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I need some suggestions - please

"Bob-tx" > wrote in message
...
> In about three weeks, I need to cook some pulled pork for 12 people, half
> men - half women. Going to make sandwiches on buns, smaller than a
> hamburger bun. Will also have potato salad, pinto beans, pickles, and a
> desert.
>
> I figure I'll need about 5 to 6 pounds of cooked meat. Does this sound
> like too much or too little?

Figure about 8 oz per adult male, 6 ounces for women and chidren, and hope
no teenage boys show up because any one can finish off everything.

>
> To end up with 6 pounds cooked, I figure I'll need two ten pound butts
> (that is 40% shrinkage). Is this about right?

20 to 6? Check your math

>
> I plan to cook it a day ahead of time, to be served about 6:30 the next
> evening. I don't think I should wrap it in foil, towels, and put it in a
> cooler for 24 hours, so I will have to refrigerate it. How long should I
> let a six pound butt cool before tossing it in the fridge?
>
> To heat it the next day, I figure to put it in the over at about 225
> degrees and bring the meat temp back up to 190. What is a rough time to
> do this (3 - 4 hours, 5 - 6 hours, or more or less)?
>
> Any suggestions I have not thought of. Your help is appreciated.
>
> Bob-tx

IMO, you are risking drying the meat by heating, cooling, heating again.
I'd cook it, pull it, sauce it, then reheat it in a pot as needed. Or small
batches in a MW if available. Or in a crock pot on the table.

I need some suggestions - please

In about three weeks, I need to cook some pulled pork for 12 people,
half men - half women. Going to make sandwiches on buns, smaller
than a hamburger bun. Will also have potato salad, pinto beans,
pickles, and a desert.

I figure I'll need about 5 to 6 pounds of cooked meat. Does this
sound like too much or too little?

To end up with 6 pounds cooked, I figure I'll need two ten pound
butts (that is 40% shrinkage). Is this about right?

I plan to cook it a day ahead of time, to be served about 6:30 the
next evening. I don't think I should wrap it in foil, towels, and
put it in a cooler for 24 hours, so I will have to refrigerate it.
How long should I let a six pound butt cool before tossing it in the
fridge?

To heat it the next day, I figure to put it in the over at about 225
degrees and bring the meat temp back up to 190. What is a rough
time to do this (3 - 4 hours, 5 - 6 hours, or more or less)?

Any suggestions I have not thought of. Your help is appreciated.

Bob-tx

I need some suggestions - please

On 17-May-2009, "Ed Pawlowski" > wrote:

> "Bob-tx" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In about three weeks, I need to cook some pulled pork for 12 people,
> > half
> > men - half women. Going to make sandwiches on buns, smaller than a
> > hamburger bun. Will also have potato salad, pinto beans, pickles, and
> > a
> > desert.
> >
> > I figure I'll need about 5 to 6 pounds of cooked meat. Does this sound
> >
> > like too much or too little?
>
> Figure about 8 oz per adult male, 6 ounces for women and chidren, and
> hope
> no teenage boys show up because any one can finish off everything.

Pay attention here. Ed knows of what he speaks. Teenage boys are
bottomless pits. One could easily demolish two full pounds of pork
plus the trimmings that go with it.

>
>
> >
> > To end up with 6 pounds cooked, I figure I'll need two ten pound butts
> > (that is 40% shrinkage). Is this about right?
>
> 20 to 6? Check your math

Big chuckle. A ten pound butt would do if you could find one, but 10
lb butts are rare. 7 to 8 lb butts (bone in) are normal. Cook two and
plan on freezing some leftovers. It's a win/win situation in my book.

>
>
> >
> > I plan to cook it a day ahead of time, to be served about 6:30 the next
> >
> > evening. I don't think I should wrap it in foil, towels, and put it in
> > a
> > cooler for 24 hours, so I will have to refrigerate it. How long should
> > I
> > let a six pound butt cool before tossing it in the fridge?
> >
> > To heat it the next day, I figure to put it in the over at about 225
> > degrees and bring the meat temp back up to 190. What is a rough time
> > to
> > do this (3 - 4 hours, 5 - 6 hours, or more or less)?
> >
> > Any suggestions I have not thought of. Your help is appreciated.
> >
> > Bob-tx
>
> IMO, you are risking drying the meat by heating, cooling, heating again.
> I'd cook it, pull it, sauce it, then reheat it in a pot as needed. Or
> small
> batches in a MW if available. Or in a crock pot on the table.

Can't argue with Ed here. I don't have a lot of experience with holding
meat over, but have fed groups on four occasions with meat cooked
the day before and reheated on the day. I left the butts whole, wrapped
them in foil and towels and kept them in a cooler overnight. They were
still quite hot the next morning. The meat was reheated, still in the foil,
in a 350 degree oven to 140 to 150 degrees internal and then pulled.
It took only an hour or so to bring the meat back up to reasonable
eating temperature.

It isn't as good as fresh from the pit, but nobody got sick from it and
only a barbecue connoisseur is ever going to call you on it.

Maybe Big Jim (LazyQ.com) or TFM® will say I'm full of it, but
they've both eaten it and both survived.

It's probably fair to say that if your offerings are not five star perfect,
it will not offset the general enjoyment of the gathering itself. Only if
you truly screw up are you likely to get in trouble and in that case I
would dash out to the nearest fried chicken emporium and grab a
few buckets of chicken at the last minute. I'm pretty sure that my
guests would have had a good laugh at my expense and enjoyed
the gathering just as much anyway.

--
Brick (Youth is wasted on young people)

I need some suggestions - please

On Sun, 17 May 2009 05:21:16 -0600, Bob-tx wrote:

> I figure I'll need about 5 to 6 pounds of cooked meat. Does this
> sound like too much or too little?
>
> To end up with 6 pounds cooked, I figure I'll need two ten pound
> butts (that is 40% shrinkage). Is this about right?

20lbs minus 40% is 12lbs.

I would still do two butts. Ity's just as easy to cook two as it is
to cook one, assuming you have the room for it.

-sw

I need some suggestions - please mistake corrected

"Bob-tx" > wrote in message
...
> In about three weeks, I need to cook some pulled pork for 12
> people, half men - half women. Going to make sandwiches on buns,
> smaller than a hamburger bun. Will also have potato salad, pinto
> beans, pickles, and a desert.
>
> I figure I'll need about 5 to 6 pounds of cooked meat. Does this
> sound like too much or too little?
>
> To end up with 6 pounds cooked, I figure I'll need two ten pound
> butts (that is 40% shrinkage). Is this about right?
>
> I plan to cook it a day ahead of time, to be served about 6:30 the
> next evening. I don't think I should wrap it in foil, towels, and
> put it in a cooler for 24 hours, so I will have to refrigerate it.
> How long should I let a six pound butt cool before tossing it in
> the fridge?
>
> To heat it the next day, I figure to put it in the over at about
> 225 degrees and bring the meat temp back up to 190. What is a
> rough time to do this (3 - 4 hours, 5 - 6 hours, or more or less)?
>
> Any suggestions I have not thought of. Your help is appreciated.
>
> Bob-tx
I said two ten pound butts, but meant two five pounders for a total
of ten pounds. No teen age boys - just a group of old codgers like
myself getting together.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
Bob-tx

I need some suggestions - please

Bob-tx wrote:
> In about three weeks, I need to cook some pulled pork for 12 people,
> half men - half women. Going to make sandwiches on buns, smaller
> than a hamburger bun. Will also have potato salad, pinto beans,
> pickles, and a desert.
>
> I figure I'll need about 5 to 6 pounds of cooked meat. Does this
> sound like too much or too little?
>
> To end up with 6 pounds cooked, I figure I'll need two ten pound
> butts (that is 40% shrinkage). Is this about right?
>
> I plan to cook it a day ahead of time, to be served about 6:30 the
> next evening. I don't think I should wrap it in foil, towels, and
> put it in a cooler for 24 hours, so I will have to refrigerate it.
> How long should I let a six pound butt cool before tossing it in the
> fridge?
>
> To heat it the next day, I figure to put it in the over at about 225
> degrees and bring the meat temp back up to 190. What is a rough
> time to do this (3 - 4 hours, 5 - 6 hours, or more or less)?
>
> Any suggestions I have not thought of. Your help is appreciated.

Since I started making 'Q in earnest, about a year or two ago, I've done
pulled pork at several different functions. Some of the other folks have
mentioned 8oz. for men, 6oz. for women, and up to 2lbs per teenage boy. Ah,
yeap, that's about right.

And yes, it's just as easy to cook 2 butts as it is one.

I usually make up 2-4 9lb butts (the local place usually has them in 2 butt
cryopacks that weigh in ~18lbs). Once it's done, I pull it, vacuum pack it,
freeze it, and wait for the day. This allows me to do things a bit at a time
and not be rushed on the last day or two leading up to the party. On the day
of, I'll pull out as many vacuum bags as I think I'll need, based on RSVPs
or actual attendance, heat them up in boiling water, then transfer the
contents to crockpots to stay warm. I'll serve any sauces to the side, in
squeeze bottles.

--Brett

I need some suggestions - please

On 18-May-2009, "vex" > wrote:

> Bob-tx wrote:
> > In about three weeks, I need to cook some pulled pork for 12 people,
> > half men - half women. Going to make sandwiches on buns, smaller
> > than a hamburger bun. Will also have potato salad, pinto beans,
> > pickles, and a desert.
> >
> > I figure I'll need about 5 to 6 pounds of cooked meat. Does this
> > sound like too much or too little?
> >
> > To end up with 6 pounds cooked, I figure I'll need two ten pound
> > butts (that is 40% shrinkage). Is this about right?
> >
> > I plan to cook it a day ahead of time, to be served about 6:30 the
> > next evening. I don't think I should wrap it in foil, towels, and
> > put it in a cooler for 24 hours, so I will have to refrigerate it.
> > How long should I let a six pound butt cool before tossing it in the
> > fridge?
> >
> > To heat it the next day, I figure to put it in the over at about 225
> > degrees and bring the meat temp back up to 190. What is a rough
> > time to do this (3 - 4 hours, 5 - 6 hours, or more or less)?
> >
> > Any suggestions I have not thought of. Your help is appreciated.
>
>
> Since I started making 'Q in earnest, about a year or two ago, I've done
> pulled pork at several different functions. Some of the other folks have
> mentioned 8oz. for men, 6oz. for women, and up to 2lbs per teenage boy.
> Ah,
> yeap, that's about right.
>
> And yes, it's just as easy to cook 2 butts as it is one.
>
> I usually make up 2-4 9lb butts (the local place usually has them in 2
> butt
> cryopacks that weigh in ~18lbs). Once it's done, I pull it, vacuum pack
> it,
> freeze it, and wait for the day. This allows me to do things a bit at a
> time
> and not be rushed on the last day or two leading up to the party. On the
> day
> of, I'll pull out as many vacuum bags as I think I'll need, based on
> RSVPs
> or actual attendance, heat them up in boiling water, then transfer the
> contents to crockpots to stay warm. I'll serve any sauces to the side, in
>
> squeeze bottles.
>
>
>
> --Brett

That sounds like a good plan Brett. I do pretty much the same thing
for my own use except that I don't pull the pork until actual use. Instead
I slice in it approximate half inch slices and vac-pak it that way. I
reheat
the same as you and then I pull it or not as the occasion calls for. I
often
serve smoked pork as an entree not unlike pork chops.

--
Brick WA7ERO (Youth is wasted on young people)

I need some suggestions - please

Brick wrote:
> On 18-May-2009, "vex" > wrote:
>> Since I started making 'Q in earnest, about a year or two ago, I've
>> done pulled pork at several different functions. Some of the other
>> folks have mentioned 8oz. for men, 6oz. for women, and up to 2lbs
>> per teenage boy. Ah,
>> yeap, that's about right.
>>
>> And yes, it's just as easy to cook 2 butts as it is one.
>>
>> I usually make up 2-4 9lb butts (the local place usually has them in
>> 2 butt
>> cryopacks that weigh in ~18lbs). Once it's done, I pull it, vacuum
>> pack it,
>> freeze it, and wait for the day. This allows me to do things a bit
>> at a time
>> and not be rushed on the last day or two leading up to the party. On
>> the day
>> of, I'll pull out as many vacuum bags as I think I'll need, based on
>> RSVPs
>> or actual attendance, heat them up in boiling water, then transfer
>> the contents to crockpots to stay warm. I'll serve any sauces to the
>> side, in
>>
>> squeeze bottles.
>>
>>
>>
>> --Brett
>
> That sounds like a good plan Brett. I do pretty much the same thing
> for my own use except that I don't pull the pork until actual use.
> Instead I slice in it approximate half inch slices and vac-pak it
> that way. I reheat
> the same as you and then I pull it or not as the occasion calls for. I
> often
> serve smoked pork as an entree not unlike pork chops.

That's an interesting idea. I've not thought of slicing to serve up similar
to pork chops. I'll give that a try the next time I make up butts...

--Brett