Hi, I need some advise.
Is it easier to cook 2 smaller butts or 1 larger?
Would the cook time be considerably less using 2-5lb vs 1-10lb?
From reading 2 butts of the same size may cook different. So is 1 better? Just monitor 1?
Approx how long would a 5lb take vs a 10lb.
Appreciate the input.
New smoker.
Mark
ECB Smoke n Grill
Main thing is you want to get the butt from 40-140 degrees in four hours to be safe.
hea stoaway, been a long time member but kinda infrequent as of late. anyway i stop in for a visit and i run across this thread. i am amazed at the misinformation you have been given. lets address things one by one.Man that's scary. I'm doing a b-day party the next day. I 1st planned on reheating. I got a lot of suggestions on reheating here at SMF. I thought to investigate further on what it would take to have it fresh off the smoker. Planning on also doing ribs the day of. Plus all the other stuff, just me. Meateater has the knowledge to do a 7lb in 6 1/2 hrs. That's not me.
Still wondering what to do...........?
1, will two smaller buts cook faster than one large one... absolutly. if you want to prove this take a 10 pound chunk of ice, put in your smoker, and compare it to splitting another 10 pound chunk in 2 pieces. which do you think will thaw first. it takes less btu's to penetrate the smaller pieces.
also the amount of bone in the butts is fairly negligible. in a situation like you are in the time saved far outweighs the small amount of meat lost.
2. cook time, dealing with chunks of meat it is most important to go by temp and not time.(i am assuming you have the neccesary digital thermometers needed to monitor meat temps and smoker box temps) the first thing when you put your piece or pieces of meat whatever the case may be, on the smoker, is to be sure to NOT insert the temp probes. yes 40-140 is a standard danger zone parameter. but for chunks of meat such as briskets, butts, shoulder clods, etc. there is an allowance for time, it is referred to as the intact muscle rule. it refers to any cut of meat which iis solid muscle which has not been injected, butterflied, or messed with in any other way to open up the muscle to outside organisms. and yes this includes your temp probe. so when dealing with an intact muscle, only the outer 1/2 inch of the muscle must reach the 140 degrees in four hours. this assures a seal around the inner portion so you may continue on with your low and slow cooking. after 3-4 hours at 250 degrees it is safe to guess the outer 1/2 inch has reached 140 degrees.
so that said, even if you have 2 identical sized pieces of meat. you should really monitor them both.
3. sounds like this may be the first time you smoked a pork butt... not what i would recommend doing for an event where you are depended on to supply the food especially if it is at a scheduled time. if anything start way early, have a cooler filled with hot water. when you are done with the meat and it will be wrapped in foil, wrap it up some more with some towels, dump the hot water out of cooler and quickly dry out, put the wrapped meat in cooler. use newspaper, more towels, etc to fill the space in cooler. cover it back up. the cooler can be your best friend in a situation like this. will keep the meat HOT, above 140 deg for a long time. 4-5 hours easy. it will be ready for you to pull when its getting close to time to eat.
i really think you ought to have done this a few times at home previous to this engagement. not to discourage you, but so you have the best possible results.
and last, and i know i am repeating... cook to temp, not by time. make sure you have good thermos and that you have checked them for accuracy as well. do not depend on any thermo that came with a store bought smoker. first they are generally not accurate and second, they are not place in a location to even give you accurate grate temp readings. i know its been a while, but i really hope new members are recieving better information than this thread has provided.