Pulled Pork overnight - questions and planning

[j_keegan]

I have been designated as the bring-the-main-dish-and-it-better-be-meat guy for an upcoming fantasy football draft day. It's our 10th year and several of the members are coming back from being overseas for a few years, so it's a special occasion to be sure. The meal in question is lunch on a Saturday, and I'm going to be feeding 10-ish people.

Having had good success previously with doing pulled pork and feeding 8 people, and also knowing how delicious backyard-made pulled pork is, I decided that this was what I was going to do. But I'm leaving to drive up there Saturday morning and will have to prepare it beforehand, so I have some questions, and would appreciate any advice as well.

A little background info:
- My grill is an 18" weber charcoal kettle grill and I use KBB
- I have done a 7 1/2 lb pork butt on this before and it took 10 1/2 hrs
- I plan to use a Thermoworks Smoke to keep tabs on things

My plan is to put it in around 9pm Friday night and then get up at 5am to check on it Saturday morning. That's only 8 hours, and the last time I did this my grill stayed pretty darn consistent with temp for 9 hours. So I figure that it SHOULD be fine overnight for that length of time, but it also gives me a couple of hours in the morning to heat things back up or do whatever I need to to finish cooking it.

My questions:
1. Have you done this before? If so, did you leave it completely alone overnight and just see what was what in the morning, or did you check on it during the night?
2. Will there be a significant difference cooking overnight (temps around 70F and no sunshine) versus daytime (temps 90 and sunny)? Significant in that it would add a lot of time to the cook, or change how the charcoal performs?
3. If I plan to be done cooking by 8am, and head out then, but we're not going to eat until noon - what's the best way to transport and then prep it for eating? I know the faux cambo/cooler thing is recommended - do I need to do anything additional once it's meal time (like re-heat it)?

General opinion question: what sauces should I serve with the pulled pork?
I make my own Carolina Gold and Lexington hot vinegar sauce. Because I don't personally like it, I usually buy a KC barbeque sauce for others. Would you add another one?

I'm open to anything else you want to share as well (favorite bun for pulled pork, etc.).

Thanks!

[Breadhead]

It sounds like you've done this same cook before. You know the reliability of your cooker to continuing cooking unchecked.🤔 If it were me I'd get up every couple of hours to check on it just because it's an important cook. You will be harassed if you show up without the promised BBQ lunch.🙀

The faux Cambro is good for 4 hours. I highly recommend that you heat the cooler up with a big pot of boiling water first. Put the hot water in and close the lid for 15/20 minutes. Pour the water out and then put your wrapped pork butt in.

Meathead listed a really good Brioche hamburger bun recipe in the tested recipe channel. I know that recipe makes exceptional buns.

BBQ sauce is so regional that if I were you I'd take 3 different types and let your buddies use the one they prefer or no sauce at all.

I cooked that same thing for my 40 year old son's draft party last year. It was a hit.

Good luck... take David Johnson as your running back.👍 Go Cardinals😆

[RonB]

Will there be a kitchen or stove/microwave at the event?
When will you arrive and when will you be eating? (How much time between your arrival and the meal?)

Here's what I did yesterday for our family reunion:

I smoked two chuckies Sat. using my foil lined DnG to catch the drippings. I also held the foil wrapped meat in the oven @ 170* for an hour and then turned the oven off, but I left the meat in the oven until it was cool enough to shred. I shredded it and put it in a large disposable plastic container and put it in the refrigerator. I poured the drippings from the DnG and the foil in a small container and refrigerated that too.

On Sunday I discarded the fat from the drippings and poured the remainder over the meat. I added a few pats of butter and heated the meat in the microwave. Then I heated a hot/cold pack in the microwave and placed it in the bottom of a styrofoam cooler similar to what Omaha Steaks uses. The hot meat went on top and the container was closed.

When we ate about 1.25 hours later, the meat was still warm and there were just a few small pieces left in the bottom of the container when the meal was over.

If there is a microwave at the event, you can heat it there in the plastic container. If there is only an oven, use an oven safe covered container to reheat. And you might consider shredding after you arrive to help retain moisture. But make sure you take the drippings with you.

BTW - I would check the kettle after ~ 6 hours just to make sure everything is OK. And you might consider cutting the butt in half to give you more bark and maybe shorten the cooking time.

Hot Packs link.

[kmhfive]

I've used a Maverick overnight with alarms set to warn me if the grill started to go funny. The first time I was nervous and didn't sleep well; after that I slept fine.

I agree with preheating your cooler. Leave the meat tightly wrapped until time to eat and pull it then. If you have heat wraps (I have two "blue ice-type packs that I can microwave for a couple of minutes to heat up), put those on the bottom of the cooler to help hold temperatures.

[j_keegan]

Excellent! Pre-heating the cooler. Leaving the meat wrapped and unshredded until I get there. Great ideas! Thank you!

[LA Pork Butt]

I don't know your cooker, but I routinely cook 10# Boston Butts over night on a BGE. I allow 16 hours from start up of fire cooking at 225 till 2-4 hours in a faux cambro before serving at noon.

i think your three BBQ sauces will give great options and allow the folks to experience a variety of regional BBQ experiences.

[rat88]

I recently did some 6hr butts that turned out great. Pit temp was 350-375. I used up the last of my MMD on them and was a little concerned about charring the sugar, but it came out fine. The only difference between the 6 hour cook and the normal 16 hour cook was I didnt have to waste the extra fuel and time. Taste, texture and smoke ring were about the same, The bark was a little chewier on the fast cook, but a foil wrap would fix that. I have always done a 225 cook, wrapped at stall and finished over night in the electric.smoker, then pulled, sauced and back in the stick burner later to add a little more smoke while reheating to serve.

[Senator Pig]

I like to wrap after about 5-6 hours. 8 may result in a slightly dry exterior, but as you well know many people like that 'bark'. I wouldn't worry too much about the faux cambro either. It's amazing how long a butt can hold heat. When I do overnight pork butt smokes I'll get it on @10pm at about 225-250F (Weber Smokey Mountain 18") and set my alarm for 3am. At 3am I'll dust the butt with a generous handful of brown sugar and wrap it tight in foil then back on the smoker and back to bed.

Mind you, I'm more of a mahogany exterior guy (not into the blackened look). I'm also not a fan of bark, especially if I'm pulling the pork. If you're the same, try to wake up in the middle of the night to wrap. If you like bark, letting the butt go for 8 hours is no problem at all. And like I said, if the butt comes off the smoker at 8am and you aren't serving til noon, the butt only needs to be tented in foil. There's so much residual heat that after 4 hours the butt will have cooled to around 140 which is a perfect temp to pull. You won't need to reheat anything.

Just my 2 cents

[j_keegan]

Senator Pig Thanks for the advice! That definitely helps.