Suggestions for a cook for 15

[VAis4BBQers]

Hello,

I was wondering if I could get some suggestions for a bbq for 15 guests?

I was thinking pulled pork, sausages, buffalo turds, and your regular sides (mac n cheese, baked beans...)

If I do pulled pork, how many lbs of butt would suffice?

Thanks for any ideas!

[1buckie]

Hey, VA....good to see you !!!!

This is a question that comes up pretty often & it kinda depends on several things....

What are the guests like, meaning teenage (big eaters) some small children? Older folks or adults who eat hearty?

Also a big part of it is "How much?" in terms of appetizers & the side items....a lot of sausages & ABT's, a bit less pork..........
I usually kinda go overboard on the apps & end up with main meat left over.....

Pulled is about 50% yield & between 1/4 & 1/3 lb. finished  is plenty, but think a bit on your variables above...
One large (10#) will produce  15  1/3# portions, which is pretty good size.....

[VAis4BBQers]

Hey Buckie, thanks for the ideas. I was thinking an 8 pound butt. The 15 people are adult only, kids will be here but most likely will not all eat pork. Hot dogs mainly.

Will have:
Corn on cob
Baked beans
Mac n cheese
Chicken legs
Sausage
Pasta salad

We plan to have dinner between 5-6pm, if it were you, how early would you put the butt on? Assuming 225 ish temps.

[1buckie]

OK, that's a pretty good amount of other stuff......

My normal timing is like this:

Start coals & prep pork @ 11:00 PM.....run at nite, check into it at 7 or 8 AM....usually it's not too far from done & finishes around 9:30 ~10:30 AM, THEN, foil wrap, towel wrap, into a dry cooler until service at 2:30 ~3:30 PM....
It's boiling hot still, held this way 3 hours later.....

This would be 8, 9, 10# pieces, run at 260~275f.......at just that little bit higher temp, it gets done quite a bit faster with zero discernible taste / texture difference.....the pig can take it......

So, if you were to cook slightly higher temp, you could run less than an hour per pound......on at 7, off at 3, 1~2 hour rest, pull to serve at 6?
It way pays to build in some breathing room on these things......being done early & holding for a time is fine, having people wait around, tapping their foot, not so much......
That rest period on the big piece gives you ample  breathing room to cook up the smaller pieces without worrying about if the pork's done, too !!!

A possibility that might help too, is to do the beans along with the pork, underneath part of the cook time....see here:

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/bbq-food-pics/nothing-new-just-some-pork-beans/msg26001/#msg26001






.

[austin87]

Go with pepper stout beef! http://wolfepit.blogspot.com/2009/10/pepper-stout-beef.html

There are some WKC posts too but I had a little trouble finding them.

[1911Ron]

I'd do the butt so it's done early so it can rest some like Buckie says, then do sides.  How many kettles do you have/ going to use?

[addicted-to-smoke]

... THEN, foil wrap, towel wrap, into a dry cooler until service at 2:30 ~3:30 PM.... ...

I really need to start doing this. On the few Boston butts I've done, I pull it off when it seems ready, wait a little while and then pull it apart. It "works" but doesn't get the benefit of resting, which I understand is key. Does resting "juice it up" any?

And I want the pulling-part step to happen faster. I have both plastic and metal claws for this but they usually seem too large for anything much beyond the initial dig ... I wind up making small usable pieces (meat couple inches long) with kitchen forks.

[1buckie]

Resting equalizes the moisture thru the piece......some people don't so much like what a tight foil wrap does with bark, but I like it that way.....there's still some crunch to it & the stuff just basically falls apart after that kinda hold...........
Important to let it sit & cool just a little BEFORE wrapping up tight, as if it goes straight into wrap, it's still cooking....maybe 10 minutes or so, loose lets it stall & start to drop temp.......just enough time to noodle around with foil, shut down cooker, fiddle with sausages or whatever......

Love bear claws......dig, twist of the wrist, pull back & forth, dig, twist of the wrist, hold with one, twist with other, etc........90 seconds to 3 minutes & it's puled out to serveable, unless you want smaller chopped & sauced style.....

Pepper stout's another good one.....the 1st posting of that here is from Larry anyway, so that's a good link to use.....

[Grill_Jitsu]

I plan to doing those drip beans next time I do a butt! Also, loving the idea of trying that Pepper Stout Beef!

The first time I smoked for a large group was a disaster. Not only did I not pad my time, I ran over by about an hour... meat was still not quite fall apart, but the flavor was good so I was mostly forgiven. I'm still in therapy.

[VAis4BBQers]

@1buckie I just got a pair of bear claws back in February for my birthday. I haven't gotten to use them yet so looking forward to it. So, I'm thinking I'll start at 11pm or so. I'll check a few times through the night just to make sure the temp of the grill is ok bc i'm paranoid like that. Then I'll foil and towel it and slap in a cooler.

@1911Ron I've got a performer and otg but I may be borrowing a WSM from a buddy down the street. I've smoked plenty on the kettles but never used a WSM. So, I'm kinda leery to use something I dont have experience with. Would you suggest I stay with my kettle or try out the WSM?

[VAis4BBQers]

@austin87 That pepper beef does look freakin awesome

[1buckie]

@1buckie I just got a pair of bear claws back in February for my birthday. I haven't gotten to use them yet so looking forward to it. So, I'm thinking I'll start at 11pm or so. I'll check a few times through the night just to make sure the temp of the grill is ok bc i'm paranoid like that. Then I'll foil and towel it and slap in a cooler.

@1911Ron I've got a performer and otg but I may be borrowing a WSM from a buddy down the street. I've smoked plenty on the kettles but never used a WSM. So, I'm kinda leery to use something I dont have experience with. Would you suggest I stay with my kettle or try out the WSM?

Or, there's this so as not to have it running at nite....

"So, if you were to cook slightly higher temp, you could run less than an hour per pound......on at 7, off at 3, 1~2 hour rest, pull to serve at 6?
It way pays to build in some breathing room on these things......"

Also possible to get up early, get it going & go back to sleep for a time.....just thinking options......

Like 6 or 7 hours is a pretty long holding......maybe sleep, start at 2 AM, sleep & wake up easy?

[1buckie]

I plan to doing those drip beans next time I do a butt! Also, loving the idea of trying that Pepper Stout Beef!

The first time I smoked for a large group was a disaster. Not only did I not pad my time, I ran over by about an hour... meat was still not quite fall apart, but the flavor was good so I was mostly forgiven. I'm still in therapy.

Yeah, you yourself can move faster & get more things finished, but past a certain point, you can only make the meat waddle along so fast.......

[austin87]

@VAis4BBQers and @Grill_Jitsu  the nice thing about the Pepper Stout Beef in my opinion is that the stall usually starts somewhere in the range of 160 degrees. By plopping it in a Dutch oven or covered foil pan with liquid, you move on to braising, which will eliminate the stall and can make the timing of the finished product quite a bit more predictable.

The other method to take the guesswork out is just to start early, as 1buckie says, and hold it wrapped in foil, towels, and placed in a cooler. It will hold for a pretty long time (easily 2-3 hours) without messing with the finished product too much.

[VAis4BBQers]

@1buckie so just to reassure myself, if I throw this 8lb bad boy on at 6am and keep the temp at 260-275 f I'll be good to go at 4ish? Or would I be better off starting around 2am and keeping temps around 225?