Upcoming Big Cook - Two Questions

tdwalker

tdwalker

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Hello Everyone!

I have been requested to took a large amount of pulled pork for an upcoming church related function (not a paid job). I am an experienced cook on the WSM.

However, I have never cooked more than 2 butts at once. I am planing on cooking six butts in two 22" WSM.

Question 1: Does the large amount of mass effect cooking time much at all? This is my primary concern. I expect to use a lot more fuel, but I was wondering if additional time may be involved, and, if so, how much more time? I will be using Guru temp controllers on both WSM.

Secondly, I did a cook where I created four different samples from one butt, each dressed with a different sauce. I've always used a Carolina style vinegar sauce, but the choice made was for pulled pork with a commercial available BBQ sauce. I should have paid more attention to how much sauce I used on the sample.

Question 2: How much commercial BBQ sauce should I purchase?

Lastly, any additional tips, thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,

Tim (not quite panicking yet)
 
Hi Tim! I would think it unnecessary to use 2 cookers. One 22" WSM should easily handle 6 butts. You may have to allow for more time than you are accustomed to, though. Sorry I can't help with the sauce question.
 
The most I've ever done on my 22 WSM was 4 butts at one time, which I did twice. On both cooks, all 4 were done at almost the same time. I'm not sure how, given the lower grate is directly over the water pan(and I cook with water). I've heard of others having the top rack finish first.

Worst case, you could pull the top two if they are done early. Rotate the lower 2, to the top rack, and let them finish while holding/resting the top 2.

I was able complete each cook with one large bag of KBB.

Regarding the sauce, I just bought a gallon of SBR's at the Restaurant Depot. That was plenty for my cook.

I wasn't making my own sauce to feed 100+ people that really wouldn't care about homemade sauce. :)
 
I'm sorry, I should have stated better ...

12 butts total, 6 in each smoker.

Thanks for the help.
 
You will have some extra time. It will be consumed at the beginning while everything is getting to cook temp. The Guru will help. You may have some butts being ready before others. It will depend on the density of each.

As far as sauce is concerned, the gallon of SBR should work just fine. I would get one of the milder flavors. It will probably suit more folks. You could always add a quart of ACV, along with some brown sugar just to be sure.
 
I would make sure that you allow an inch or two between each piece of meat to allow for good airflow. If I'm going to put a lot of meat on at once, I like to overcompensate on the startup temp. So, if I want to run 250, I will pre-heat to 300-325 if I'm putting that much meat on.

Also, I learned a GREAT trick on this forum for prepping ahead of time. I did a graduation party this spring for 300 people. I cooked everything the day before and then flash-cooled into ice and water. The meat was vacuum sealed. It saved so much work and stress. The day of the graduation party I reheated the bagged meat in simmering water as needed. I felt like a pro because we only put out enough meat that was needed at the time. So, there was never any concern for food safety.

Good luck and keep asking questions if you aren't finding answers. There are some VERY knowledgeable men and women on this site that want to help.
 
patrickd26 said:
I would make sure that you allow an inch or two between each piece of meat to allow for good airflow. If I'm going to put a lot of meat on at once, I like to overcompensate on the startup temp. So, if I want to run 250, I will pre-heat to 300-325 if I'm putting that much meat on.
Click to expand...




^^^This^^^
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: EdF
I very much appreciate the responses.

I will plan on starting a couple of hours early to compensate for start-up mass. Finishing up early won't hurt as I can hold for a few hours. Finishing late, however, would be a bit of a disappointment.
 
tdwalker said:
Finishing up early won't hurt as I can hold for a few hours.
Click to expand...

Amen, brother! You can easily hold for 4+ hours by tightly wrapping in foil, wrapping in a towel and then throwing it in a cooler with a towel over it. I've done that and 4 hours later they were still too hot to hold with bare hands. As a result, I always aim to finish early because I know I can hold for a very long time. Much easier on the blood pressure too! :thumb:
 
I've done seven 8 to 10 lb butts on one of my 22s when I didn't feel like using both smokers. It worked fine, but six will allow for more airflow so that's a better number. I've done 6 on each multiple times and I'm normally surprised at how the cook time doesn't change much from doing two or three. However, the prep time takes longer and I always give a buffer of 4+ hours or so on bigger cooks like these as the butts will stay nice wrapped in foil and towels in a cooler. This also allows me to get everything cleaned up and relax before serving. Good luck!
 
Maintain the airflow - that's your ticket! And that re-warming method above.
 
patrickd26 said:
Also, I learned a GREAT trick on this forum for prepping ahead of time. I did a graduation party this spring for 300 people. I cooked everything the day before and then flash-cooled into ice and water. The meat was vacuum sealed. It saved so much work and stress. The day of the graduation party I reheated the bagged meat in simmering water as needed. I felt like a pro because we only put out enough meat that was needed at the time. So, there was never any concern for food safety.

Good luck and keep asking questions if you aren't finding answers. There are some VERY knowledgeable men and women on this site that want to help.
Click to expand...

YES! When initially cooking for large numbers of people, it's remarkable how quickly time goes by and how things can get away from you. If you cook a bit in advance, you can ensure proper food safety, and you won't be pacing back and forth staring at your watch, wondering if the butt will "give" before it needs to be served.

Good luck! And, please post pics. :becky:

Bruce
 
As previously indicated, make sure to start earlier than you expect; at least 2 hours to give yourself peace of mind.

I did a similar cook for church and found that pulling the meat was the most time consuming; I factored in an hour for than and assigned 2 butts per person.
 
I've done 6 at once on my WSM a couple of times. I did not notice any additional time, but when cooking for a crowd, always better to be safe than sorry. I did rotate them when I wrapped, but they all came out fine.
 
Do you use water in the pan? That's a factor along with wind and temp. Would be good to try to anticipate those too. Agree 100% with an early start. As you know a WSM's cook times can change with the weather.
 
I’d set some aside for Carolina vinegar sauce. Must be someone with better taste there. If I was there I’d thank you for it.
 
Well, the WX forecast is not looking good in Southern New Jersey and its going to present additional challenges.

Friday into Saturday, 45 low, 56 high. Light rain changing to thunderstorms. Wind 6 mph to 18 mph. :shock:

I'm moving my cooking area to the Leeward side of my Garage, and hoping my canopy holds.
 
No water in pans for me. Usually have a foil wrapped terra cotta saucer in the pan.
 
Mikhail said:
I’d set some aside for Carolina vinegar sauce. Must be someone with better taste there. If I was there I’d thank you for it.
Click to expand...

I've been through much of this crowd before. I've got about 5% in converts to the vinegar sauce. Everyone else defaults to plain or KC style.

For this event, I'm pre-saucing. Hoping it helps keep the pork from drying out over the sternos.
 
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