Grilling, Smoking, BBQ, etc. WAYCT (What Are You Cooking Today) Outdoor Edition
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Looking for some tips from some of the Kamado users out there, please!
We are doing a BBQ for about 20 this weekend to celebrate my wifes birthday, and she wants pulled pork. Normally when I do this number of people at work, I get two 2.5kg (5.5lbs) pork butts, start at about 6am and we are eating by around 7pm after a rest. All I could get this time was a 6kg bone in pork shoulder, so I assume it will take significantly longer than 2 x 2.5kgs. She wants to eat at around 5pm, so I am thinking of putting it on at around midnight, then when its done (I'm guessing mid morning?) ill wrap it in foil and pop it in a cooler until i need to pull it later on.
What do you guys think?
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@Alex Last time I did pork butt/shoulder it finished about 2 hours early,so I sprayed it really good with a 50/50 mixture of apple juice and water,while it was sitting in the foil, then finished wrapping it,put it in the oven at about 180 degrees and forgot about it until my guests arrived. I thought for sure it was going to be awful, after taking it out and letting it rest it was ultimately the best one I had ever done. In terms of taste,texture and consistency. Not sure if this is a viable option for you. I was also spraying during the cook.
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@Alex Reply #2 I’m thinking that you need about an hour per pound and at 13.2 pounds,if you start at 12 you’re probably taking it off at about 1:30. I’ve never seen one that big. I know it would be a pain but maybe start about 3,then go back to sleep. Good luck and keep us posted.
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@Alex the faux cambro is your friend.
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@Jett129 said in Grilling, Smoking, BBQ, etc. WAYCT (What Are You Cooking Today) Outdoor Edition:
@Alex Reply #2 I’m thinking that you need about an hour per pound and at 13.2 pounds,if you start at 12 you’re probably taking it off at about 1:30. I’ve never seen one that big. I know it would be a pain but maybe start about 3,then go back to sleep. Good luck and keep us posted.
This is helpful, thank you!
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Do you have access to a (good sized) slow cooker? Given the need to feed on time, i would (and have recently) cooked the pork the day before, then reheated in the SC which will maintain the moisture levels. Takes the variability out, and if anything, tastes better the next day…
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6kg bone in might take 14h easy, depending on the intermuscular fat. Is it good quality pork? I'm guessing it is since you got 6kg of it, that's not a small one. Either way,if you start at midnight, you'll have time to spare. Try not to get a rub with too much sugar, they tend to burn on longer cooks, even at low temp.
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@scarfmace said in Grilling, Smoking, BBQ, etc. WAYCT (What Are You Cooking Today) Outdoor Edition:
6kg bone in might take 14h easy, depending on the intermuscular fat. Is it good quality pork? I'm guessing it is since you got 6kg of it, that's not a small one. Either way,if you start at midnight, you'll have time to spare. Try not to get a rub with too much sugar, they tend to burn on longer cooks, even at low temp.
Thanks man, this is what I was looking for
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@Alex good luck! I did a bone in lamb shoulder yesterday (forgot to take a picture ofcourse) and doing the pull, I was delighted to go digging up the bones, it was a nice change from all the boneless pork shoulders.
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@Alex What temp are you cooking at? I always cook between 200 - 250F, but curious what everyone else goes for. As to cook time, I’ve had anywhere from 10 - 14 hours (if I can hold the temp steady the entire time). Also are you using a pan of water in your setup? I’ve noticed that it slows mine down and when the water evaporates the temps are a little harder to control.
I always have thermometers placed in the butt’s to monitor temp and try to pull the meat 197-201F. Normally let it rest for a bit (around an hour) on the counter before I start to pull.
If it finishes early, you could always wrap it and place it in a cooler until you and everyone else is ready.See it’s already part of your plan
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@goosehd said in Grilling, Smoking, BBQ, etc. WAYCT (What Are You Cooking Today) Outdoor Edition:
@Alex What temp are you cooking at? I always cook between 200 - 250F, but curious what everyone else goes for. As to cook time, I’ve had anywhere from 10 - 14 hours (if I can hold the temp steady the entire time). Also are you using a pan of water in your setup? I’ve noticed that it slows mine down and when the water evaporates the temps are a little harder to control.
I always have thermometers placed in the butt’s to monitor temp and try to pull the meat 197-201F. Normally let it rest for a bit (around an hour) on the counter before I start to pull.
If it finishes early, you could always wrap it and place it in a cooler until you and everyone else is ready.See it’s already part of your plan225f, no water
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I'm would not recommend water in a drippan for a Kamado. The moisture of the meat is more then enough to saturate the air to max humidity. The airflow is way more restricted then on a kettle or a water smoker. Plus, you also have your ceramic shells to help regulate humidity.
What I sometimes do if I want a clean smoke flavor is use sand instead. This captures the grease drip so it doesn't burn on the separator plate but doesn't add humidity to the Kamado. The bourbon would end up in my glass
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@scarfmace I don’t have a Komodo,nor do I know anything about them. I wasn’t suggesting that Alex follow my methods,but maybe it sounded like that. The bourbon acts like anti-freeze keeping the water from boiling,and over time a fair amount will make its way into me.
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@Jett129 Wasn't my intention of dissing your comment, water in a drip pan can make a big difference on most bbq's but I just wouldn't recomend it on a Kamado
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@scarfmace Believe me, the last thing that I felt was dissed. My BBQ knowledge pales in comparison to yours,and I would defer to you every time. I feel like just about every time you post something in this thread I learn something new, and that’s what it’s all about.
