How many boneless pork shoulders ???

[bigdetfan]

I have the 3D and have only smoked ribs once in it. I want to cook for 50 this weekend. Does anyone know or have any thoughts on being able to smoke 6 Costco boneless pork shoulders approx 45lbs all in one smoke.

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[NDKoze]

I think 6 might be tough. You could easily do 4 though. Four butts is still quite a bit of meat and may be enough for 50 people. Otherwise, I would do 4 in one smoke and another 2-4 in another smoke. Pulled Pork reheats extremely well. For serving such a large group, you could reheat in an electric roaster or large crock pot/s with some apple juice for some added moisture.

For this much meat mass, I would smoke at 235-250 degrees and make sure you place the bigger butts on the lower shelf as they will get more heat than the upper ones. I would try to probe 1 bottom butt and 1 upper butt assuming you have a multi-probe thermometer or multiple thermometers.

Do you have a Sam's Club Near you? They have Bone-In Butt two packs that I much prefer over the boneless ones. For the boneless butts, you are going to want to string them together so that they smoke as a larger mass/piece and don't fall apart when you remove them.

I love the boneless butts for when I make buckboard bacon, but for pulled pork the bone-in butts (if you can get them) are a better choice. If not the boneless from Costco are very affordable and very good cuts of meat.

This sounds like a fun project Don. Let us know if you have any further questions.

Also, I almost forgot to give you a big welcome to the forums from ND! Did you just get your smoker, or are you just new to the forum?

[old sarge]

+1.

[bigdetfan]

Gregg,
 I bought my smoker this past January.Sams club is quite a drive from where I'm at and Costco is very near.I think 4 shoulders is a good call. I have been following the post on brining the pork shoulders. If I was to do 4 shoulders do I need to double the recipe or quadruple it for the brine ? Thanks in advance for the help...... Great forum !

[NDKoze]

The Costco butts are good quality meat. It just stinks that they don't sell the bone-in butts. The boneless will work well too. I would just string 'em up if you have some butcher's twine. This will help them cook at a more even pace.

What kind of brining vessel are you using? I use the following container for my brines and Tony's standard brine recipe is enough for two Boston Butts in this vessel:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001E0JMCC/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2GRXSFH4CWZTC&coliid=I2X3BPXE6S3HSC&psc=1

I might be able to get three in there, but not four. For four butts, I would think you would need to double the recipe and use two similar sized container. Or one big one like a cooler that would have to have ice added or even better some frozen 2-liter soda or milk jug/bottles which would not dilute the brine. Either way, I would double the brine. If you need more you could always make another batch, but I would start with a double batch.

[bigdetfan]

Thanks for the reply Gregg ! I have some big food grade buckets I have used in the past for turkeys that will work for me. This will be my first time for a brine with boneless Boston butts.I have done 4 shoulders at once in my old Bradley but this will be my first time in my 3D and with brine........looking forward to it.One last question, do use the instacure in your brine ?

[NDKoze]

Yes, I do use the Instacure. But it isnt' necessary. It is really just to add the faux smoke ring. It is more of a presentation thing.

I think you'll really like the brine. You can get really good results without brining, but the brine just kicks things up a notch and is well worth the time.

[DivotMaker]

Sounds like a good test, Don!  For brining a lot of meat, or something big (like a turkey), I use a cooler.  Wash it out good, fill with brine and meat, and add Ziploc bags of ice, below and around the meat.  Since I only brine butts for 12 hours, that keeps them plenty cold for food safety.  Just a thought!

[bigdetfan]

Thank you all for your replies !