# Cutting a pork but in half to save time cooking?



## pandemonium (Feb 27, 2010)

i am about to do another butt and am wanting to try cutting in half so i don't have to cook it for 12 hours lol 
Anyone ever do this and is it good like that? will it cook in half the time?


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## rbranstner (Feb 27, 2010)

Yes I just read a post yesterday where someone suggested to do that to cut down on the cook time. I don't know if it cuts its totally in half but I know it cuts the time way down.


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## richoso1 (Feb 27, 2010)

I do that whenever I need to marinade some pork that'll I'll end-up pulling. This is how I get my pork to absorb more adobo marinade, and it does cut down on the time in the smoker, although not half the time is saved.


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## ellymae (Feb 27, 2010)

I agree with the above posters - cutting it in half will cut down on your cooking time, but not by half. Another up side is you will get more bark since you now have more surface area.


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## enterprise (Feb 27, 2010)

I'm doing it right now. at the 4 hour mark I am at 141* on one and 147* on the other. Using ECB (electric) top one is 147*


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## ddave (Feb 27, 2010)

Should hit the stall any time now. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Hopefully it will be a short one.

Dave


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## tank (Feb 27, 2010)

Last time I smoked some butts I got the twin pack at sams.  I think I got two 7lbs so I decided to cut them in half.  They were easy to cut in half and the cook time was less.  I think for 15bls of total meat it took me about 9 hours to cook it.  I couldn't tell the difference when eating it so that was good.  I will cut them in the future.


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## hopetosmoke (Feb 27, 2010)

New to this forum, but my first pork shoulder was a 12-15 pounder and it took 13 hours at 230+- *, after  having the company waiting an extra couple of hours, now I buy 2- 8#ers, and it takes about 1 hour per pound. I use an old concrete block home-made smoker with red oak wood coals and apple limbs for smoke. Clean 55 gal barrel cut in half for the hinged lids...alway seems to shower on smoker days. It's all -----Fantastic... have fun it's my new found obsession.


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## enterprise (Feb 27, 2010)

Yeah I think the bottom has stalled watching that one a little closer than the other. Oh well better have some more Capt and pepsi!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





! Could be a long night


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## garyt (Feb 27, 2010)

I agree, and more bark is always good, I do it this way often.


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## tasunkawitko (Feb 27, 2010)

From the BBQFAQ:

in other words, if you really want to do cut it in half keep in mind that there is a high potential for having a dry end product. mop/sprits it well with an oil-based mop and consider foiling during cooking.


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## eaglewing (Feb 27, 2010)

I posted several times that I do this all the time. Most my BUTTS come in the 'twin' 16-19lb range. 9lbers in half your looking at about a 7-8 hr smoke instead of something longer than 13 for sure!!

I have NEVER experienced a dry or bad end result!!


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## pandemonium (Feb 27, 2010)

Good deal i am prepping it for a smoke in the morning cut in half


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## deltadude (Feb 28, 2010)

Welcome to the world of smoking....

There certainly is nothing wrong with cutting a butt in half, it wouldn't be equivalent to cutting a turkey in half or slicing a 2" thick ribeye steak so they were 1" steaks.  But again I sort of crave the idea of smoking big cuts of meat,letting that low n slow process work to render out fat and break down all that connective tissue which takes many hours of lovin smoke care.  Of course there might be a sacrifice in time and some sleep, hell I use the MES smoker equivalent to a smoker on training wheels, but I still have to tend the process and put in wood, check temps, etc.  The payoff 13 or 15 hours later is piles of yummy Q's pulled pork.  But hell when I was young, I also climbed San Jacinto Peak 13,000' from the valley floor in Jan right after a huge snow storm, I could have rode the tram, both ways would get me to the peak.  I did ride the tram down though :) 

Each to their own, do what you gotta do...

Q cooker = not willing to lose more than 2 hours sleep for great tasting Q out of his smoke pit. Generally fair weather Q smoker.

Q enthusiast = willing to lose 2+ hours of sleep but not more than 5 hours for great Q from his pit. Will smoke in some extreme weather,

Q fanatic = Neither hail nor snow or rain, all nighters with no sleep, will keep this guy from working his pit to turn out great Q.


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## lutznutz (Feb 28, 2010)

agreed. I decided to halve all my future shoulders just to have more tasty bark.


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## tasunkawitko (Feb 28, 2010)

bingo - very well-said, dennis.


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## pandemonium (Feb 28, 2010)

well here i am at 8 hours on uds and i am only at 159 internal after smoking at 225-250 lol i guess cutting them in half doesn't save much time? fugues i have to leave and they will probably reach final temp while im gone crap


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## pandemonium (Mar 1, 2010)

ok back home and still only at 170 lol smoker @ 250 hahah is it the curse of the pork butt? 930 pm will be 12 hours lol hahah


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## mulepackin (Mar 1, 2010)

I often use country ribs or cushion meat to make my pulled pork (usually thats because thats all I can get). I have a lot shorter smoke time. I do foil and mop often as well as using an ecb with water pan. So far no moisture issues. This makes fantastic pulled pork with plenty of bark
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





.


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## pandemonium (Mar 1, 2010)

ok just pulled it and put it in the fridge, didnt have time to let it rest very long but it is gonna be ok, anyway lesson learned i could not use most of the bark because it was too tough, so i wasted a lot more than i have ever thrown out, and it still takes 12 hours to cook lol I'll just do the whole butt next time.
Smoking is a lot like taking a dump "you cant hurry love" hhaha


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## timtimmay (Mar 1, 2010)

You can also use the long cooking time to really load up the smoker with side items.  "Well, honey I figured as long as I was smoking anyways..."


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## forluvofsmoke (Mar 1, 2010)

LOL!!!!! I was waiting to see where this headed off to before I jumped in.

I do have to agree with deltadude as well...I've probably been in the fanatic category for longer than I realize. I have had a few comments on progressive qviews regarding me doing a lot of long smokes or all-nighters.

The larger cuts of meat are the way to go in my book...melting away all of the nasties from a wicked cut of meat...the ugliest one you can find...and turning it into a masterpiece of table-fair...that is something to behold, indeed. That is what true Bbq is all about. The methods each of us use and the equipment we do it with may be a bit different then the next guy/gal, but the goal is the same.

As you said, pandemonium..lesson learned, but I don't blame you for trying. Any mistake is a lesson...I've made my share, no doubt about that. I've tried a few short cuts along the way in years gone by, for sure...most of which I probably can't even remember now, simply because I realized that it wouldn't be something I'd try again and dismissed the thought from my mind.

Anyway, you had to try and find out for yourself, and that shows some courage on your part. No real harm done in trying.

BTW, I had a 6lbr come out today @ 10 hours, and my 6.5lbr is on for 13 hours now...waiting for the finish in foil, but I'm OK with that...'cause that's just the way it is.

Happy smokin' to ya!

Eric


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## c crane (Mar 5, 2010)

i use a recipe off of bad ass bbq and smoke at 350---it taikes only five hrs and comes out very good.


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## mnsmokin (Mar 6, 2010)

WOW that was like a pep talk before the big game.  Reading that makes me want to stay up all night and smoke a 15 lb brisket


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## eaglewing (Mar 6, 2010)

* First signs of getting addicted!!! that's cool!!*


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## c crane (Mar 6, 2010)

I ment the kick ass bbq method--sorry.


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