boston butt smoke???

[smokingthemidwest]

Hello everybody I had a a quick question on how long it will take to do two 4.5# Boston butts.  I know you cant base it on time but i was wondering if anybody had an idea. i was thinking about starting them tonight and eating tomorrow night. I was planning on FTC it for a while before serving.  I was thinking about starting about nine tonight but did not know if that would be too early or what. Any advice would be helpfull. Thank you in advance

[GusRobin]

a rule of thumb I use is 1.5 -2 hrs per lb at 220-230. It is not cumulative weight. I go by the biggest piece. I also have dual elements so my recovery time is shorter. Just make sure you minimize opening the door. So I would allow 8-9 hrs and 2-3 hours of FTC. the FTC can be expanded or shortened depending upon when the butt is done. Others with more experience will be along soon.

[ArnieM]

IMHO, it's never 'too early' to start butt.  You're gonna have 9 pounds of meat in there.  That's a lot of mass to heat and a lot of moisture.  Some come from ornery pigs and take longer than others.

I'd figure on 12 hours at a minimum, 18 hours at a maximum; quite a window.

Butt is very forgiving.  You want an IT of at least 195 but 205 won't hurt either.

You can FTC for up to about 5 hours.  If you use an electric heating pad in the bottom of the cooler, you can go even longer. 

An alternative is to pull it, bag it and put in the fridge.  Then put the bags into 180 degree water to warm it up for a half hour or so.  You could also dump the pulled pork into a crock pot, maybe with a little sauce, for an hour or so. 

Many agree that letting the pulled pork sit for a while will help the flavors mingle, especially if you chop up the bark.

[Ka Honu]

Gus & Arnie - Now you're confusing even me (and I rarely pay enough attention to get confused). 

First Gus says 1.5-2 hours per pound based on the weight of the largest butt for a total of about 8-9 hours in the box. 

Then Arnie gives a 12-18 hour window based (presumably) on the total weight of both butts.

I know Gus has a dual element, but he's still maintaining the same box temp as Arnie (although perhaps a bit more successfully).  In any event, that shouldn't count for the wide disparity.  I guess the question here is whether to base your guess (and it is only a guess) on the total weight or the weight of the largest piece.  What's a guy supposed to do?

[GusRobin]

I would go with Arnie. I never cooked butts that small. I have done 8-9 lbs (2 at a time) and they have taken about 16-18 hrs.(give or take)

[Up In Smoke]

Don't forget the SPF, stubborn pig factor.
Last weekend i did 3 butts, two 10 lbs and one 6.5 to 7 lb.
I did them in a cooker with much faster temp recovery, at 225 degrees.
started them at 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday evening.
All three were removed and put into FTC at 11:45 a.m. on Sunday morning.
The IT on all 3 was in the area of 195 degrees + or - a couple degrees.
Some of these little butts are really hard to time.
Base timing is 1.5 to 2 hrs. per pound.....Gus nailed it.
Arnie is figuring in SPF (i am guessing) He nailed it also.
I guess what i am saying is in a perfect world the smaller butt i put in should have been done
hours before the larger ones......but it appears i had a stubborn little piggy. :D
If this makes no sense please tell me and i will delete it immediately

[icerat4]

i justs pulled 1 of my 8 pound butts out at temps of 195 ish 200 ..which is fine...inside temp at around 200-225 max..apple juiced as it smoked away...Dont sweat it low and slow on small butts...these butts take time ..But are very forgiving on time..so low temps in box nothing above 225 and your good to go..

[icerat4]

Well my way the shorter version.I did 3,7 pounders this weekend.ready here we go.I slathered yellow mustard on the pork then rubbed the pork down then wrapped them in cling wrap then they went into the fridge until.FRIDAY at 330pm i took them out of the fridge Unwrapped them and put more rub on them.Then at 5pm i just put them in the bs with no preheat deal i figure what the heck lets try this with no preheat.I set the slider heat all the way high the whole time.Set the pork in fat side up and got the bs rolling.At the 3 hour mark it was water time so i changed that out.Every once in the while i would spray apple juice on them.Saturday morning at 7 am the bottom one was done at 195 .the second one was done at 9am and the thrid one was 195 at the 12pm .I did ftc the first 2 butts the thrid on i just wrapped and let it sit.No rotating no preheating.These 3 came out great 195 temp is alot better then 185. Do your next ones at that temp you will see a differnce.Its only 10 degrees but it does more inside at that point.SO total time19 hours 3 butts like butter What a crowd pleaser everyone loved it I would like to thank kirk at chez bubba for his butt insight lol Grin.thanks kirk. Wink

[icerat4]

Here is my weeekend pulled pork deal  Grin



2@7-8 lbs. Boston Butt – bone-in

1 Large Bottle Yellow Mustard

2 Bottles of Grill Mates Pork Rub

1 Bottle of Apple Juice and Spray Bottle

1 Box of Tin Foil

1 Box of Cling Wrap

Internal Temperature Gage







Thursday



1.                 Slather yellow mustard all over Pork Butt

2.                 Coat Butt with Pork rub

3.                 Wrap in Cling Wrap plastic

4.                 Put in fridge over night



Friday at around 4:00p.m.



1.     Remove butt from fridge and remove wrap; coat butt with more Pork Rub



2.     Let butt sit 1-2 hours at room temperature



3.     Start the smoker with 4-5 hours of whatever smoke you will use



4.     Place butt on middle shelf



5.     Make sure the slider is all the way to the right on high with top vent open all of the way.  Shut the door and wait until the butt has been smoked for 3 hours



6.     Open the door and check the water in the bowl; fill bowl with water if needed.



7.     When the butt has been smoked for 3 hours, spray apple juice all over the butt.



8.     when smoke is done at the 4-5 hour mark, put new water in the bowl and then spray the apple juice on the butt again.



9.     Shut door and GO TO BED!!



10. At around 7-8 a.m., check the temperature.  If it is not 195 degrees, do not remove.  Spray some more apple juice on the butt and wait until it reaches 195 degrees



11. When the temp reaches 195 degrees, remove the butt from the smoker and spray again with apple juice.  Then wrap it in foil and place a dishtowel or regular towel around it and place in a cooler or microwave.



12. Wait at least two hours to take the butt out of the foil and remove the fat.



13. READY TO EAT!!   Hope this helps out its a sure deal ive done about 50 or so this way and no problem a sure bet.