you know this. You may want to wrap after the stall to get to your 12 noon mark. 
    I like my butt rubbed and my pork pulled.
    Member since 2009
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  • wardo
    wardo Posts: 398
    edited October 2019
    @500 that's a great reminder.  There are some gaps but I'll double check again in a little bit.  I'm a big fan of a nice bark but you're right, I may need to foil.

    I've read that these things shrink down a bit as they cook.  Does that happen quick or is it better to maybe just make some small repositioning moves along the way?

    Edit/update:  the back left piece was touching the front left, spaced those out.  There's a visible gap now between all the pieces
    NC - LBGE
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  • bradleya123
    bradleya123 Posts: 485
    Well done!!  You'll be fine and everybody will love the pulled pork!!!  No worries...
    Retired Navy, LBGE
    Pinehurst, NC

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  • JethroBodeen
    JethroBodeen Posts: 526
    If the outer tips start  to get overly done, You could rotate them towards the inside. Lookin good.
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  • 1voyager
    1voyager Posts: 1,161
    edited October 2019
    Original post @ 3:54AM! Now that's being a true Egghead!

    Following along...

    Large Egg, PGS A40 gasser.
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  • JohnnyTarheel
    JohnnyTarheel Posts: 6,629
    Your guest are in for a treat!!
    Charlotte, NC - Large BGE 2014, Maverick ET 733, Thermopen, Nest, Platesetter, Woo2 and Extender w/Grid, Kick Ash Basket, Pizza Stone, SS Smokeware Cap, Blackstone 36"
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  • wardo
    wardo Posts: 398
    Went to the gas station to get ice for the chest cooler and the temp was 20degrees down and I couldn't bring it up!  Well the egg was about out of lump...

    Such a rookie mistake

    So I pulled everything off and quickly added a bunch of lump and we are back in business.  Absolutely embarrassing.

    I may need to foil to finish since I'm around 165 to 175 for IT on the 5lb'ers on there and I'm not sure I'll be done in the next 3 hrs.  How do you know when the meat is done when you foil to finish?  I've never found a consistent IT.  I've always just probed until it was smooth.
    NC - LBGE
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  • lkapigian
    lkapigian Posts: 11,549
    edited October 2019
    wardo said:
    Went to the gas station to get ice for the chest cooler and the temp was 20degrees down and I couldn't bring it up!  Well the egg was about out of lump...

    Such a rookie mistake

    So I pulled everything off and quickly added a bunch of lump and we are back in business.  Absolutely embarrassing.

    I may need to foil to finish since I'm around 165 to 175 for IT on the 5lb'ers on there and I'm not sure I'll be done in the next 3 hrs.  How do you know when the meat is done when you foil to finish?  I've never found a consistent IT.  I've always just probed until it was smooth.
    Like you say , probe to no resistance ....for me, butts 200ish I'm good

    Not sure how full you loaded with fuel, but I always go just to the platesetter and don't worry about running low on fuel....in the future if that happens don't be afraid to finish in the oven, you are wrapping it anyway , I don't waste the lump
    Visalia, Ca @lkapigian
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  • NorthPilot06
    NorthPilot06 Posts: 1,179
    Don’t be afraid to finish in the oven or bump the temp a bit to get to get to the finish line (not too high if there is sugar in the rub). 
    DFW - 1 LGBE & Happy to Adopt More...
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  • wardo
    wardo Posts: 398
    Well I just pulled the final piece off the egg.  They all came off over the last 45min and with the exception of one part of one piece, they all were probing smooth like butter.  After loading up the lump I ran it at about 375 for the rest of the cook.  So now we wait and I'll try to remember to take some pics before it gets devoured.
    NC - LBGE
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  • wardo
    wardo Posts: 398


    So the pork turned out on point.  Using some leftovers to make a pulled pork pizza but the crowd was very happy.  I have a new found respect for those Eggers that load up on the protein and have a huge crowd depending on them.  We have 36 folks today which includes probably 10 kids under 10.

    Thank you for all the guidance and support guys and gals!
    NC - LBGE
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  • lkapigian
    lkapigian Posts: 11,549
    Great Job @wardo
    Visalia, Ca @lkapigian
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  • wardo
    wardo Posts: 398
    Pulled pork pizza!

    NC - LBGE
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  • Skrullb
    Skrullb Posts: 666
    wardo said:


    So the pork turned out on point.  Using some leftovers to make a pulled pork pizza but the crowd was very happy.  I have a new found respect for those Eggers that load up on the protein and have a huge crowd depending on them.  We have 36 folks today which includes probably 10 kids under 10.

    Thank you for all the guidance and support guys and gals!
    Looks good! I did 80 pounds last weekend for a friends wedding. The BGE makes it easy. 
    I'm in Fredericksburg, VA, and I have an XL and a medium. 
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  • wardo
    wardo Posts: 398
    Skrullb said:
    wardo said:


    So the pork turned out on point.  Using some leftovers to make a pulled pork pizza but the crowd was very happy.  I have a new found respect for those Eggers that load up on the protein and have a huge crowd depending on them.  We have 36 folks today which includes probably 10 kids under 10.

    Thank you for all the guidance and support guys and gals!
    Looks good! I did 80 pounds last weekend for a friends wedding. The BGE makes it easy. 
    You are a true rockstar!
    NC - LBGE
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 36,891
    @wardo - Congrats for bringing it home regardless of the audibles.  Nailed it and now you have the confidence to take on bigger challenges if they come your way.  Sit back, relax and enjoy the success.  FWIW-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. CHEETO (aka Agent Orange) makes Nixon look like a saint.  
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  • JethroBodeen
    JethroBodeen Posts: 526
    What @lousubcap said. Your on your way to bigger and better. Nice work!
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  • wardo
    wardo Posts: 398
    Thank you @lousubcap and @jethrobodeen, next 2 major events are FL/GA next weekend and Thanksgiving.

    I haven't given a brisket a go in a while so it might be time to take another chance on one.  I haven't had very much success in the past lol.
    NC - LBGE
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 36,891
    @wardo- the brisket horse is just waiting for another go.  Time to give it a run and trust the feel  B)
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. CHEETO (aka Agent Orange) makes Nixon look like a saint.  
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