Shoulder/Butt Question

[Doc BBQ]

Good Morning All!
Because of my work schedule, we are having the Christmas dinner tomorrow (Saturday) night. Having just purchased my first OBS the week after Thanksgiving, I figured on smoking a few racks of ribs and some chicken thighs for the gathering of 20+ people. Well, then enter Sam's Club - they had 2 shoulder/butts, about 20 pounds total, at $1.58/lb. Damn them, my menu just got bigger!
I have taken pix throughout this experience and will collate and post when my head gets above water. Not ever smoking hunks of meat this large before, I figured I would read up on the forum and gain some knowledge. Glad I did.

I had no idea this may take 14 hours. I was going to rub them down last night and put in fridge overnight and smoke today (a day before the gathering just to make sure things go ok), but we are taking the kids to a train ride this afternoon meaning my cooking has to end by 230pm at the latest.  So I rubbed them down and immediately threw them in the OBS at midnight.

I trussed one shoulder and left the other loose to see what may happen. The are each in the 10 lb neighborhood. The trussed shoulder is on the bottom rack and the loose shoulder is on the 2nd from top rack. There is a 20' F internal temperature difference between the two on my Maverick thermometer probes. I am pretty sure the probe is not touching bone on either.

Is this normal? Seven hours into the process, the top shoulder (untied) is at 168' and the bottom tied shoulder is 148'.
Should I switch them around or not worry about it?

[Tenpoint5]

Doc I would suggest rotating the racks. Top to bottom and front to back.

[beefmann]

yes it is, i have had both the top and bottom  have lower it  temps, just rotate the racks every  couple of hours

[Doc BBQ]

Thanks for the response.

At this point, it's almost 11 hours into the process. The temps are currently 161 and 168. The 168 shoulder has been in that neighborhood for almost 4 hours now. Is this the stage where the collagen and fat are melting away to tenderville? I am then looking to pull the shoulder when the temp spikes to 190? Do I have the concept correct?

I will switch the two racks with each other right now.

Does it still need smoke? Isn't that "absorption phase" over by now?

[Tenpoint5]

Smoke is done you shouldn't need more than 4 hours on a butt.  Yes the Magic is a happening in your butts at the 160-170º mark or as we call it the stall. Just let it ride. then the temps will gradually start climbing again. You said your 11 hours into this so Baring how many times you opened the door you should be done in another 4-5 hours on average. When you pull your butts wrap them in foil then in towels and lay in a cooler (FTC) for a couple of hours to let everything settle down and the juices be reabsorbed into the meat. So about dinner time tonight you will be able to pull/shred the butts unless they just completely fall apart when you take them out of FTC. Depending on how much heat your hands can handle. Put on a pair of thin cotton gloves and a pair of rubber gloves over the top and you should be able to squish the meat in your hands and shred it. Yeah it will be that tender and it will be hot so have a cold adultry beverage close by to grab and cool your hands. Also a good time for snacking.

[TestRocket]

Looks like you got those two butts under control there Doc so good luck with you Christmas dinner!  ;D

[Doc BBQ]

The assistance is much appreciated!! They look really great (when I changed rack locations) I threw in some russet potatoes at 7am along with a couple turkey sausages I had in the fridge. It's pleasantly amazing what some smoky heat can do to things.

When I switched racks and re-probed them, the temp jumped to 180' and almost 200'. The smoker temp was about 200' before I started messing with it. I slid the temp control back about a 1/3. Is that too much? The water bowl was nearly evaporated as well.
It seems the tied shoulder is the one lagging behind in the temperature race. Does that make sense because it is a little more dense and brick-like? Is that a good thing?

[Tenpoint5]

I would go out and re place the probes if you got tha big of a jump in temps you might be in a fat pocket an are getting false readings.