2 10lb boston butts on charcoal grill

samspann · Sep 25, 2013

I've cooked a single 8-10lb butt and also two 6-7lb butts on my charcoal grill a number of times without issue. For a cookout this weekend I was hoping to find 2 butts again in the 6-7lb range, but all the local butcher had were 10lb'ers.

So my only option was to grab the two 10's...and now I'm concerned about how long they will take to cook. I'd love to know what suggestions any of you have on how I should go about this. We'd like to eat around 5pm, but I will not have the ability to cook them for 12+ hours. My biggest questions are:

1. does it make a difference if I put the 2 butts in the middle of the grill, and the coal split on both sides? Or should I put the butts on one side and coal on the other?

2. can I successfully cook these in about 10 hours? If so, what heat would I need to maintain?

Any other thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

junkcollector · Sep 25, 2013

i can't answer your specific questions, haven't done a lot of buts. Just wanted to ask, why don't you cut your 10lbs down to 6-7lbs and freeze the rest? That way you got pieces your used to working with and the rest for whatever you want.

jc

dirtsailor2003 · Sep 25, 2013

It takes about 2 hours per pound per individual butt to cook pork butts to a temp of 205º. So a ten pound butt will take around 20 hours +/-. It makes no difference if you have 2 or 20, the time is per pound of the individual butt. Two 10 pound butts will also take around 20 hours. So to answer your question no 10 hours is not enough time. You could half them giving you 4 5 pound butts and then you'd be closer to 10 hours. I always smoke mine in a 265º smoker and figure 2 1/2 hours per pound to be safe. Then don't forget you need to rest the meat 45min-1hr prior to pulling.

turnandburn · Sep 25, 2013

dirtsailor2003 said:
It takes about 2 hours per pound per individual butt to cook pork butts to a temp of 205º. So a ten pound butt will take around 20 hours +/-. It makes no difference if you have 2 or 20, the time is per pound of the individual butt. Two 10 pound butts will also take around 20 hours. So to answer your question no 10 hours is not enough time. You could half them giving you 4 5 pound butts and then you'd be closer to 10 hours. I always smoke mine in a 265º smoker and figure 2 1/2 hours per pound to be safe. Then don't forget you need to rest the meat 45min-1hr prior to pulling.

x2 on that...only thing i'd add is always keep coals on other side of the meat. ur not grilling, ur smoking. indirect heat my friend, indirect heat. unless of course youre using a vertical.

samspann · Sep 25, 2013

Thanks for the suggestion fellas....I'll didn't think about cutting them in half. That should work out.

Yes absolutely, indirect heat. I've just always heard two methods....meat in the middle and coal on both sides, or meat on one side and coals on the other. I didn't know if one was better than the other.

Thanks!!!

samspann · Sep 25, 2013

Will I be able to halve them myself (using a large chef's knife), or will the bone be too thick for that? I don't exactly remember how big it is.

woodcutter · Sep 25, 2013

You can filet the bone out from the end then cut off what you want. I smoked a few hams this summer on my 22.5 Weber by putting a ring of briquets around the bottom and putting wood every few inches. Lite one end so it burns like a fuse. Once your coals get going adjust the vents so it cooks at the temp you want. I don't know what kind of charcoal grill you have but I was very impressed with how the Weber stayed at same temp.

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2 10lb boston butts on charcoal grill

samspann

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junkcollector

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dirtsailor2003

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turnandburn

Master of the Pit

samspann

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samspann

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woodcutter

Master of the Pit

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