Cooking for 100 for parents anniversary

I've got my first big cook for my parent's anniversary party. I'm only responsible for pulled pork. I'm planning on doing six 9lb butts...leftovers come back with me. Since I only have a UDS, and I'm a state away, and I have a 2-month old...I'm doing 2 butts at a time over 3 days. Smoking only to 150-160, then finishing in the oven.

The plan is to cook and shred, vacuum pack them, then freeze them. Since this is going to be a surprise, I'm handing off the meat to a family friend who is going to transport and re-heat. What I don't know...what is the best way to re-heat? The vac bags are boil-able. The venue might let us use the oven...but not sure. We will likely serve out of a roaster, at worst...not sure if we can get a chaffing setup. I would also have crock pots available.

I'm also thinking about a 1/2 gallon of sauce...sound about right? Might have an extra bottle on hand just in case.

I did a test fit and it seemed that the butts were very close to the barrel and still touched each other. Three cook days works for me...so that's what I'm going with.

We are going to have other main dishes and sides there too. Not worried about quantities. A hearty pasta w/ meat (large roaster full), salad, potato wedges, veggie medley, chips, fruit & cheese tray...all scaled for 100.

This weekend netted me around 18lbs of cooked meat. I'm estimating that is for 50-70 people...depending on sandwich size. will be getting about another 9lbs this weekend....so guesstimating 80-100 people all said and done.

fingerlickin' said:

You sure are working hard. Why didn't you just cook it all at once? A UDS could easily fit 8 butts, presuming you have 2 racks. Also why the need to finish in the oven?

Heat the vac sealed bags in hot water for about 10-20 minutes depending on how hot your water is. I like to keep it just below boiling if I can pay attention long enough. It will come out about as fresh as you can get.

I'd also listen to bizznessman and the others and cook more meat. Better to have too much than to run out. Besides it's already bagged up and ready to go. Maybe make the last couple bags like half size so you only have to reheat what you will use, then put the rest back in the freezer. It's always nice to have a bag of pulled pork ready for a quick dinner.

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I do have 2 racks, but lower is for a diffuser. I know there is debate if needed, but that's how mine is run. I'm not about to experiment on a project like this. Also, no need to finish in oven, but when they hit stall temp, I wrap...so no more smoke will get in. Why run a smoker if you are finishing with the product wrapped? I'll save my wood/charcoal and let a nice temp-controlled oven finish. That makes it easy and worry free.

For this weekend, I plan on getting the two largest butts they have, then get two more roasts for a little more. I may get called into work this weekend and one of the days has a chance for rain/snow...so I likely only have Sunday to finish the cook.