What time would you get started cooking?

[hoovarmin]

I'm pretty notorious for being overly optimistic about how long my cooks will take. I'm smoking 3 16-lb pork butts (boneless) for Mia's birthday dinner on Saturday. Target for serving the food is 6:30pm. Cooking in the Lang offset at 275 is my plan. What time would you get started in the morning to hold in a cambro for a couple of hours?

[Jerod Broussard]

Have you got them dudes out the package yet??

[hoovarmin]

They are in the fridge but fully thawed

[hoovarmin]

Still in the package.

[ecowper]

I went to my fireboard history and checked. The last 5 pork butts I've cooked were all single butts. That shouldn't really make a difference for you cause you have room to spread them out and not crowd on the Lang. 4 of them I cooked at 250, 1 I cooked at 275. There was little difference in the length of time for cooking any of them. From the time I turned the Fireboard on as the cooker (WSM or SnS) was coming up to temp until the time I pulled the probes from the pork butt was consistently 11.5 to 12 hours.

with a 2 hour hold, you should figure 14 hours from the time the fireboard gets turned on until you are ready to pull them and serve. Including Pull/Prep time, I guess 14.5 hours is about right, so 4:00 AM seems right to me

[ecowper]

I did get one done in 9 hours by pushing the temp to 300 .... and I think I wrapped that one, although it's not in my notes.

Update: I did not wrap that one.

[DaveD]

This is my experience as well. Pretty much always 12 hours for butts. I've got one thawing for Saturday and my game plan is to get it on as close to 6am as my sorry a$$ can manage.

[Bad Hat BBQ]

Suurrrvey Sez.......Good Answer!!

I plan for 16

[smokenoob]

I think you were going to be getting up early, I just don’t know how early. 😂

[barelfly]

Or staying up late!

[LA Pork Butt]

Thickness of meat determines cook time, so it is hard to be exact. I would figure 9.75 to 11.5 hours of actual cook time. Then I would add 1 hour to bring my cooker up to temp and at least 2 hours in a cambro. That would be 14.5 hours which would mean starting about 4:30 am. Wrapping during the stall would cut 2 hours making the cook 7.75 to 9.5. That would have you starting at 6:30 am. `Another possibility would be to cook at 225 and start your fire at midnight planning on a 12-14 hour cook with 2-4 hour hold in the cambro. I have held them for up to six hours before.

[ecowper]

we came up with the same length of time .... but remember, he also has to pull and serve those butts. That's another 30 minutes :-)

[LA Pork Butt]

ecowper I didn’t factor that in.

[ecowper]

Oh dang, I just noticed that they are 16 lbs boneless ..... you get those from a Wooly Mammoth or something? Sheesh, that's big. if it makes sense, cut them in half.

[Jim White]

What Eric said. No reason not to cut in half sine they are boneless. More surface area, more smoke flavor, more bark, more sleep.

[hoovarmin]

Excellent advice ecowper and Jim White

[Steve R.]

I sometimes cut 8 lb butts in half, so I might even cut those halves in half. More bark, more sleep, and it would be nice to not be so tired on the big day.💡

[Donw]

I personally am not an optimist when it comes to large chunks of meat. I would allow at least 18 hours. If they finish early then into the oven or cambro for a long hold. If they finish late, and I’ve had pork butts take 15+ hours, they are still ready for dinner time after a shorter hold.

[hoovarmin]

You are scaring me into shopping for a pellet grill

[Murdy]

Better a little early than too late, you can always hold them longer if necessary, and add in any time you need before serving time to work with them.

[Jerod Broussard]

You likely have 6, 8lb butts.

[ecowper]

very likely ..... or he has wooly mammoth shoulders :-)

[Jim White]

Was just coming back to say that.

[mrteddyprincess]

My offset hums between 275 and 325 F and my cook times for pork butts are shorter than the average around here. I just cooked two ten pounders yesterday, bone in, and it took seven hours. Also, I guess I should mention that the temp was closer to 325 F most of the time than to 275 F.

[LA Pork Butt]

Here is a formula I have used for converting cook temperatures to get the new cook time.

Converting 225° to 275°

- Divide 275 by 225 = 1.22222222
- Divide the cooking time by 1.22222222

Instructions

1. Divide 475 by 400 to reach the mathematical representation of how much more heat is being used, or 1.1875. In general, divide the desired temperature by the recipe temperature.
2. Divide 60 by 1.1875 to reach a new cooking time of 50.52 minutes at 475 degrees F.
3. Be vigilant. The make or age of the oven may cause cooking time to vary, so keep an eye on the dish. For example, a conventional oven and a convection oven will require different cooking times and temperatures.
4. Use a kitchen timer to make sure you do not burn the dish at the new temperature.
5. Check the temperature of the meat when done to make sure it has reached a safe temperature according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

[hoovarmin]

I didn't do so good at math brother

[JoeSousa]

I start most of my long cooks around midnight, plan on around a 12 hour cook, and usually have about a 4-6 hour rest. Starting at midnight I can get the meat on, wait an hour or two to make sure the temps are stable, and then sleep for a few hours. I usually need to add some more charcoal around 7 or 8, wrap at 9 or 10, and then finish things off between noon and two. I would rather be done 6 hours early than 10 minutes late.

[ecowper]

I like to start long cooks somewhere in the very early hours also. I get some snooze time after the meat goes on, then I'm back up around 6:00 AM with coffee and a cigar enjoying the quiet early morning, smell of the smoker, and no one bugging me :-)

[LA Pork Butt]

I like serving at noon. I plan on a 17 hour cook at 225 with 1 hour to heat soak my BGE, a 12-14 hour cook without wrapping and a 1-4 hour hold in the cambro.

[barelfly]

Being boneless, I would tie those suckers up so they are uniform to get a good cook.

And, like others say, being early is ok. Hold those suckers in the oven if needed or however you faux cambro your cooks.

[Huskee]

If you're wrapping at or after the stall, give yourself 12-14hrs. Mine always take ~12hrs, which includes a 1-2hr hold, but I wrap in foil at 180. I cut mine in half which may or may not affect time, if it doesn't change the thickness the heat has to travel then cutting or not cutting them won't affect cook time. If you're not wrapping them babies may take 16-18+ hrs.

[Oak Smoke]

+1 I’ve started wrapping all of mine also. I wrap at about 180 internal, it speeds up the cook and gives me some incredible juice to mix back in after I pull the pork.

[DaveD]

I've become a pretty total convert to the foil boat, and have found that boating yer butt will cut at least an hour, maybe two, from the cook time. It's perfect for butts because there remains plenty of bark exposed, and the juices collected are awesome to mix in when pulling. Good luck Dave!