Time for two butts?

[sharptailhunter]

I know the guideline of 1.5 hr/lb. What if I'm doing two butts? Do I plan for the weight of the two combined or just the heaviest one? Could make the difference of 10-12 hours.

 

[k5yac]

If they are in at the same time, and the temp is where you want it, you are cooking them both. Estimate time for each by individual weight... i.e. If one is 8# keep it on 12 hours, if the other is 10# keep it on for 15, or in other words 3 hours longer than the other. Again, this should just be an estimate as internal temp tells the whole story. With pork, 165 degrees to be safe, but I usually take it to 170 or so. If pulling, it usually works out better to reach 190 or so. A digital temp probe will help a lot by taking the guesswork out of the "when is it done" question.

 

[capt dan]

Depends on what type of smoker you have. the big rigs can handle lots of meat with very little difference in finish times. The smaller rigs, have less BTU's and will have a difference in cook times as you pile on the meats, especially the bigger cuts like Butts, hams, and roasts.

Another thing is, each cut of meat is different, and often the size of the mass doesn't decide the cook time. Always go by internal temps for the desired doneness, not the time.

 

[sharptailhunter]

Thanks for the replies. I'm using a Chargriller with SFB. I'm definitely going to use two digital thermometers, one for each butt. Actually, I will have three: one for each butt and one for the grate temps. So, I had planned on using temp as a guide and not time, I just needed to figure out how much time I should allow myself. Suppose to be rainy and cold tomorrow, so they are going on tonight, dinner is planned for 6 pm tomorrow, I'm going to leave myself plenty of time this go round.

 

[capt dan]

all that info is paramount. I would say you will be fine. Have you done any of the mods for chargrillers? If not, you will have to rotate them butts a time or two untill they get to the 160-170 mark, then foil, and take to 200. Normally I would say, get em on at 4 am, and keep the grate temp at or near 230-250. If everything goes normal(hopefully) you could have them ready for a cooler rest by 4 pm, pull by 5-5:30, serve at 6. But thats in a perfect world, and no one lives there cept me!

It is far better to be done early, and then just wrap and towel,/cooler for 2-3 hrs, than to be running late, and then get no rest ( the meat, not you) before serving.

Hope this makes any sense!

 

[sharptailhunter]

Capt Dan (and others),

I modded it a little. I lowered the smoke stack opening to just above the grate. I made a baffle and a tuning plate system. Oh yeah, I also made a rack that supports the coals so I can empty the ash pan without having to remove the burning coals.

Because I live in Idaho and the wind never stops blowing, I'm going to put em on around midnight. I can do like you said and just let me foil/towel rest for a couple hours if they indeed do finish early. I have yet to have any sort of smoking project finish early, so we'll see.

Here's a question for ya fellars, do you let your meat (butts, ribs, whatever) warm to or towards room temp before putting in the smoker? I have to imagine that two 8-9 lb butts pulled out of the fridge are going to act like some serious heat sinks and that could explain some people's troubles of getting their smokers up to temp in a timely manner. Of course, there is the fear of letting the meat get into the danger zone, as far as bacteria is concerned. Suppose it's probably a bigger deal for poultry though?

 

[husker-q]

Here is a time / temp graph for my last 2 Bostons - I had to move to oven a bit earlier than I wanted but still turned out great!

 

[sharptailhunter]

Husker,

Nice graph. Hopefully Big Red's wins will start to climb like your temps did huh?

 

[husker-q]

Yes - but without the plateau please!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sharptailhunter]

I hear ya on that one, Bo will get em going.

The wind here is relentless! I put the butts on at midnight, 12 hours later they are barely at 150*. I just put em in the oven set at 260*, we'll see how long it takes now. I don't want to rush em, but I'm losing a bad battle here.