What do you think the timing is for 2 pork shoulders on a Large BGE is? I have a Maverick Thermometer and am planning on dinner for and a couple of friends at 6pm Saturday. I USED to plan 16 hours or more on my WSM. The BGE seems to cut that time down. I have some notes, but thought I'd gather some input from the group.
Cookers:
Weber Kettle (used/fair condition; a gift).
Grilla OG.
Pit Boss 3-Burner Ultimate Lift-Off Griddle.
SnS Kettle.
Everything Else:
Sous Vide equipment.
Instant read and leave-in thermometers.
Grill Grates.
Kingsford Blue Bag, Royal Oak Lump Charcoal, Weber lighter cubes, Weber charcoal chimneys.
BBQr's Delight Hickory & Apple flavor pellets, propane torch, 6" smoke tube.
Grilla apple & hickory pellets, Royal Oak charcoal pellets.
Rubs with salt: Meat Church, Meathead.
Rubs without salt: SnS Grills Rocky's Rub and Not Just for Beef.
Rubs home-mixed: None at this time.
Spices: Lots of 'em.
My last cook on my BGE was 250-260, and I wrapped at 185 IT. ~10 hours before wrapping and ~2 after wrapping for about 12 hours total. Then a 2 hour faux cambro. This was a 10 pounder, bone in.
I typically cook 10#ers at 225 on my BGE and they take about 12-14 hours without wrapping. I pull them with an internal of 200 and let them rest in a faux cambro for two hours. Wrapping them at 160 will cut about 4 hours off of the cook time.
I think I mis-typed. I am smoking bone-in pork butts...for pulled pork. I have not cooked it in FOREVER so I forget how big they are but I think they usually come in around 5-8# each. I'm planning in dinner for 6 adults and 2 teenagers plus a couple of little kids.
If you are going to do two butts, I would plan on at least 16 hours. However, you can cook these at 275 F with out an issue. The butts can take the extra heat, and it will decrease your cook time, but I would still allow for at least 16 hours of cook time and a couple of hours to hold in the cambro. Going at 225 F will cause the cook to go into the 20-hour region. (Which is fine, if you have the time)
Personally, I always find that the MGE cooks things much slower than other cookers, because of the low air flow in the kamado.
I just looked over some old notes. I only have two pulled pork cooks since I had to replace my BGE. When new I cooked two 7.5# bone-in butts and it took ~ 14-15 hours. After a year or two of seasoning that BGE, I cooked two 8.5 pound butts and it took close to 18. I'm thinking I start them around 11-12 pm Friday. My oven can be set pretty low. Can I double-wrap them in HD foil when they hit temp and then use my oven as the cambro? Is it a good ideal after they sit to open them up to firm up bark/crust like I do after I crutch a brisket??
Thanks for the help...pulled-pork used to be a regular cook for me every summer at least a couple of times, but I accidentlaly let it slip from my regular cooks.
I've held them in a 170 degree oven many times for 2-4 hours. The upside is the house smells heavenly. Since I'm mixing the bark with the meat and like the softer texture after the cambro, I've never put mine back on the pit.
Thanks fuzzydaddy! Wife is at BJs now looking at pork butts while there. Planning to probably put them on at 10pm Friday night. Hope they take 16 hours or more. Dinner at 6pm Saturday.
Butts are in the house! 8.39 and 9.01 pounds respectively. They are Prairie Farms Fresh Natural from BJs (my local COSTCO.) They look well-trimmed. I am planning to make the suggested East Carolina Vinegar and Lexington Dip as well. I'll likely follow the recipe and use Memphis Dust for the rub for both. Updates and photos to follow of course.
I'm posting here and on recipe page to cover both bases. Just trimmed both butts. They were hands-down the best-trimmed pork butts out of the package I've ever seen. Pre-cook weights will be 7.94# and 8.25#. The plan is to put them on at 10'ish tonight. Dinner tomorrow at 6:00 pm. The oven in my house is all clear and easliy set to 170 degrees in case they finish early. Rain starts tonight at 7pm, so I bought a Smokeware Chimney Cap to help out with temp control tonight.
Update...weird night of some temperature spikes on the cooker after stabilized, but as usual all was well at 9 hours in. Now at 13 hours and probe shows 176 with instant read running 5-9 degrees less.
Fire gave up around 15 hours...I thought I still had enough coal in there but burnt it all up. I am thinking the KAB ate more coal than I'm used to and I need to close the chimney cap down a bit more earlier. In any case, moved to oven and sitting happily there. Looking like they'll be done by 5 or 5-30.
Last edited by TimmyR; April 13, 2019, 07:57 PM.
Reason: Ha!!! Corrected my typo for @Jerod
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