# Can I split a pork butt in half and cut down on smoking time?



## pool889

OK. So here is my question. I have about a 10# pork butt, its cold outside and I'm needing it for dinner tomorrow night. Can I take my 10# butt and cut it in half, smoke both halves and still have them come out the same? I could do it in 1 but by the 2 hr per pound rule would have me up all night to get it going and making sure its to temp, still producing smoke ect. I have a 30" MES. I've smoked a few butts in the past but never cooked them long enough, pulled at like 170 so I already know that i need to go for about 195 and rest for an hour to be able to pull. I just wanted to know if splitting the 1 large one into two would cause any issues? Thanks for your input and all your posts, lots of help.


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## pool889

Also, any suggestions on the best wood chips to use? I was thinking about a combo of hickory and apple?


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## pineywoods

Cutting it in half will cut your smoke time almost in half. As for which wood it's a matter of personal taste personally I find apple to light a flavor for a butt of course that may just be me


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## pool889

So cutting it in half won't have any adverse effect to the tenderness or anything? I didn't see why no since it's like 29* here right now I wasn't looking forward to being outside more than needed.


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## pool889

By the way, just to update in case anybody else looks at this, worked great. Smoking time cut way down with no difference in finished product. I also did the exact same thing the next week for the super bowl and everybody loved it.


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## pgsmoker64

Glad to "hear" it pool889 but,


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## dward51

Cut in half = more surface area = more bark.  That can't be a bad thing either!!!!


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## rdknb

Where are the pictures lol.   Glad it came out good for you :)


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## fpnmf

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__ fpnmf
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## crvtt

Thanks for this post, I have a seven pound butt ready for tomorrow but there are only two of us to feed!   I'm going to cut it in half and freeze the rest for later.   I'd rather hAve fresh off the smoker meat than reheated previously frozen smoked meat!


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## pineywoods

crvtt said:


> Thanks for this post, I have a seven pound butt ready for tomorrow but there are only two of us to feed! I'm going to cut it in half and freeze the rest for later. I'd rather hAve fresh off the smoker meat than reheated previously frozen smoked meat!


Actually we always smoke extra so we can put it into the freezer in meal size packs it reheats very well. When you don't have time to do a smoke it's nice to be able to just pull some out of the freezer


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## venture

Most butts in my area come in around 5 LBS.  With a 10 LB butt you either gotta big hog?  Or you might have a lot more of the shoulder cut in than us usually sold as a "butt" or pork shoulder blade roast.

You will have no problem cutting that 10 pounder in half.  Actually it will probably be beneficial for your beer budget, and you will feel better the next morning.

Good luck and good smoking.


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## crvtt

Turns out my butt is bone in!   Looks like I'll be waking up early!


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## venture

If that is a blade roast with some of the picnic or arm roast attached?  The bone should be fairly easy to remove.

Good luck and be sure to post up pics for those who demand it?  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Good luck and good smoking.


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## pool889

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Here are the pics of my split pork butt, some crab and cream cheese stuffed abt's and some veggies I did for the superbowl.


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## elsos

How does it matter if there is the shoulder bone in? I was planning on cutting my 8 lbs butts in half to reduce the babysitting time, and hang with my two boys more.

Will I need to remove the bone?

Those are really great pics, by the way!

thanks!!


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## crvtt

Bone in makes it more difficult to cut in half.   Boneless you just whack it in half.   Bone in you have to cut the bone out and if you're not experienced at it, you'll end up with a hacked up piece of meat.


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## elsos

I hacked away and the realization I am neither a surgeon or a butcher became very apparent. 
They could call me The Butcher but not a butcher!  :)


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## pool889

That was bone in that I did. Unless the bone goes all the way through you're good. May have one side larger like I did, took about an extra 40 mins to hit 200.


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## archi-nutt

Every time I have a question I find a great conversation has already happened. I am going to try this tomorrow morning early. 

Thanks everyone. I will do my best to post pictures.


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## archi-nutt

Happy accident ... since the 7.75lb had a bone in it I couldn't cut it into two even halves. Started smoking around noon. Shooting for 203 on both but the smaller hit 160 right at dinner so we sliced some off and stuck the rest back in. Sweet


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## bbqbot

A different option than cutting in half - remove the money muscle, and cook that separate. It makes for a great presentation to slice these instead of pull (so don't cook them as long), and this will be the best part of your meal.It's not half the shoulder, but it's enough to reduce the cook time, and these will be done first, so if you want to start eating early, you can start with these.

Malcom over at KillerHogs has a tutorial on finding and trimming off the money muscle on his How To BBQ Right blog: http://howtobbqright.com/blog/?p=763


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## archi-nutt

Cool, I will have to try that


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## archi-nutt

As a follow up. I have done this cut I half to faster strategy twice. Without the tin foil Texas crutch to get through the stall. . I love the extra bark but I swear it is tougher and dryer. I am thinking I might abandon this and go with a full pork butt but do the tinfoil thing to get through the stall.


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## changrasaction

Thank you for the question and ll the great answers... a big help!


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