Picked up a 16 lb pork butt at Costco. It did not occur to me that it would be two butts. I plan on smoking all 16 pounds to serve at 4:00 PM Sunday.
Does the the fact that the butts are two pieces of meat, as opposed to one effect estimated cook time? Do I estimate time as if it were 16 pounds of meat, or should I treat it as if I am smoking an 8 pound butt (even though there will be two in the Egg).
It will not effect the length of your cook. I even cut the 8lb hunks in half, just to get more bark, and they still take 8 to 10 hours. Its the thickness that dictates time not length.
Be sure and give yourself plenty of extra time to hit that 4 PM deadline. Pork butts are infamous for sometimes taking longer to cook than you want. They will hold for hours in a faux cambro and that holding period does improve them.
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Your cook times won't be too affected with the 2 butts as apposed to 1 larger one. Tie them up to create as even as possible cylinder shape. As Donw said give yourself plenty of extra time. I know Spinaker recently did a couple of butts in his egg and it ran, I believe, some 20hrs. If you start running short on time wrap them when the bark looks good to you. and crank up the heat to 275-300*.
keep us posted.
micbeane19, You Are Getting GOOD ADVICE From Hawk And Donwâ€¼ï¸ It's Better To Have The Butts Done Early And Held For 4-5 Hrs In A Faux Cambro (Cooler Foil Wrapped)â—ï¸ Some Even Smoke Them The Day Before, Refridgerate Over Night And Reheat For Serving In The Stove Ovenâ€¼ï¸ Depending On Wether You Intend To Slice It Or Pull It For Serving You Need To Watch Your Temps +165* F For Slicingâ—ï¸ +203* F For Pulling (Shredding)‼ï¸
You Are Going To Love It Either Way‼ï¸â—ï¸â€¼ï¸
From A Backyard Cremator In Fargo ND, Dan
My comment from earlier disappeared!?! Great advice here. Pork butt is the most forgiving for reheating. It's my go to for parties when I want to be an active participant in the party.
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I have an egg. If I were in your shoes this weekend, I’d leave them as two 8lb hunks, tie up for uniform shape, and I would put them on at 10pm if I wanted to run the smoker around 225, or, midnight if I wanted to run the smoker in the 250-275 range. That would be my thought process at least.
I routinely do ten pounders which are about 4†thick. Thickness determines cook time. I would guess two eight pounders might add an hour to cook time at 225.
Here is how I do them
1 hour to stabilize Egg at 225
3 hours to get to 160
6 hours to get to 180
3 hours to get to 200
2-4 hours in the Faux Cambro before pulling
I am guessing 12-14 hours cook time
I hope this helps.
Last edited by LA Pork Butt; September 9, 2018, 05:21 AM.
For openers, thank all of you. The feedback and tips are outstanding, and I am beyond pleased for sharing your time and expertise.
I apologize in advance for being so inquisitive. If I am leaving out anybody's tips and wisdom, it is not done so intentionally
What I have done so far:
Salted the butts last night at 9 PM.
Making a double batch of Meathead's Memphis Dust for the butts. (still must go to grocery for a few items)
What I plan:
I plan on starting the egg at 9 PM. My goal is to reach and hold 225 degrees, will be using my Maverick ET-732 Redi-Check Maverick ET-732 Redi-Check for readings.
I would like to put the meat on at 10:00 PM, but upon reading advice you all have so kindly provided, I may want to startt earlier. Perhaps 6 PM to start the egg and 7 PM to put down meat. I can always hold in a faux Cambro. I like this idea.
I need to measure thickness to have an idea of what I am working with.
Questions:
Tie them up to create as even as possible cylinder shape. - should I use butcher’s twine? (I have none). What would be an acceptable substitute?
Consolidating notes & tips
It will not affect the length of your cook. I even cut the 8lb hunks in half, just to get more bark (and they still take 8 to 10 hours). - It’s the thickness that dictates time not length.
Be sure and give yourself plenty of extra time to hit that 4 PM deadline. Pork butts are infamous for sometimes taking longer to cook than you want. They will hold for hours in a faux Cambro and that holding period does improve them
Your cook times won't be too affected with the 2 butts as opposed to 1 larger one. Tie them up to create as even as possible cylinder shape. As Donw said give yourself plenty of extra time. I know Spinaker recently did a couple of butts in his egg and it ran, I believe, some 20hrs. If you start running short on time wrap them when the bark looks good to you. and crank up the heat to 275-300*.
keep us posted.
I routinely do ten pounders which are about 4â€thick. Thickness determines cook time. I would guess two eight pounders might add an hour to cook time at 225.
If you want to speed up the process in the future and don't want to buy two whole butts Costco sells butt/shoulder strips. I love them for versatility. I use them for pulled pork, BBQ'd carnitas, cubed pork sandwiches, etc. You get a LOT of bark on them because of the surface area.
micbeane19 This was my second pork butt cook on my Big Joe (Egg). Put them on at 4AM, wrapped in foil and towel and in the cooler by 4PM. Pulled at 5PM. Advice you are getting (and I got) is spot on. My wife found butcher twine at our local Cub and it is handy for many items! These are three 9 pounders!
About 3.5 hours on the BGE. Internal at 158 degrees. It is going well, but I am starting to think I am ahead of schedule. Oh well, better to be early than late.
micbeane19 My tip for when you pull, have some good or homemade chicken stock on hand. I pour it on the meat to keep it from drying out. As soon as you pull, the small fibers start to dry and the chicken stock keeps the moisture where you want it. Keep it dripping wet! Also, sprinkle a little of the Memphis dust in the meat as you pull.
First time smoking pork butt(s)
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