Some Q's: my first big cook for a crowd

[dedmete]

Thanks to all the awesome info I've gleaned from this site, I've been asked to make pulled pork for my friends reception. They plan on about 35 people. I'm using a UDS (again, thanks to this site) with a taller lid, I've got 2 cooking racks. Now, my first big question, how big and how many butts should I buy? I can usually get them anywhere between 6 to 10 lbs. The most I've ever done at one time is 2. I don't want to overload it. Should I plan on about 20lbs of butt? 3 8 pounders? 4? I guess that's what I need to figure out first is what size and how many, but I still need to figure out how I'm going to load it. I was thinking 2 on the bottom, and then a third up top staggered (so there's not another butt below it?). The reception is on Saturday around 7:00pm, so I was planning on getting started on Friday night, maybe around midnight or a little later. I was going to try foiling them too once they hit the 150 area, I've never done that before, but if it helps them cook a little faster, I'm all for it. I have a bad reputation for being "late" with dinner. I really need to make sure these are done a few hours before hand so I can let them rest in a cooler. I also have a small GOSM gas smoker I can use if there's not enough room in the UDS, but where's the fun in that?

 

[bigabyte]

You're doing good iwth your planning so far. Go for the three 8 pounders. Foiling does help them cook faster, at the expense of bark.

 

[DC-Q]

I did a party fo 30 memorial day weekend. I did 4 8lb butts. But the people wanted leftovers. 4 worked out perfect. 3 is probably good, you won't have any leftovers.

 

[DC-Q]

oops posted again. how do I delete?

 

[Stoke&Smoke]

We did a wedding reception for 130 last weekend. I figured I'd need about 100 lbs of meat (uncooked), got 1 1/2 cases at Sam's, which came to about 110 lbs uncooked. Didn't weigh it when it was cooked, but figured on 50% weight loss.

Started at 5:30 PM Friday evening, took them off, foiled, and into the Carlisle between 8:30 and 10 AM Saturday. I pulled them onsite as needed. Only about 90 guests actually showed, and we ended up taking 5 of the 12 back home, where I pulled them (still hot well over 12 hours later) and packed in zip locks for the cooler. Vacu-sealed and into the freezer yesterday.

I had figured between 1/4 and 1/3 lb meat per person, but this was somebody's wedding so we chose to error on the side of caution and get more than we might need.

For 35 I would think 2 2packs of about 9 pounders would be more than enough. It's 1.18 a pound by us so not a lot to get a little extra:grin:

 

[dedmete]

I did a party fo 30 memorial day weekend. I did 4 8lb butts. But the people wanted leftovers. 4 worked out perfect. 3 is probably good, you won't have any leftovers.

Well, we *have* to have left overs. :-D I'll probably do 4 8lb butts then. I'll put 2 on the bottom rack, 2 on the top rack, staggered. I shouldn't have to rotate racks, correct? thanks for the replies, I'm a little nervous, it's one thing to cook at home for fun w/friends and family, but to have to feed a group of hungry strangers....

 

[CROSSCZEK]

Well, we *have* to have left overs. :-D I'll probably do 4 8lb butts then. I'll put 2 on the bottom rack, 2 on the top rack, staggered. I shouldn't have to rotate racks, correct? thanks for the replies, I'm a little nervous, it's one thing to cook at home for fun w/friends and family, but to have to feed a group of hungry strangers....

I just did that exact thing Saturday. (2) on each rack turned 90* (staggered), then swapped racks top to bottom about 6 hours in. I put 'em on at 9am, kept the UDS at about 240*, and they were done by 7pm. I don't foil my butts, I use the built in doness indicator - when the bone sticks out and wiggles easily, it's done (usually at about 195*). I don't know what your schedule's like, but for a 7pm dinner, I wouldn't put them on till 6 a.m. Saturday. That accounts for 10-11 hours of cook time and couple hours of cooler/resting and pulling. And, you get a good nights sleep. If your still concerned about being late, than start at 5am, but you'd still be getting a good night rest and the cooler will keep them plenty hot for a good 3-4 hours.

That's my opinion, worth price charged.

Good luck, looking forward to the pics and hearing about all your praises from the reception.

 

[michiana mark]

I would go with 4. Put them all on one rack, it works in my UDS. The advantage is that you don't have to rotate and you aren't trying to pull racks out and dump meat into your coals. Also, the less amount of time you have the lid off, the less possibility that you will have a temp spike, or worse, grease fire. Foil at 165 and pull between 195 and 200. a lot has to do with feel.

 

[michiana mark]

I just did that exact thing Saturday. (2) on each rack turned 90* (staggered), then swapped racks top to bottom about 6 hours in. I put 'em on at 9am, kept the UDS at about 240*, and they were done by 7pm. I don't foil my butts, I use the built in doness indicator - when the bone sticks out and wiggles easily, it's done (usually at about 195*). I don't know what your schedule's like, but for a 7pm dinner, I wouldn't put them on till 6 a.m. Saturday. That accounts for 10-11 hours of cook time and couple hours of cooler/resting and pulling. And, you get a good nights sleep. If your still concerned about being late, than start at 5am, but you'd still be getting a good night rest and the cooler will keep them plenty hot for a good 3-4 hours.

That's my opinion, worth price charged.

Good luck, looking forward to the pics and hearing about all your praises from the reception.

You have a UDS?:-D welcome to the drum nation.

 

[bocephus]

yeah for memorial day I did a cook for 40ish, and I cooked 4 8 lbs butts all on one rack on my UDS it turned out great, cooked for about 11 hours, coolered and pulled the night before, then wrapped them in foil. the next day I reheated them on the smoker with no problem... and had some left overs, just had 2 sandwitches great.

 

[rbinms33]

My calculations are the same as Stoke&Smoke's. I spot check the Boston Butts I cook from time to time and it always seems like I have a 50% loss from cooking. So for an 8lb butt, I get about 4 lbs of edible meat. I also figure a 1/4 lb of meat per person. That's considering the group you're cooking for is made up of men, women and children. If it was just a bunch of guys, I'd probably go with 1/3 lb or even a 1/2 lb each but for a mixed crowd, 1/4lb per person works. I know that probably doesn't sound like enough but if you're serving it with beans, potato salad, slaw and a bun, it does work out. With all that said, an 8lb butt will feed about 16-20 people. If you want leftovers, then going with 4 - 8lb'ers is the way to go.

Also, if you're worried about being late, do this. Your reception begins at 7P. Shoot to have the butts ready to go by 4P. If they are done by then, wrap in foil and cooler. If they're not done by then, you have some extra time to cook a little longer. And don't worry about them getting cold. Even after 3 hrs in a cooler, that meat will still be too hot to handle without insulated gloves.

 

[CROSSCZEK]

I would go with 4. Put them all on one rack, it works in my UDS. The advantage is that you don't have to rotate and you aren't trying to pull racks out and dump meat into your coals. Also, the less amount of time you have the lid off, the less possibility that you will have a temp spike, or worse, grease fire. Foil at 165 and pull between 195 and 200. a lot has to do with feel.

I was concerned with not having enough space between the butts for a good smoke bath. Should I not worry about them touching? It certainly would have been nice not to swap racks and get the temp spike/fire.

You have a UDS?:grin: welcome to the drum nation.

Thanks Mark, borrowed it from Dodgeramsst. LOVE IT! Instant addict.
He's cutting the lid off of one for me now.
And, I'm pushing Bubba's line to anybody local that inquires.