I've cut butts in half several times in this very manner for this very reason - to save time, and to provide extra bark. I don't have my notes handy, but you should save a good deal of time... something on the order of the cook taking only 60-70% or so of the amount of time of not cutting. When I started smoking I heard that the time should be roughly 1.5-2 hrs per pound of your cut of meat. So splitting a 9 lb butt in half in theory would cut your time in half. I've found it's not quite that linear, but close. And all mine were done on a WSM 18 running at a dome lid temp of 250ish (I"ve only just now started monitoring grate temps for long cooks).
If I'm in your shoes I'm cutting them in half, right down the middle with one half keeping the bone and the other half boneless, and I'm aiming to get the meat on a 250 degree fire around 7 am (or earlier if you like). As time goes by you can increase the heat if needed, and if you get done early just wrap 'em in foil and get 'em in the cambro. And if you find you are really falling behind for whatever reason, you can always yank 'em, wrap 'em in foil, and finish them off in the oven at 300-350. Been there, done that. Your guests won't notice the difference.
Good luck!
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Cutting Boston butts in half
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JPGators17 I have never wrapped to push through the stall so I have no comparison.
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Ah good. I was wondering about this too. Did going up to 275 push it through the stall as fast as wrapping it would have?
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According to this website thickness determines cook time, so if you cut them horizontally you should see a significant decrease in cook time. But, cutting the vertically shouldn't make much difference unless the width is less than the thickness. I would recommend putting the on at 11pm or midnight and a couple of hours in the faux cambro.
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JPGators17 funny you should inquire. I did just that very task of cutting a butt yesterday. Although for different end in mind (I was cutting up my own country style pork ribs from a whole butt) and commented song the way, not happening again. May not be as big a deal to cut in half but cutting into slabs was some work. Next time I want CSPR I'll leave it to the store / butcher I get them from.
Added bonus - I acquired my 3rd serious wound from my new knife.
I have a place place that only sells Boston butts. One less and trussed. Maybe another 60 cents a lb butt well worth it IMHO.
Let us know what you decide and how you make out Steve.
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Duly noted lol!!!
Th' sad, tragic signs o' early onset apostrophitis, sorry t' be th' one t' haveta tell ya'!
I kin prob'ly PM you a spare, lower-case "y" for yer fifth sentence, there, if'n ya' has done run plumb out, or waitin' on payday t' restock, like...
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Idk Steve. Maybe 1.5 -2 hrs each? Assuming you don't want to get up at the crack of you know what to start cooking.
Another option is is to make sure the meat is taken out well ahead of time so you don't start from a dead cold 38 degree double or quadruple chunks o' pork. Bones ou see what I did there ??
of course to to let it come up to temp will also require an early start. Maybe a combination of the two (cutting in half (more bark!) and coming to closer to room temp will help ou save some time.
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It's been a while since I cut one in half but if I remember correctly, it saved me an hour or two compared to whole butts, cooking at 225-250.
FWIW, I recently cooked a whole 9 pound butt on my Kettle and SnS, starting out at 230-235. Once I hit the stall I upped the temp to 275 to push through the stall, and when I had good bark I wrapped (to catch juices) and stayed at 275 until probe tender. Cook time was 9 hours which was at least 3 hours faster than cooking 230-235 the entire cook. The quality was as good as any of my previous cooks.
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I am also interested in dong this. To add another question for the butchers here: what is the best way to cut a bone-in butt in two?
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Cutting Boston butts in half
I'm almost certain I have seen this addressed here before, but I can't find it at the moment. I'm cooking for a crowd on Saturday and have two 9 lb. butts in the fridge. Meal time will be 3 pm, so I want to shorten the cook time a little without sacrificing quality. Assuming I could cook at ~280 and have them to probe tender after roughly 8 hrs. How much time would I realistically save by creating four 4.5 lb. chunks?Tags: None
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