If it's all in one piece I'd be trying to break it down into three or four chunks. A 20 pounder is going to take a while to cook. You can of course cook at higher temps, 300F or so and even higher; the result isn't the same but certainly wouldn't be bad.

Figure 1/3 pound pulled pork per person plus a few extra pounds for those big eaters..so around eight to nine pounds of finished product. If you're looking at the standard eight-pound or so butt you'll have about 1/3 waste including bone, fat etc., so a standard two-pack butt is appropriate. You can always freeze leftovers. You most likely have a two-butt cryovac pack; a single 20-pound butt would be a rarity.

Rub...putting on lots of rub and leaving it overnight can make it taste rather hammy. On cook day trim off excess fat, rub it all over with plain yellow muster and apply rub liberally; don't rub it in, just sprinkle all over. The mustard simply makes the rub stick and in cooking denatures and doesn't taste like anything.

Put the butt in a roasting rack in a drip pan and cook at 225F to 250F just about forever. It'll feel that way. It'd be nice if you could smoke it a few hours but if you can't that's just the way it is. Figure about 1.5 hours or so per pound, more if you peek, and at least an hour resting/cooling time. That time refers to the largest hunk of meat you're cooking, not the total weight of all the hunks. You're right to take it to 195F or so.

All butts are different; some cook surprisingly quickly and some take much longer than expected so you should allow plenty of time. It's done when it's done. You can hold the pulled meat it a foil-covered pan in a very low oven.

I've reheated many many pounds of pulled pork sorta that way. I seal it in foodsaver-type bags (different brand, heavier plastic, compatible and cheaper) and freeze. Then to reheat I let them mostly thaw in the refrigerator, then toss the bags in a huge vat of boiling water.

Nothing dries out and since I'm not holding it for hours and hours it doesn't overcook.

I've also done that a few times for ribs but ribs need a little time under a broiler or on a grill grate to firm up the bark.

Dizzy Pig has a variety of rubs; https://dizzypigbbq.com

Lately I've been using Cow Lick on pork ribs for a dry rib with a somewhat different taste.

Here's the real deal, from the area it originated,,,

Batesburg-Leesville SC sauce

Combine in a non-aluminum saucepan:

1/2 c prepared yellow mustard

1/4 c Creole mustard

1/2 c cider vinegar

1 Tbs molasses

2 Tbs honey

1/4 c brown sugar, packed tight

1 Tbs canola oil

1 tsp Worchestershire sauce

Wisk all ingredients together, bring to a simmer and add:

1 tsp Kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground white pepper

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Mix well, stirring, and simmer for 3 mins. Makes about 1 1/2 cups of sauce, or enought for a small pork butt, a large turkey breast, or 6-8 chicken breasts.

Wicked Good is fairly widely considered one of the best lump charcoals. Aside from that, other good brands are Malis and the standard Royal Oak (labeled USA, not the RO from South America.

BTW, BGE and Winn-Dixie lump are RO, as is K-Mart's "Steakhouse" green-bag lump You can always tell you have USA RO because of the rock in the bag. <g>

The problems with Cowoy and some brands private-labeled by Cowboy are lots of sparking and popping and lots of ash production.

BTW, don't be duped by Kingsford Hardwood bricks; they smell kinda foul and produce about as much ash as regular Kingsford bricks. Ash production may not matter for hot grilling but does for smoking or low-temp indirect on a grill.

Just snagged a couple of bottles of Mexican Coke at a IGA in Summerville, Ga., of all places. Apparently the manager is Mexican, says he plans to keep getting it.
Great stuff!

Yep, for a high-quality smoker that'll just rock on hour after hour virtually unattended the BGE (and Primo etc) is downright cheap at around $900. <g>

jbh

Country ribs ain't ribs, they're sliced pork butt. So cook them at around 225F (more or less) to about 195F internal.

What happens with low-temp cooking is that the fat and connective tissues break down, giving you that tender juicy pork. And it's done when it's done; internal temp is what counts. You can't go by time; you need a meat thermometer. A Thermapen is best but a cheap slow-reacting Acurite digital will do.

Get yourself over to eggheadforum.com , a new world awaits!

jbh

You use lump charcoal for heat and wood chunks for smoke.

Various raised-grate rigs are available by which you could triple your cooking surface for smoking.

You generally add wood chunks provided you want smoked meat; sometimes you don't want smoked meat. You could cook a butt using just charcoal but it wouldn't have much smoked flavor.

As far as Egg cost, a high-quality thick-walled or insulated smoker costs the same or much more. For example, a Stumps Baby is $1350, and Gator's least-expensive grill-smoker is $750.

Just for giggles I once let a full firebox of lump run in the large Egg until an unrecoverable temperture drop from 240F; it went just over 22 hours.

You'll probably want a large Egg; that's about the right size for what you want to do. Be sure to get the nest.

Tip; rather than using rather esoteric methods to light your Egg, pour in an appropriate amount of lump charcoal, then light a half-full Weber chimney. Once most of the charcoal in the chimney's lit, pour it in the Egg and spread it around.

To answer another question, the Egg requires far less attention and fiddling around on a long cook than a thin-wall offset or a WSM; similar to an insulated smoker such as a Stumps it'll just rock on and hold a temp hour after hour after hour.

The Egg is at its best as a smoker. While it can of course be used as a grill a Weber Kettle is more suitable for grilling. Don't believe that "the Egg will reach 700F" blather; any charcoal grill will do that. Those that cook with their Eggs rocket-hot are the ones who have to replace gaskets. I use the Egg for direct and indirect smoking and a Kettle for grilling steaks, burgers etc.

Shealy's BBQ in Leesville, SC.

Peck's in Ozello, Tony's in Cedar Key, Spring Creek Restaurant in Spring Creek, Boss Oyster in Apalach and, well worth the trip, Indian Pass Rar Bar.

Mullet is kinda scarce; your best bet is from a stand along the road.

I prefer a mop but will probably try the Parkay thing. I definitely won't add all the sugar and honey. Parkay mixed with rub might be interesting,

I think it's really cheesy. While some degree of product placement should be expected and acceptable on a stand'n'stir show, it's really out of place on Bourdain's show.

So how do you keep the rib surface from drying out on a long smoke? Spraying with something? Foil w/liquid? Parkay (oil) is valid, and not a bad idea.

General opinion among bbq competitors is that judges prefer sweet, perhaps a lot sweeter than they'd cook for themselves at home, but otoh sweet bbq sauces are the biggest sellers so maybe the public prefers sweet too.

You can buy a smoker at Home Depot, but holding a temperature for 18+ hours is going to be _far_ more difficult than with a thick-walled, insulated or ceramic smoker. How much time and effort do you want to put into babysitting the fire? It's a cost vs. time and effort equation.

Weck's American Grill will open January 10 in Lutz; given the quality of Weck's Deli in Land O'Lakes it should be interesting.

Meats are juiced and expensive, produce selection is ok but fairly small,

It must be a Big Bend thing.

Many years ago I had crab cakes/patties made by a crabber in Wakulla which were unlike any I've had before or since anywhere else.

Pretty simple...

You can find rub recipes or just use Bad Byrons Butt Rub. Cook at 225F to around 195F to 200F, about two hours per pound including peeking time. You can spray it with apple juice if you must. Wrap it in foil and chuck it into a cooler for a couple hours, then pull.
Apple chips or chunks can be obtained from Chigger Creek. Oak, pecan or a light hickory smoke work great too.
Don't overthink or overproduce it.

Wood smoke coming out of the smoker or chimney, a woodpile out back and lots of pickup trucks in the parking lot.

I think "trained" chefs just dumb it down to suit the masses and certainly aren't going to stay up all night tending the pit. Not faulting them; it's not their specialty.

Smok'n Pig, just northside of Valdosta off I-75. It's not a tiny hole-in-the-wall but they're doing it right.
http://www.smoknpig.com/

Is that the place down near the post office?

Apple chutney, Mojo, Busha Browne's. Move past chops to tenderloins and butts. Fat is flavor.

Jaccard the thing and give it a day or two marinating in mango or apricot nectar (can in the "enthnic" section), then season and roast at a high temperature to 140F or so.

But they're so lean I don't even fool with them anymore.

From our little hole-in-the-wall north of Tampa, COGS is _way_ up and the customers are grousing about the minimally-increased prices, no matter that it's still cheaper than the McDonalds down the street. It's a difficult time.

One thing you can do to have fewer roaches is never, ever bring a paper grocery bag or cardboard box into the house.

One workaround would be to stop cooking??

BGE manufacturer's claims aside...

The BGE is basically a small insulated cooker/smoker that requires minimal attention. Yes, it's expensive, but good insulated cookers (ability to hold heat regardless of ambient conditions) _are_ expensive. See Stumps and Spicewine for higher-capacity insulated smokers.

While it's said that it'll double as a grill, that's doing it the hard way. An ordinary Weber will make a much better grill.

Charcoal burns at around 1200F, and the charcoal doesn''t care what kind of grill it's in; it's the proximity to the meat/grill grate that matters. Any grill can hit 750F+ at the grate if it's close enough to the charcoal.

So...claims aside, the Swiss-arm-knife approach probably isn't best. Use the right tool for the job. Use the BGE or any other cooker/smoker for low'n'slow BBQ and a separate grill for high-temperature direct grilling.

Yes, I'm an Egghead, with a Weber Kettle sitting alongside.