Competition timing question

[chefboy1313]

Hello. Doing a backyard contest that added a new meat category this year. Pork Butt. Check-in is at 7am and pork butt turn in time is 1pm. Don't think I can do pulled pork in 6 hours and I only have room for one pork butt, so it's not like I can fill the box with sliced money muscle from multiple butts.

I guess I could cut up the pork butt and smoke it in smaller pieces to get some pulled pork, but can I still do this in 5-6 hours? Any ideas for what I can do here?

 

[thirdeye]

Maybe remove a couple of Coppa roasts, which has the MM and the adjacent tubes. Now your options are for MM slices, larger slices, or use some of the roast for pulled. With this cross section you can see the natural seam to follow. I smoke for about 3 hours to get good color, then wrap. Usually tender in 1.5 to 2 hours.

 

[Ron_L]

What are you cooking on? When we did KCBS comps I would trim my butts as close to 4.5 pounds as I could (this was before the rule change) and I could fit 4 trimmed butts in a Hunsaker drum. I cooked at 275-ish and they were done in 4 hours. That gave me enough choices for turn in that I could do all money muscle slices, a mix of MM slices and tubes or bacon, or all pulled tubes and bacon.

 

[Right on Q]

Man that's a tough timeline. How do they think the low and slow guys will cook butts in that timeframe? I love backyard contests but they are so inconsistent.

Agree with what was mentioned above. Going to have to cook hot (250-325) and trim it down small

This is what happens when contests are run by people who haven't cooked much. Check in at 7am and turn in at 1pm? Talk about no margin for error

One more thought. Maybe you could ask to check in earlier? 5-6am to have more time to prep and cook? Just a thought

Good luck! Let us know how you did

 

[chefboy1313]

I have two WSM's, the 22 and 18. I do chicken in the 18 and ribs in the 22. Both are loaded.

I have a 22 inch kettle, which I was going to do the pork butt on.

 

[BBQchef33]

id go with thirdeyes suggestion.. its less risky for that time crunch. If you want to chance running the kettle with a whole butt i would trim it down as much as possible, run close to 300 and count on the radiant heat to get it done on time. Just pay attention and rotate it often.

 

[ronbrad62]

Is it a stand alone BY comp or is there a pro comp also? I'm asking because if there is a pro comp, they are probably going to have check-in on Friday and you could always check in early. If it is a KCBS comp, early trimming is allowed and you do need to take advantage of saving all of the time you can on contest day.

 

[thirdeye]

Completely off topic from your questions.... but what are the rules? And do you have any idea who is judging?

I've had a lot of fun with amateur, aka backyard, work sponsored, and charity cooking events. Fun is the key here, but there is nothing wrong with taking full advantage of the rules.