Feeding Volunteers

My wife is a part time administrative assistant for  the Fort Mill Rescue Squad. A couple of weekends ago they had a cleaning day and I told her I would help by feeding the squad. It is always fun to cook for a group of people that helps the community.

I planned for about 20 people and served pulled pork, smoked turkey, slaw and baked beans. It went well.

The work day was on a Saturday and the weather forecast was calling for rain and possible snow. I decided to cook that Friday evening into the morning to avoid the weather and fighting with the cookers temperature. Rain and wind can cool off a cooker real fast and eat up more of your fuel than you anticipated. It was a good thing I did cook that night because on Saturday we got rain and snow.

I had the pork butts on the cooker by 8pm and the temp was holding at 230º. Cooking the pork and the turkey at the same time was going to be interesting since I like to cook the turkey at about 325º-350º. By 9pm I had the turkey on. I knew cooking at the lower temp it would take longer and the skin would not be crisp, but it would still taste good.

Meats on the cooker. 

By 3am the turkey was ready so I took it off, foiled it and let it rest. At 4am I broke down the turkey and put it all in a serving pan and set in the fridge until later. 

The pork was ready to come off about 5am so I pulled that off, foiled it and let it rest in a cooler for a couple of hours. The heat from the pork and the insulation from the cooler keep the meat at a high enough temp for a couple of hours. 

Pork ready yo pull.

 About 8:30 I put the beans in a crock pot and added some extras to them (recipe is in Dr. BBQ's Big time BBQ Cookbook), turned the oven to warm and put the turkey in to warm up. I then made three sauces (mustard, vinegar and tomato based) and the slaw. About 10am I pulled the pork and put the pan in the oven to stay warm.

Pulled and ready to eat.

I loaded the hot items into a cambro and loaded up the van and took lunch to the gang. They were very appreciative and totally enjoyed it. Some of them are self proclaimed BBQ snobs (they grew up eating it) and gave it high remarks. One even asked if I was opening up a Q joint soon.

Helping our volunteers is always fun and a great way to show how much we appreciate what they do. Maybe I need to feed the fire station next.