Need help with timing of pulled pork

[mandarins33]

I have 3 pork butts ( 8lb, 9lb, 11lb) to cook for a graduation party coming up this Sunday. The party is from 4 pm - 8pm. I have the ironwood 650 I’m thinking I’ll cook 2 of the butts starting early Saturday morning and cook the 3rd butt overnight Saturday night. I’m not sure how to reheat the other 2 butts. I do not have a crockpot. The pork is going to be used for tacos so I’m not sure what seasoning to use. I might use voodoo but scared it could be too salty. Also should I spritz with apple juice? I know I’ll smoke on 250 degrees till 165 then put in aluminum pan covered till 202 temp. Should I put apple juice or chicken stock in the pan? Any advice on all will be greatly appreciated! Can the last butt be cooked overnight, rested and shredded right before party with no refrigeration the whole time? The party is 4 hours long 4 pm - 8pm

 

[Jayhawkwx]

I did something similar a two weeks ago. I use Matt Pittman's (Meat Church) Pulled Pork recipe https://www.traeger.com/recipes/pittman-pulled-pork.

Trimmed, mustard binder, Meat Church Honey Hogg rub at 7:00 PM Friday night; covered in the refrigerator. Started the Traeger Pro 34 at 5:30 AM Saturday morning, Meater probes in each butt and on the Traeger at 6:00 AM. Hit 170F at 11:30 AM, each butt went in an aluminum foil pan with 1/2C brown sugar and half a stick of butter. Covered tightly with aluminum foil, reinserted Meaters and back on until probe tender, about 4.5 hours.

Separated liquid and let each butt rest on a cutting board down to about 150F. Pulled each butt into its aluminum pan, hit with the juice and more Meat Church Honey Hog.

I reheated what little I had left the next day on the Traeger. I preheated a large cast iron skillet on the Traeger to 225F. Added a good amount of leftover pulled pork, a half stick of premium (Kerry Gold) unsalted butter, and more Meat Church Honey Hog. Removed when the butter was melted and had some new char. I like reheating using this method as I get more smoke on the pulled pork, i.e., double-smoked.

Notes: After butts go back on the Traeger wrapped in aluminum pans you can increase the heat to finish earlier or decrease the heat to elongate the cook. Reheating using the method above, is a huge hit with the family. Nothing better than a double dose of smoke. Good luck!

 

[Shedd]

You can heat it up in a crock pot. I have a Food Saver (vacuum sealer) so I just drop the bags in either my Sous Vide Circulator or I’ll put the bags in a pot of hot water on the stove. I’ll let the water just start to boil then put my bag in it and turn the burner down to keep it hot but not boiling. I’ve got a friend that just puts his pulled pork into zip freezer bags the same way. You just have to open the zip a little to let the air out as you submerge the bag then close it before water goes in. You want to keep the zipper above the water while it’s heating the pork. I usually use big bags and put a lid on letting the top part of the bag outside of the lid. You could heat it to a point that putting it in the crock pot will be quicker to heat it all up.

I smoke a good bit of butts on my 780 Pro and I never put them in a pan and cover. That’ll screw up your bark, but that’s my opinion, I tried it when I first got my Traeger. I just go at 225 the whole time and it’s been varied from 14 to 15 hours. I used to turn the heat up to around 270 when I noticed they was in the stall to speed the cooking time up a couple hours but (my opinion) it dries the bits out a little more and going 225 is so much more moist and flavorful. I’m sure others will chime in too. Good luck and put up some pictures and tell us how you ended up going at it.

 

[RayClem]

When doing pork butts, you can either do them as you suggest and wrap after they hit the stall around 160-170F. You can also do them with wrapping as @Shedd recommends. They will cook faster if you wrap them, but the bark will be better if your do not. It depends upon your timing. If you are getting short on time, wrap them. You can also turn up the temperature to speed up the cook. Once you hit the stall, the meat is not going to absorb extra smoke.

Be sure to shred the meat when it cools enough to handle, but before placing it in your refrigerator. I would suggest getting a heavy aluminum foil pan large enough to hold all the pulled pork from the three butts. You can put the pan in your kitchen oven or in your Traeger and heat it up, stirring as needed to insure all the meat is heated to 165F or higher before serving.

When doing pulled pork, I often use a mix of apple juice, apple cider vinegar and water for the liquid, but you can use other combinations. You want the meat to be juicy, but not sloppy. I usually season my butts with a couple of rubs before cooking, but you can also season at the time you pull the meat or even before serving.

 

[MidwestSmoker]

Any reason you are doing the two butts earlier? You could cook all three together overnight beginning Saturday night and they should be done by Sunday afternoon. That way you can avoid the refrigeration and reheating issue.

 

[mandarins33]

I’m not sure all 3 will fit, and I thought it would take a lot longer with 3 on the Traeger, also wanted each one to get as much smoke as possible.

 

[Shedd]

I agree if you want the smoke you don’t need to overcrowd the grill. Also if you’re wanting some good smoke then you need to use a couple smoke tubes as well.

 

[RayClem]

I’m not sure all 3 will fit, and I thought it would take a lot longer with 3 on the Traeger, also wanted each one to get as much smoke as possible.

As long as the butts are separated by a few inches, they will not affect one another during the cook. If they are too close together, they will cook like a single large piece of meat and take far longer to cook..

There is nothing wrong with cooking a couple of them ahead of time and then reheating them. The only reason to avoid cooking them right before the party is that you are likely to incur a lot more stress worrying about whether they turn out the way you want. Getting a couple done ahead of time and getting them pulled will make party day more enjoyable for you. You will have enough to do without worrying about the pulled pork.