Boston butt for 80 people

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southgadawg

Newbie
Original poster
Jul 16, 2018
20
2
I’m smoking Boston butt for 80 people this weekend. I know about how long it’s going to take but I’m hoping to shave some time off. I don’t like to wrap my butts because I don’t like what it does to the bark. Has anyone cooked a whole butt without wrapping at 250 deg or higher? If so was the bark too tough And how long did the cook take? Just trying to figure out if I can crank the heat up to finish faster without making the bark into beef jerky. I’ve always done 225 and bark turns out perfect but I’m unsure about higher temps.
 
I’m smoking Boston butt for 80 people this weekend. I know about how long it’s going to take but I’m hoping to shave some time off. I don’t like to wrap my butts because I don’t like what it does to the bark. Has anyone cooked a whole butt without wrapping at 250 deg or higher? If so was the bark too tough And how long did the cook take? Just trying to figure out if I can crank the heat up to finish faster without making the bark into beef jerky. I’ve always done 225 and bark turns out perfect but I’m unsure about higher temps.
I usually wrap but I do my butts starting at 275 and often cruise them up to 300 after 3 hours or so. No discernable difference in results from low and slow 225-250.
 
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as far as to how long it will take 9-15 hours is a good guess, it's hard to say with butts there done when they're done.
 
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I usually pan mine at 170 with a little apple juice.
But I have also cooked them through without wrapping.
Always smoke 275-300
They turn out fine...But I like them panned better. Plus it pushes them through a little faster.
 
Last edited:
I personally don't wrap, you'll be fine at 250-275, my opinion. butts are very forgiving

I don't wrap either. Last butt, 9.6lbs, smoked at 275º-285º took about 10.5 hours before going into the cooler to rest at 203º. You may want to have a bottle or four of Chef Jimmy's Finishing Sauce on hand, a little something for everybody, it is GREAT on pulled pork. What kind of unit are you doing the cook on? Some take more time than others, I know with my offset when I'm lookin' I sure ain't cookin'. RAY
 
Cook at 250* wrap at around 150. Save a few hours and have nice pull meat. It’s a crutch but most will never know
 
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