# Time in the Smoker



## smokefan14

How are you guys doing. I am new here and fairly new to smoking. I am planning a big Labor Day party at my house in a couple of weeks and am planning on doing a bunch of pulled pork in my smoker. One question that I have is that I am planning on two 7-8 lb. pork shoulders but am confused on the smoking time. I know about 1-1/2 hours per pound but being I am doing two roasts would I cook them like one 8 lb roast or cook them at the time for the total weight of the two together?


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## oldschoolbbq

Hello and Welcome 14. You should cook them as if they were 1 - 8lb. roast. Use your thermometers(and caliobrate it /them before your cook) to track your temps. to a finish @ 200° internal meat temp.. The bone should come out easily and clean by now, however be "patient" as you will hit a _stall zone_ around 165° to 180° ( which takes a while to work it's majic). Butts are very forgiving and will make you the hit of the party. Using Sloflacker's finishing sauce , it will be on spot...average cooking temp. should be about 225°. 

Have fun and as always...


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## chef jimmyj

Welcome to the SMF Family...If you plan to Smoke between 225 and 250*F, I can almost guarantee you will need 2 Hrs/Lb and plan on a 2 Hour Rest/Pad in case the unexpected happens. Base your math on the weight of the larger Butt. If you finish early or for the Rest, double wrap the meat in Foil and towels and go in a Cooler until you are ready to pull them, they will stay Hot for 5-6 hours this way and no hungry guests looking over your shoulder. Here is a good Rub and a link to my Finishing Sauce that is gaining popularity. Good Luck...JJ

Try this... It is Mild and compliments different style sauces well...If you want spicier increase Blk Pepper to 1T and add 1T Wht Pepper and 1T Mustard powder. Anything else, just ask.

Mild Bubba Q Rub

1/2C Sugar in the Raw (Turbinado)

2T Sweet Paprika (Hungarian)

1T Kosher Salt

1T Chili Powder (contains some Cumin and Oregano) Ancho Chile is same without cumin, oregano etc.

1T Granulated Garlic

1T Granulated Onion

1tsp Black Pepper, more if you like

1/2tsp Grnd Allspice

Cayenne or Chipotle Pwd to taste, start with 1/2tsp and go from there.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/122319/jjs-finishing-sauce-awesome


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## manman

I'm a newbie too, but just from my experience so far I would say DEFINITELY plan for at least 2 hrs per lb...  Although I would call my last pork butt smoke pretty successful, I feel like I'm always getting the butts that take on the high side- more than 2 hours per lb and even then when they reach 196 or so in 1 spot, all the other spots I check w/ my thermapen are still in the high 180's, low 190's.

For my last one, I really wanted to wait to pull it off until the temp was around 198-200 average from a few spots, but I had to get to the event on time, and had to pull it at about the same situation described above.  One half of hte butt had almost no resistance to the probe and was registering about 200-204, the other side was high 180's low 190's.  Not sure if this is normal or what.  for a 7lb butt, at about 13-14 hrs my therm was reading about 194.  opened the lid to put on some beans, and put the probe in a different spot, and then it started reading 181.  Checked with the thermapen to verify, and many spots were reading high 170's to mid 180's.  Confused at such a difference, but I kept it on...held at 181 for what seemed like forever, and didn't get back to reading 196 for 3 more hours (and even then, like I said some spots were still registering in the 180's).  That was 17 hours for a 7 lb butt.   I also don't foil though, so I know that makes it take longer, but I love the bark that way.

Really can't complain, that one tasted AMAZING, but..one of these days I'll get one to 195+ throughout!...


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## wjordan52

x2 on the two hours per pound; I have never had one that cooked faster. Here's my latest experience as an example.

Last week I bought two Boston Butts in a twin pack with a total weight of 16#. When I prepared them for the smoker they 'looked' to be the same size and I would guess close to the same weight, but I don't have a scale to confirm that. To prep the meat I trimmed off much of the fat cap and rubbed w/ Zattaran's Cajun seasoning.

They went in the smoker at 8:40 on Friday night. The smoker was not opened at all, and they were unfoiled for the entire smoke time. My smoker is a vertical electric and I'm using a PID to control the temp, which was set at 225*. The temp remained within 2-3 degrees of 225* for the entire smoke.

The result? One reached 204* at 3:05 on Saturday afternoon, for a total of ~18 1/2 hours cook time. The other came off at an IT of 199* at 6:05, for a total cook time of ~21 1/2 hours. I have no idea why they took so long; it could be that having 16# of meat in the smoker made a difference even though it was in two fairly equal pieces, though that's just a guess on my part.

My point? Count on at least 2 hours per pound and leave a large buffer. As Chef Jimmy said earlier, if they finish early they will remain hot for 5-6 hours if you wrap them as described.

Best of luck on your party, and please let us know how it went (with Q-View!).


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## kathrynn

I have a ? along these lines too.  Yesterday I did 15.45 pounds of BB's....and about a 5.5 pound pork loin.  The BB's took right at 10 hours....this go round I didn't have a stall that I noticed at all.  They were bone in.  The past ones I did on Elvira (Electric smoker)....were about the same weight on the Electric took almost 20 hours till time before the cooler nap didn't have bones.  Yesterday things just clicked along like clock work (and Big Poppa is a Camp Chef gas.)  Do the bones make that much of a difference? I know from reading here that every piece of meat is different.....just pondering. Trying to figure out the difference of the huge amount of time.


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## smokefan14

I think I am going to take the safe way around and borrow another smoker. Then I can put 1 picnic in each and go from there. Being they are going to be about   7-8 lbs a piece I figure starting them at 5am and calculating 1-1/2hrs per pound at 225-250 temp. they should be done around 5-6pm then take the cooler nap until around 7pm. Get the chicken on the pit at around 5pm and the steamers in the pot around 6:30pm and there is gonna be some good eatin come 7:00pm complete with corn on the cob, my wifes famous coleslaw, and some potato salad.  YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!


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## frosty

Weocome Smokerfan 14!

Excellent plan!  Sounds phenomenal!

With all that excellent advice you should be in great shape!  Good luck!


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## scarbelly

Good luck with your party and try to relax. You have received some great advice


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## sqwib

Smokefan14 said:


> I think I am going to take the safe way around and borrow another smoker. Then I can put 1 picnic in each and go from there. Being they are going to be about   7-8 lbs a piece I figure starting them at 5am and calculating *1-1/2hrs per pound at 225-250 temp.* they should be done around 5-6pm then take the cooler nap until around 7pm. Get the chicken on the pit at around 5pm and the steamers in the pot around 6:30pm and there is gonna be some good eatin come 7:00pm complete with corn on the cob, my wifes famous coleslaw, and some potato salad.  YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!


Not at those temps.

reread the posts above!

8 x 2=16

5am -6pm, setup not sure of your smoker but some will take up to an hour to be ready.

16 hours for smoke, rest and pull.

You should be ready to eat by 10:00pm

Water smokers take longer in my opinion so if  you have a water smoker and you run at 225° with the bone in and fat intact, it can excede over 2 hours per pound.

If you are set on 90 minutes a pound you can Trim the fat, Remove the Bone, run your smoker at 260° and foil at an internal temp of 150 -155° (just be careful if your rub contains sugar)

On my pit I am averaging 80 minutes a pound at 250° and 60 -70 minutes per pound at 270° foiling at 150°.

There are too many variables to pinpoint a time but most agree two hours fits most folks smokers and smoking style.

My last smoke was a bit weird, here's what I got.

9 hours 19 minutes cook time for the 9.16 pound picnic, That's approximately 1 hour per/lb.
7 hours for the 8.5  Pound Butt 49 minutes per/lb
9 hours 55 minutes for the 6.67 pound picnic. 89 minutes per/lb
Fat was removed, bone in foiled at 150° and ran the pit at 270°.


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## manman

Smokefan14 said:


> I think I am going to take the safe way around and borrow another smoker. Then I can put 1 picnic in each and go from there. Being they are going to be about   7-8 lbs a piece I figure starting them at 5am and calculating 1-1/2hrs per pound at 225-250 temp. they should be done around 5-6pm then take the cooler nap until around 7pm. Get the chicken on the pit at around 5pm and the steamers in the pot around 6:30pm and there is gonna be some good eatin come 7:00pm complete with corn on the cob, my wifes famous coleslaw, and some potato salad.  YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!


Man, I'm telling you, plan for more than 1.5 hrs/lb!  these things will surprise you man, you could be looking at a lot longer smoke than that... and if they do get done on the short side, no harm in letting them rest a little longer.  But I would say, if you are going to plan for 1.5 hrs/lb, definitely foil them during the cook.  I've never done it so I can't remember exactly at what temp people do it (I think I read 160?), someone else can chime in on that.  If you're doing unfoiled I can say that I've never experienced them being done before 2 hrs/lb so far.


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## smokinhusker

You better plan on 2 hrs per pound and your 2 hour resting time, with 8 lb butts, that's 16 hrs cooking + 2 hrs rest...totals 18 hrs and that's if you have a minimal stall. You are really pushing the time constraints and yourself to start at 5 AM and serve at 7 PM.


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## sqwib

SQWIB said:


> Not at those temps.
> 
> reread the posts above!
> 
> 8 x 2=16
> 
> 5am -6pm, setup not sure of your smoker but some will take up to an hour to be ready.
> 
> 16 hours for smoke, rest and pull.
> 
> You should be ready to eat by 10:00pm
> 
> Water smokers take longer in my opinion so if  you have a water smoker and you run at 225° with the bone in and fat intact, it can excede over 2 hours per pound.
> 
> If you are set on 90 minutes a pound you can Trim the fat, Remove the Bone, run your smoker at 260° *and foil at an internal temp of 150 -155°* (just be careful if your rub contains sugar)
> 
> On my pit I am averaging 80 minutes a pound at 250° and 60 -70 minutes per pound at 270° foiling at 150°.
> 
> There are too many variables to pinpoint a time but most agree two hours fits most folks smokers and smoking style.
> 
> My last smoke was a bit weird, here's what I got.
> 
> 9 hours 19 minutes cook time for the 9.16 pound picnic, That's approximately 1 hour per/lb.
> 7 hours for the 8.5  Pound Butt 49 minutes per/lb
> 9 hours 55 minutes for the 6.67 pound picnic. 89 minutes per/lb
> Fat was removed, bone in foiled at 150° and ran the pit at 270°.





manman said:


> Man, I'm telling you, plan for more than 1.5 hrs/lb!  these things will surprise you man, you could be looking at a lot longer smoke than that... and if they do get done on the short side, no harm in letting them rest a little longer.  But I would say, if you are going to plan for 1.5 hrs/lb, definitely foil them during the cook.  I've never done it so I can't remember exactly at what temp people do it (I think I read 160?),* someone else can chime in on that. *  If you're doing unfoiled I can say that I've never experienced them being done before 2 hrs/lb so far.


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## cliffcarter

Smokefan14 said:


> How are you guys doing. I am new here and fairly new to smoking. I am planning a big Labor Day party at my house in a couple of weeks and am planning on doing a bunch of pulled pork in my smoker. One question that I have is that I am planning on two 7-8 lb. pork shoulders but am confused on the smoking time. I know about 1-1/2 hours per pound but being I am doing two roasts would I cook them like one 8 lb roast or cook them at the time for the total weight of the two together?


 I have hesitated to post on this thread until you told us what kind of pit you will be cooking on because that will effect the answer to your question. I agree with Sqwib's assessment of your situation, no matter what you are cooking on I recommend the higher cooking temperature, it will cut down the cooking time considerably.


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## jnorth

I've done 5 pork shoulders now at around 225-245 and it has never been less than 2hrs / lb.  The last 8 lb one I did took just over 20 hrs (bone in, never foiled).  As a side note... while a KitchenAid does a good job pulling pork be sure to keep the speed down to 1 or 2 and only go for 30 sec or so.  Well, back to trying to figure out what to do with 6 lbs of pork dust...


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## manman

JNorth said:


> I've done 5 pork shoulders now at around 225-245 and it has never been less than 2hrs / lb.  The last 8 lb one I did took just over 20 hrs (bone in, never foiled).  As a side note... while a KitchenAid does a good job pulling pork be sure to keep the speed down to 1 or 2 and only go for 30 sec or so.  Well, back to trying to figure out what to do with 6 lbs of pork dust...


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## smokefan14

Hey everyone, I just wanted to send out a big THANK YOU to everyone who gave me tips on making my pulled pork for my Labor Day party. I had about 25 people drooling most of the day over the smell coming from my smokers!! I had two 7.5 lb pork butts, two smokers, and one long day but it was so worth it. I had one butt in each smoker and put them in about 12:00am on Saturday. Smoked them at 225 with heavy Hickory smoke for about the first 5 hours and sprayed them every hour with a bourbon and cider vinigar mix. They hit 200 at about 3:30pm then took a cooler nap until 6:30pm. They were just as hot and juicy as when I put them in there. Pulled them out and they just fell apart. Everyone absolutely loved it. So THANKS again to everyone for helping make my party a success!!! Looking forward to doing this again soon and looking here for some awsome tips on whatever gets smoked next!!!


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## sqwib

15.5 hours, sounds about right for 7.5lb @  225°

Awesome, glad everything worked out.


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