My First Post-Pork Butt with Weber Kettle

[dhughes]

Hello all, I am planning on smoking a 10 lb. bone in butt for a supper club this weekend. The weather will be between 36-45 degrees, so I am using my Weber kettle with a smokenator because it should be tighter than my offset an there is less air to heat. We plan on eating at 7:30pm and was thinking of starting it at 5:30-6:00am. My question is, should I cut the butt in half to give me a faster cook time and more bark or should I be ok smoking it whole? Thanks, love the site!

[_John_]

Welcome, and it depends on your cooking temp and the thickness. When you get a whole butt it is usually like 4" thick or so and maybe 12" long. Depending on how you cut it (bone can be large and make triangles) you may not get any faster. Meat cooks from the outside in, the outside layers have to heat up which in turn heat up the inner layers, so no matter how many pieces you cut it into, if it is still 4" at the thickest part it will take you about the same amount of time. It will give you some more bark, so if that is what you want go for it.
I cook at higher temps, 250-275 and I shoot for an hour hold in a cambro so I start my coals 12 hours before serving, it is better to err on the early side though as holding for 4 hours is better than having a not so tender end result.

[DWCowles]

Welcome dhughes

[Breadhead]

dhughes ...

Cooking for a crowd is a lot of pressure.

Remember this... With pork butts the more time you give it in the faux cambro the better. Your butts will hold their temperature, in the safe zone, for about 4 hours if you wrap them properly and prepare your cooler properly.

In my humble opinion you are not allowing enough time in planning your cook - to make absolutely sure you deliver on time. If you are going to cook at 225° I personally would figure, AT LEAST, 16 hours... Hoping it was done in 14 hours.

Thickness is more relevant than weight. More bark is much better than less bark on pork butts. Bark to weight ratio adds flavor.

I hope that helps...😎

[dhughes]

John, you are correct. It is about 4 inches thick and about a foot long. Defrosting in the fridge since Monday and it still seems pretty frozen.

I am going to be cooking at 250 with a water pan and plan on wrapping it when it hits the stall and will pull it at 203.....hopefully. I plan on using briquettes but recently, I'm considering lump because it seems to last longer, burn a little hotter with less ash. Has anyone tested this theory using a smokenator?

I'll wrap it in towels and move it to the cooler until it's time to eat. It's just my luck that the temperature is dropping on Saturday night, as it's been in the 60's and beautiful in the Dallas area the last few days. Thanks!

[Ernest]

Welcome dhughes . Get that baby split into three hunks. More bark, maybe shorter cook time as well.

[Dr ROK]

I always cut my butts in half in order to get more bark in the mix. If you are not a bark fan, you could go ahead and cook it whole. On my set up, I wouldn't start any later than 5.

[FLBuckeye]

dhughes I suggest ditching the Smokenator and going with the Slow n Sear. This holds especially true for longer cooks. I have never split my pork butts and seem to get a decent amount of bark but if time is an issue, by all means cut the butts
Good luck and Welcome!

[dhughes]

Other than the obvious, searing meat after smoking it, what advantages are there to owning the slow and sear vs. the smokenator? Thanks!

[fuzzydaddy]

Here are a few advantages of the Slow 'N Sear. Others will chime in for more, I'm sure:
-Grill temp consistency.
-Longer burn for charcoal.
-Built in 1 qt water reservoir that typically you won't need to refill.
-Easy to add charcoal.
It's made in the USA from 5 lbs of stainless steel.

Here's a recent review on the weber kettle club that is comprehensive:

http://weberkettleclub.com/blog/2016/01/04/slownsear-review-the-best-way-to-smoke-in-your-weber-kettle/

[fuzzydaddy]

Welcome to the Pit dhughes! Hope your cook goes well and on time for you and your guests. You'll get it done! And definitely consider the Slow 'N Sear. I ditched my Smokenator for one...was the best kettle decision I've ever made. Here are a 3 links to get you started:
1. http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_tech...ow_n_sear.html
2. https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...it/slow-n-sear
3. http://www.abcbarbecue.com

[Powersmoke_80]

Nice advice! Spot On.

[dhughes]

Well, it's hard to argue with all of these stellar reviews, so I guess that is my next purchase. However, I am stuck with the smokenator for my cook this weekend, so I have one more question that popped up when I was reading some of these reviews.

I noticed the foil that someone mentioned on the lower grate of the smoke and sear and have periodically seen it done using the smokenator. I guess this aids the air flow and convection. I will have an aluminum pan under the butt I am cooking but should I also put foil on the lower grate to help with air flow? I am trying to make it as efficient as possible so that I don't have to keep opening it while cooking at 250. Thanks, everyone!!

[Jon Solberg]

dh for me that foil just make clean up easier. I dont think it effects cooking any. Just MHO.

I use foil half pans under my cooks more that foil just for the ease of it.

[Breadhead]

I agree with Jon Solberg ...

The foil is mainly to make clean up easy peasy.

I've started using a sheet pan wrapped with foil.

[smokinfatties]

many will disagree but i would cook the day beforen refrigerate and reheat the next day! will make things easy on you.

[Breadhead]

smokinfatties ...

That's against the rules but... The GREAT part of AR is we all get to be creative.👍

Smoke em if you got em...😉

[Craigar]

dh for me that foil just make clean up easier. I dont think it effects cooking any. Just MHO.

I use foil half pans under my cooks more that foil just for the ease of it.

Last weekend cooking in outdoor ambient temps of 10*-14* F and with sustained winds of 15-20 mph, I found out the hard way that covering the open side of the fire grate helped me maintain a consistent cooking grate temp. I fiddle farted around for about an hour trying to get my temps to stabilize (they kept bouncing from 214 to 230, depending on the wind gusts) when I finally realized I didn't put my foil down. Once I installed my foil I was able to stabilize the cooking temp at 238* and went with it. Just my 2.5 cents worth.

[Craigar]

I am thinking your welding blanket is going to come in handy this weekend. Here in the Omaha area we are expecting wind chill temps of -25 to -30 this weekend. This wimp is staying inside to make chili.

[Chiefmoon]

Since I got my SNS I found that foiling the unused fire grate side gives me much better temp control on my 22" kettle.

[Craigar]

Not to mention it aids in cleanup.

[dhughes]

Craigar, thank you, for your input on the foil!! I was going to skip it but not anymore. Low 40's, wind out of the north at 15-20 and no shelter in the backyard to shield myself from the wind. I'm not sure my wife wants me smoking a pork butt on the front porch all day (which faces south) for the neighbors to witness, so I'm thinking the foil, start early, and maybe cut them in half for extra bark and possible speed. Still thinking about that, as that would give me 2 halves to keep an eye on and only one piece having the bone. I'm thinking one would cook faster than the other, so keeping it whole might be easier, as I only have one wireless probe. Thanks again, for all of your help and input!! This is putting me at ease.