How many pork butts in an MES?

[leosmith78]

Greetings, friends!

I want to throw together a BBQ for a friend that is moving and a bunch of people (not certain on the number yet) should be there. I have two MESs and I was wondering how many pork butts I can get 'em. They are the standard 30" smokers. I was thinking I could put two on a rack and fit two racks in the smoker, for a total of 8 butts (depending on their size, of course). Is this do-able?

How many people do you think I could feed with 8 butts? There will be a metric crap-ton of side dishes, and I could always supplement the pork with some meat on the grill...

Thoughts?

TIA,

leo

 

[chef jimmyj]

To answer your question...8 Butts average of 8 pounds will give 32 Lbs of Pulled Pork that will give 85 (6oz sammiches) to 130 (4oz sammiches) figuring 1 per Person....BUT....

You need to find out how many people then go from there. For Pulled Pork I figure 6oz portions with 2 sides. Ladies go light, men maybe a little heavy or have 2 sandwiches, so it averages out well. If you will have a variety of Salads, Veggies or Covered Dishes from other people, Cut Back to 4 ounce Portions instead of 6oz. This is because people will rarely eat more than 1 small sandwich with everything else... Here is the math... 

 Number of people X 6oz finished Pork / 16 oz per pound = Pounds of Pulled Pork needed...

since after trimming, weight loss from cooking and removing the bone...You can only expect a 50% Yield which means...

Pounds of Pulled Pork needed   X   2  =  How many Pounds of Raw Pork Butts to Buy...

Example:  100 people  X 6oz  /  16oz per lb =  37.5 Pounds Pulled Pork needed  X  2   =  75 Pounds Raw Butts to Buy

Anything else, just ask...JJ

 

[leosmith78]

Thanks for the info...I have no idea yet on the count...but this info is very valuable!

 

[chef jimmyj]

Any Time Leo...Love the Hat!...JJ

 

[daveomak]

Leo, morning.....  4 butts in the MES....  You will have to plan on extra time.... The 4 butts will suck up lots of btu's....   Don't know how much extra... wish I could help you there....   Think of it like boiling 1 gallon of water on an 800 watt burner, then trying to boil 4 gallons of water.... It will work but I hate to see you run short on time.... It is not a direct comparison because all the btu's aren't consumed... just something to think about......  be sure to rotate the butts...     

Dave

 

[ddw44]

Leo,
I have done 4 butts by loading the butts in at 8 pm set at 225F. Load chips every half hour until midnight. Best to have butts at about 150F then I stop the chips and close the vent. I get some sleep while a remote thermometer keeps track of internal temp. Usually not over done by 6 am but the thermometer has an alarm set at 180. I have taken out at 185 and 190. Both are good but 190 pulls easier and finer.

I read about an MES user who put in 8 butts successfully but that seems not safe but possible. Butts taste great even without smoke all rest of the night. I will try all night smokes now that I have an AMZPS. I have done 4 9# butts twice now. And two butts each larger than that taking as much time seemed like. It does vary a lot due to outside temps so be prepared to be flexible. By doing over night I put in crock pots in the morning to hold at good temps til needed. Then have time to do other things like sample them.:-)
Dave44

 

[leosmith78]

Thanks for all the replies! Very helpful info!

 

[eekinsman]

I did 8 Butts in my MES 40 a few years ago without a hitch.  My concern then was the extended recovery time after  literally filling an electric smoker with over 50 lbs of cold meat! Of course the issue is coming through the danger zone (40 to 140 in 4hrs). Now, since then I've learned about the intact muscle rule. But I still error on the side of caution when feeding large numbers of people. So, here is my advice on filling a MES with cold pork  and limiting the length of recovery time:  1). While the MES was preheating to 275, I took all the racks out of the MES and put them in the oven at 400. After the  MES was up to temp I put the racks back in the MES. I smoke Butts in shallow foil pans-easier clean up, so the hot racks really don't cook or grill the pork. 2). If you use a a stone or ceramic tile for heat shield, put this in the hot oven for an extra hot pre-heat  along with the racks. 3). Finally, if you use water in the pan, fill it with HOT water right before your Butts go in. I use my automatic coffee maker to brew up 50 oz of 90 degree water. If you use sand instead of water in the pan, just throw this in the oven as well.  Rather then taking all this stuff out of the smoker and into your kitchen oven, I have also just preheated everything into my has grill on high for as long as my MES is preheating to 275. This doesn't mean you smoke the Butts at 275, choose your own temp, but I would certainly have the smoker at 275 when I put the butts in. All of this pre-heating  has worked well and safe   for me  for and I have done  numerous big smokes on the MES. Good luck.