Pulled pork for a birthday party

[cwalk]

Im responsible for three butts on sunday for my dads birthday. Ive smoked butts before butt only one at a time. My question is, wht time should I start to have them ready for sunday at three o clock. Im smoking them in my new braunfels vertical over oak and kingsford briquettes. Qview to follow 

 

[meateater]

Give yourself at least two hours per pound but you can always smoke alot earlier and put them in a cooler and they will stay hot for hours especially if you have 3 of them in there. Just remember to cook to temp and not time. 

 

[cwalk]

Yea, I was thinking of smoking them saturday day and putting them in the cooler overnite and reheating in the oven. I do some pretty mean butts so since im sort of catering these three they gotta be on point. I have a pretty basic sause thts usually a hit for my family, 1/2 sweet baby(honey flavored) to 1/2 worcheshire sauce.

 

[chef jimmyj]

They will stay Hot in the cooler for 8 hours +/- , but it is not a good idea to leave them there to cool completely and then reheat. Chances are small that anything will go wrong but if you are not going to keep them above 140*...Refrigerate and reheat for service...JJ

 

[venture]

By the time they are in the cooler, they should be foiled and wrapped in towels.

I leave the probe in mine so I can monitor the temps. Less worries that way.

Good luck and good good smoking.

 

[cwalk]

Thanks Guys. When I smoke them to pulling temps(210 degrees) and refrigerate them. The next day when I oven heat them will they still pull easily. Ive always smoked then pulled

 

[SmokinAl]

Don't forget the Q-view!

 

[chef jimmyj]

The quickest to both cool them and reheat, is to pull them on Sat after smoke and an hour or so rest, add Finishing Liquid and Pan or Foiling Juices, then cover the pan or bag them. I have reheated with great success in a Crockpot or the disposable aluminum pans covered with foil at 300*F to 165*F IT, about 1 hour or so. There are a variety of finishing sauces here, both the popular Vinegar based and the sweeter Apple Cider/Juice based. My fans like it sweet, so for each pan of PP I add the following to each, about 8 pounds per pan, plus additional Apple Cider just until moist but not swimming...JJ

Foiling Juice / Finishing Sauce

For each Rack of Ribs or Pan of PP, Combine:

1T Pork Rub

1/2 Stick Butter

1/2C Cane Syrup... Dark Corn Syrup...or Honey

1/4C Apple Cider...or Juice

1T Molasses

Simmer 5-10 minutes until syrupy consistency.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes, pour over foiled Ribs and

run your 2 hour phase of 3-2-1. For the last phase return

the ribs to the smoker BUT reserve any Juice remaining

in the Foil. Glaze the Ribs for presentation or service.

I was AMAZED...NO ADDITIONAL SAUCES NEEDED!!! BEST RIBS I EVER ATE!!!   UPDATE...I just used this on a BUTT...AWSOME!!!!

I hope you enjoyed my work! Thanks to all of you here that share your knowledge and love of Q...JJ

 

[scarbelly]

I agree with the others on either cooking the day of or referigerating.  Do you have a food sealer? If so reheat in a sealed bag in hot (not boiling) pan of water. I have done this many times with great success.

Good luck and don't forget the qview

 

[roller]

ALWAYS give yourself some extra time...

 

[ajjf]

JimmyJ, thanks for posting your recipe!  I'll surely be sticking that in my "To Try" file.  We're doing ribs this weekend so it may be a good time to give it a shot.

Looking forward to hearing how your pulled pork turns out.  I haven't done multiples so I'll be curious as to see if much additional smoking time is needed.