Competition Timing (specifically Pork Butts)

sigpi906 · 05-14-2013, 12:07 PM

Alright, here's the low down.

Competition in Little Rock this weekend. We're doing chicken, ribs, and butt.

All turn-in times are 30 minutes apart. 3, 330, and 4 respectively.

We're a 2 man team, and I'm in charge of chicken and butts.

I'm trying to not let the butt get in the way of the chicken. So my question is this: when can I pull the butt to rest... what do ya'll think the maximum length of time a butt can rest (in foil or out) in a cooler before it starts to suffer? Is it common for teams to cook their butts sooner, rest and re-heat their butts for just this reason?

I'm concerned because while I know my timeframe for cooking butts is about and hour or 1:15/lb... sometimes those rests take longer... and I dont wan't to get stuck turning in meat that isn't to the butter stage. But with these turn-in times, I'm looking at either starting the cook of 9lb butts earlier in the night and having them come off mid-morning, or having to wake up to light charcoal at 3 or 4 am.... and put a butt on at the crack of dawn and pray for a short rest..

Any help or suggestions on what ya'll do?

Ron_L · 05-14-2013, 12:12 PM

I like at least two hours rest time for butts, but I typically go longer. At a normal KCBS comp where the pork turn in is at 1:00pm my butts are normally in the Cambro resting by 9:00am.

I'm not sure what you are cooking on, but you can cook hotter so you don't have to start at 3:00am. You could start the fire at 5:00am, get the butts on at 6:00am, cook at 300 and have them done in 5-6 hours.

sigpi906 · 05-14-2013, 12:22 PM

Ok, good. That answers my questions. I was really hoping to get the butt on before we went to bed, like around 11 or 12, and be able to pull it off the heat when I got up.... If it's pretty standard for butts to rest 3 or 4 hours before getting pulled for turn-in, then I think this is what I'll do.

I'm cooking the butts on a UDS and I've never done a hot and fast smoke, I really don't want to manage that fire for the first time at a competition.

When you rest your butts for that long, do you reheat before you pull, or does your Cambro hold them close enough to temp that you can just pull and build your box?

boogiesnap · 05-14-2013, 12:28 PM

i've held butts for 6+ hours, no problem. so for an 8 hour cook, you could put them on @ 2A and go to bed. wrap em @ 6 and off @ 10. give or take.

boogiesnap · 05-14-2013, 12:29 PM

still too hot to handle.

mobow · 05-14-2013, 12:32 PM

rest for about 4 hours. Still too hot to handle. good luck to you. Keith

Kave Dweller · 05-14-2013, 12:34 PM

I'm with Ron L. I'm yet to have a butt on past 10 with a 1pm turn in. i've had them off much, much (unintentionally) earlier.

Ron_L · 05-14-2013, 12:36 PM

Yep... Too hot to handle even after 5 hours (if they are done early).

One note... If you are going to foil during the cook, when the butts are ready open the foil for a few minutes to vent some of the heat before putting them in the cooler/cambro. This will help reduce any carry-over cooking.

sigpi906 · 05-14-2013, 12:40 PM

Dang, Ron L, you beat me to my next question. Which was going to be about the foil affecting the bark... Vent then foil. Got it.

boogiesnap · 05-14-2013, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sigpi906

Dang, Ron L, you beat me to my next question. Which was going to be about the foil affecting the bark... Vent then foil. Got it.

nonono, foil, then vent before resting.

sigpi906 · 05-14-2013, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boogiesnap

nonono, foil, then vent before resting.

yesyesyes. We're on the same page. Cook. Foil. Cook. Vent. Rest.

Do ya'll rest in foil? or Not?

Lake Dogs · 05-14-2013, 12:54 PM

Yep, vent then foil, or do as I do and pull them off just a tad early factoring in the extra un-vented cooking that happens. Me, I try to hit that 3 hour mark, but if it's only 2 we're ok, and if it's 5 we're ok too. Not for a comp, but for catering I've held butts 10 hours and had them come out piping hot.

MAP · 05-14-2013, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sigpi906

yesyesyes. We're on the same page. Cook. Foil. Cook. Vent. Rest.

Do ya'll rest in foil? or Not?

Yes just close up the foil after venting

hogzgonewild · 05-14-2013, 01:10 PM

For a standard 1pm KCBS turn-in, my butts come off smoker at 5:30-6am and sit in a cooler or cambro til turn in time.

Ron_L · 05-14-2013, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sigpi906

Dang, Ron L, you beat me to my next question. Which was going to be about the foil affecting the bark... Vent then foil. Got it.

Venting is only necessary if you are foiling during the cook. If you are foiling after the cook is complete the butt will give up some heat in the time from when you take it off the cooker and before you foil it.

05-14-2013, 12:07 PM	#1
sigpi906 On the road to being a farker Join Date: 04-05-13 Location: Little Rock, AR	Competition Timing (specifically Pork Butts) Alright, here's the low down. Competition in Little Rock this weekend. We're doing chicken, ribs, and butt. All turn-in times are 30 minutes apart. 3, 330, and 4 respectively. We're a 2 man team, and I'm in charge of chicken and butts. I'm trying to not let the butt get in the way of the chicken. So my question is this: when can I pull the butt to rest... what do ya'll think the maximum length of time a butt can rest (in foil or out) in a cooler before it starts to suffer? Is it common for teams to cook their butts sooner, rest and re-heat their butts for just this reason? I'm concerned because while I know my timeframe for cooking butts is about and hour or 1:15/lb... sometimes those rests take longer... and I dont wan't to get stuck turning in meat that isn't to the butter stage. But with these turn-in times, I'm looking at either starting the cook of 9lb butts earlier in the night and having them come off mid-morning, or having to wake up to light charcoal at 3 or 4 am.... and put a butt on at the crack of dawn and pray for a short rest.. Any help or suggestions on what ya'll do?

05-14-2013, 12:12 PM	#2
Ron_L Moderator Join Date: 12-09-04 Location: Wandering, but not lost Name/Nickname : Captain Ron	I like at least two hours rest time for butts, but I typically go longer. At a normal KCBS comp where the pork turn in is at 1:00pm my butts are normally in the Cambro resting by 9:00am. I'm not sure what you are cooking on, but you can cook hotter so you don't have to start at 3:00am. You could start the fire at 5:00am, get the butts on at 6:00am, cook at 300 and have them done in 5-6 hours. __________________ "Ron Rico, Boss. You can call me Captain Ron..." Naked Fatties Rock! PKGo X 2/PK360/Weber Q1000/Blackstone Camping Griddle/Pit Boss Pro Series 850

05-14-2013, 12:28 PM	#4
boogiesnap Babbling Farker Join Date: 04-22-10 Location: NEW ENGLAND	i've held butts for 6+ hours, no problem. so for an 8 hour cook, you could put them on @ 2A and go to bed. wrap em @ 6 and off @ 10. give or take. __________________ [SIZE="3"][B][COLOR="Blue"][I][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][/FONT]"YAWN"[/I][/COLOR][/B][/SIZE]-[COLOR="Red"][SIZE="2"]In memory of a friend.[/SIZE][/COLOR] avatar by grillman. patent pending. :mad2::becky:

05-14-2013, 12:29 PM	#5
boogiesnap Babbling Farker Join Date: 04-22-10 Location: NEW ENGLAND	still too hot to handle. __________________ [SIZE="3"][B][COLOR="Blue"][I][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][/FONT]"YAWN"[/I][/COLOR][/B][/SIZE]-[COLOR="Red"][SIZE="2"]In memory of a friend.[/SIZE][/COLOR] avatar by grillman. patent pending. :mad2::becky:

05-14-2013, 12:32 PM	#6
mobow is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 12-11-09 Location: Marshall MO	rest for about 4 hours. Still too hot to handle. good luck to you. Keith __________________ WSM 22.5, MCBJ, In The Key Of Que

05-14-2013, 12:22 PM	#3
sigpi906 On the road to being a farker Join Date: 04-05-13 Location: Little Rock, AR	Ok, good. That answers my questions. I was really hoping to get the butt on before we went to bed, like around 11 or 12, and be able to pull it off the heat when I got up.... If it's pretty standard for butts to rest 3 or 4 hours before getting pulled for turn-in, then I think this is what I'll do. I'm cooking the butts on a UDS and I've never done a hot and fast smoke, I really don't want to manage that fire for the first time at a competition. When you rest your butts for that long, do you reheat before you pull, or does your Cambro hold them close enough to temp that you can just pull and build your box?

05-14-2013, 12:34 PM	#7
Kave Dweller Take a breath! Join Date: 06-12-12 Location: Hampshire, IL	I'm with Ron L. I'm yet to have a butt on past 10 with a 1pm turn in. i've had them off much, much (unintentionally) earlier. __________________ "Onyxwoods" clone, a Guru and some of Tennesse's finest whiskey. Creators of "Reverse Shigging": When your competition wants to know what your doing so they know what doesn't work.

05-14-2013, 12:36 PM	#8
Ron_L Moderator Join Date: 12-09-04 Location: Wandering, but not lost Name/Nickname : Captain Ron	Yep... Too hot to handle even after 5 hours (if they are done early). One note... If you are going to foil during the cook, when the butts are ready open the foil for a few minutes to vent some of the heat before putting them in the cooler/cambro. This will help reduce any carry-over cooking. __________________ "Ron Rico, Boss. You can call me Captain Ron..." Naked Fatties Rock! PKGo X 2/PK360/Weber Q1000/Blackstone Camping Griddle/Pit Boss Pro Series 850

05-14-2013, 12:40 PM	#9
sigpi906 On the road to being a farker Join Date: 04-05-13 Location: Little Rock, AR	Dang, Ron L, you beat me to my next question. Which was going to be about the foil affecting the bark... Vent then foil. Got it.

05-14-2013, 12:54 PM	#12
Lake Dogs Quintessential Chatty Farker Join Date: 07-14-09 Location: Lake Sinclair, GA Name/Nickname : Hance	Yep, vent then foil, or do as I do and pull them off just a tad early factoring in the extra un-vented cooking that happens. Me, I try to hit that 3 hour mark, but if it's only 2 we're ok, and if it's 5 we're ok too. Not for a comp, but for catering I've held butts 10 hours and had them come out piping hot. __________________ Hance - MiM/MBN/GBA CBJ and comp cook Lake Sinclair, GA (strategically about an hour from darn near anywhere) My competition daze are probably behind me now; I pretty much cook for family, friends, and frankly the peace and solitude I get from smokin' on an offset... Was Lang 84DX, now Bubba Grills 250R and many Weber grills

05-14-2013, 01:10 PM	#14
hogzgonewild Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 08-26-11 Location: Douglasville, GA	For a standard 1pm KCBS turn-in, my butts come off smoker at 5:30-6am and sit in a cooler or cambro til turn in time.