# How long does it take to smoke two 4-pound butts



## paulh

I am new to smoking meat, in fact i just got my new smoker yesterday. I plan on making pulled pork for a contest i am in tomorrow. Originally i was planning on cooking an 8 pound pork butt for about 12 hours at 215 degrees. As it turns out the grocery store could only sale me two 4 pound butts. but now i am not sure how long it will take so i can time the cooking to the actual event. i assumed it would take less time, but some people seem to think it willl take long.....anybody have any ideas??


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## lookwow

You really cant go by time when you are smoking. If you want to pull it go to 200-205 internal temp. If you are just looking for a guide if you want to be safe go 2hrs per pound that way you will have time to facter in the stall and resting for an hour or two.

Also with butts there is really no reason not to smoke it closer to 230. It will just help it move along a little bit and it shouldnt effect the meat at all. I would also think about foiling it at 165 or so or you could end up with 3-4 hour stall.


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## rbranstner

The issue you have here is there are so many variables that are involved that you can't really accurately predict the end time of your meat. Its done when the internal temp says it's done. Every piece of meat cooks different. If you cook to exact size pieces of meat it's not uncommon for them to be done a totally different times. Some of the variables are meat thickness, over all size of the meat, fat content, temps you are smoking at, just to name a few. If you have to have your meat done at a certain time for supper or in this case a competition you want to give yourself lots of extra time and prepare for the meat to be done early and then you can rest it in a cooler wrapped in double foil then wrapped in towels and it will stay warm for hours and hours and will also help it come out more tender and juicy. I always let meat sit in the cooler. If you need a general idea 1.5 hours per lb is a rough estimate but if you are doing a competition or need it done at a certain time I usually go 2 hours per lb to give yourself plenty of time and you know the meat will be done when you need it.


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## rbranstner

I also agree that you can bump the temps up to around 250 and have no issues. When I am doing butts if I am in the 225-275 range I am not worried I just go with it. What are your plans for rubbing, injecting, foiling?????


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## arnie

There are many threads in the forum to check out on pork putts.

Most give a rule of thumb of 1.5 to 2 hours per pound, but don't be surprised if it goes longer.

Here's a link to my first pork butt

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/103581/first-pork-butt-qview#post_595883

Good smoken to ya


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## smokin relaxin steve

Agreed with the above... if you dont already go grab yourself a meat Thermometer... you cant rely on time in case of a stall... Better safe than sorry... like RBRANSTNER said you can do it early and keep it wrapped in foil & a towel in a cooler for a few hours...


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## paulh

thanks for all the help. looking forward to my first smoke.

I will put both butts in at 3AM. The competition isnt till 5PM.  

I was afraid that if it finished too early, the meat might dry out.

if it is finished early, i will take your advice and wrap it and put it in a cooler.

when i get home from work, i am going to put it in a brine for about 4 hours. (1 gallon water, .1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar)

then i will inject and marinade the pork which i am getting off the website. (apple juice, worcestershire, tobasco, and a store bought marinade)

let it sit int the marinade for a few more hours

not sure on the rub yet, but i think i will go for the one on saw on this web site

the sauce, i believe i will shoot for a memphis style even though i am originally from NC. Now i live in CT and i need something that will please everybody.

FYI, we do some kind of cooking contest every month. i took 2nd in the chili contest and 1st in the bufalo wing contest. i hope to bring home the trophy for pulled pork

wish me luck

next month......New England Clam chowder....any suggestions...


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## alblancher

First bit of advice is to go easy on the rub.  I tend to over do it and then I have to try and scrape it off.  Lightly dust the butt and after pulling it you can sprinkle in a bit more to get where you want to go with it.

I normally don't brine butts, the fat in them keeps them pretty moist.   I am sure someone else will tell me how I'm missing the boat not brining my butts.

That reminds me I got go flip a couple of butts over,  they are going in the smoke tomorrow for a Saturday birthday party

Smoked Clams?  Never had em but they sure sound good in a chowda.

Welcome to the forum, you'll like it here.  Don't forget to go by the new member section and introduce yourself. 

Al


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## SmokinAl

Welcome to SMF. You have already gotten plenty of good advise, so I don't have much to add other than what Al said. Would you please go over to the roll call section and introduce yourself so we can all give you a proper welcome. 

Al


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## triplebq

A SIMPLE RUB FOR PORK BUTT ~

Turbindao sugar 

Smoked Paparika

Minced garlic

chili powder

Black pepper

cayene papper

touch of cummin powder

sea salt add lightly

Mix it up in a bowl .. start with the sugar 1st and add everything else to tatse in a bowl .... This makes a great rub at home . very simple BUT very good on Pork Butt


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## deannc

First congrats on the new smoker and good luck with the comp tomorrow!

As the others have already given great advice, I'll just add a little. You didn't mention your method, however, I'd recommend minimum of 225* chamber temp, double foil at an internal meat temp of 165* and pull from the smoker at 195* to 205* IT. Gotta remember if you then towel and put in a dry cooler filled with blankets etc, it's going to continue to rise in temp at least 5*. 

You can keep it in the cooler for probably 4 to 6 hours, just leave your probe in the (assuming you are using  a digital probe) meat so you can monitor them temp. You don't want it cooling below 140* IT before serving. I've held one as long as 4 1/2 hours and was still in the low 150*. 

Having said all that, with a chamber temp of 225* to say 250* and foiling at 165* IT, I'm gonna venture to say 6 hours or less for a 4 lb butt.  

Again, good luck and don't forget the Qview!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

EDIT - Just wanted to add that I normally wouldn't guessamate a time, but because you mentioned starting at 3 a.m. I was just concerned because if does only take 6 hours, you're looking at 8 hours in the cooler and that'd be pushing it.


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## oldschoolbbq

Paul, as the rest have said, go to temp. , a probe thermometer would be great here. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






However,as a rule of thumb, those Butts should be done in around 6hrs.(that is 1.5 hrs. / [email protected] 225*F) that's inside the cooker at the level of your grill.

That should get you all mixed up now;LOL .  Your choice of Butt was a good one as you can not go wrong with them.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Try to keep the temp. low and when you can press on it, and it falls apart,it's done.Add a finishing sauce and TA-DA
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I don't even wrap it in foil,it comes out great
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Hope we have helped you and practice,practice,practice...have fun and remember to


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## paulh

Pulled pork contest went well.....I took 2nd place, although i really didnt care much for the 1st place winners pork. it had a very peppery hot taste. one of the judges likes hot food. i had a lot of people tell me mine was the best.....honestly, i agree.   

i started out the pork at 3am in the low 200's hoping they would be done by noon. using a digital meat thermometer was a definite necessity. i did the whole bit, brine, marinade, rub and a finishing sauce.

it was taking a long time to finish, so i had to bump it up to 240 during the last few hours. finally the pork was ready to pull at 4;20. just made it time for the 5 oclock competition.

i used a memphis style bbq....it was delicious. By the way, i had to take out one of the butts out of the smoker because i was worried about time. so i put one of the butts in the oven at 230. when they were both done,  the butt that spent the full time in the smoker was by far juicer and tender.  LIVE AND LEARN!

thanks to everybodys help.  this forum is a great place to learn...   i love smokin. its a lot of fun.

i think i will tackle a couple racks of ribs next time


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## aaron ziem

Need some feedback...I'm going to smoke 4 pork shoulder bone in, about 6-8 lbs each.  I know internal temp is most important, but just for a rough guideline, how long should i expect this to take? I plan on wrapping in foil around 165. And maintain a temp of about 240.  Any feedback is much appreciated


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## brooksy

Aaron Ziem said:


> Need some feedback...I'm going to smoke 4 pork shoulder bone in, about 6-8 lbs each.  I know internal temp is most important, but just for a rough guideline, how long should i expect this to take? I plan on wrapping in foil around 165. And maintain a temp of about 240.  Any feedback is much appreciated


 I would always figure between 10/14 hours for butts. They all cook different. That's at the 225/250 temp zone.


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## dougmays

Ditto what Brooksy said. Every piece of meat cooks different, some cook fast some cook slowwwww. I usually error on the side of caution and account for atleast a hour or 2 of resting time so i use the 2 hour per pound rule as a rough estimate. So if you go buy that you looking at around 12-16 hours....but use a thermometer and monitor it.

If your wrapping this usually cuts down on cook time as well so if you want you can calculate based on 1.5 hours per pound.

Good luck!


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## aaron ziem

I smoking today, noticing that the chamber is struggling to get up to 225.  Again, I have 3 8lb butts in there....it's been 3 hrs and chamber temp is at about 200.  I have a digital thermometer and the meat is at 145.  Seems to be going good, but should I be worried about the temp? Will it come up still as the meat cooks?


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## dougmays

If your already at 145 you dont have a problem because you are out of the danger zone. but be prepared for a much longer smoke. are you sure your chamber thermo is reading correctly? Seems odd that it will only get to 200. I would check with another if you have it.


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## aaron ziem

I'm now getting up in the 220 230 range....side I had to start smoking at 4am I didn't quite let the meat get to room temp...I'm wondering if it hat  contributed to taking so long to get the temp up.  Thanks for the feedback!


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## dougmays

yea those are big butts so they had alot of cold in them...i had a similar issue the other weekend when i smoked 9 butts in my WSM...took me a good while to get above 225. that was your issue but good thing you got them to 145+


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## aaron ziem

I was readiing when to add more chips and water/apple cider....some say your water takes away some heat? Do I want to run just a little bit?  Also planning to wrap in foil at 165 and take it to about 185 to prepare to pull... Thoughts?


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## gary s

Also make sure your temp gauge stem is not touching the meat 

Gary S


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## dougmays

Aaron Ziem said:


> I was readiing when to add more chips and water/apple cider....some say your water takes away some heat? Do I want to run just a little bit? Also planning to wrap in foil at 165 and take it to about 185 to prepare to pull... Thoughts?


water can help maintain temperature but as a part of that it will cool down the chamber because it uses some of that heat to boil/steam the water...so yes you can run little to no water to get a higher temp. I sometimes dont put water in mine. If your running to hot definitly put water in the pan.

smoke stop penetrating the meat around 5-6 hours so after that time you can wrap and decrease cook time. If you want a firmer bark you migth want to unwrap around the last hour


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## aaron ziem

Question... Once I'm at about 180, I'm taking the pork out of the smoker.  I am going to pull and it will be served tomorrow.  How long should I wait to start pulling?


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## brooksy

You aren't at the right temp for pulling at 180. You need to take that to at least 200 to be able to pull your pork.


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## gary s

Even 205º you want that bone to slide right out

Gary S


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## brooksy

gary s said:


> Even 205º you want that bone to slide right out
> 
> Gary S


 Ditto about the bone sliding out easily


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## aaron ziem

Oh wow. Ok, so i should be able to just grab the bone and pull it out easy?  I won't over cook?


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## whatamess

Brooksy said:


> Ditto about the bone sliding out easily


200* - 205* and give it a nice long rest in a cooler if you can, 2 hours is great, I was done early so I rested an 8 pounder last week for 4 hours and it nearly pulled itself.


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## brooksy

Aaron Ziem said:


> Oh wow. Ok, so i should be able to just grab the bone and pull it out easy?  I won't over cook?


yes pretty much that's the case. When you do tug on the bone you'll be able to tell that it's loose and with a good tug it could come out. When you get to the 190/195 stage start continuous monitoring of the meat when you tug that bone Andes it seems right. Pull from smoker wrap in foil and place in any cooler to rest for about an hour then shred that baby up


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## aaron ziem

Gary did you mean make sure the temp probe isn't touching the bone?  So take off about 200 degrees and put in an empty cooler?  Dumb question...not with ice right? And is there a temp to start pulling at?


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## dougmays

when your butt gets to 195+ wrap it in alum foil and then towels (old ones you dont care about) and put in a cooler to rest. The temperature will rise about 5 more degrees while it rests. After an hour you can pull it out and pull. But at 180 it wont be tender enough to pull. 

no ice in the cooler LOL :)


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## aaron ziem

Hopefully one more question.... Do I remove the bone right away or is it left in for cooler stage?


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## whatamess

Aaron Ziem said:


> Hopefully one more question.... Do I remove the bone right away or is it left in for cooler stage?



I take it out when I pull the pork.  Maybe there is a scientific reason to leave it in like it acts as a heat sink but my pork is usually wrapped in foil by the time it's cooler time so I can't get to it anyways.


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## dougmays

leave the whole thing intact until you pull it apart. you can jiggle the bone to see if its tender enough to come out


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## aaron ziem

Thanks for all the help guys! You rock.  Pork came out perfect!:sausage::grilling_smilie::yahoo:


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## brooksy

Let's see some qview!!  No pics never happened!! ;-)


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## aaron ziem

Here it is!   Btw, any recommendations on cleaning an electric smoker?[ATTACHMENT=1464]image.jpg (2,727k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT][ATTACHMENT=1465]image.jpg (2,441k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT][ATTACHMENT=1466]image.jpg (2,176k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT][ATTACHMENT=1467]image.jpg (1,737k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT]


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## gary s

Good job Aaron, looks mighty tasty to me.

Gary S


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## brooksy

Looks awesome!!  Glad it turned out so well!!


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## whatamess

Aaron Ziem said:


> Here it is!   Btw, any recommendations on cleaning an electric smoker?[ATTACHMENT=1464]image.jpg (2,727k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT][ATTACHMENT=1465]image.jpg (2,441k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT][ATTACHMENT=1466]image.jpg (2,176k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT][ATTACHMENT=1467]image.jpg (1,737k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT]



Looks great. I like to keep that "smoked in" look, I don't clean my smoker. Grates yes I wash the big chunks off in the sink after don't the smoke. I leave the walls nice and seasoned. If you get a big puddle of grease in the bottom or something yes clean that up.


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## aaron ziem

So next smoke I think will be smoked salmon....anyone have some guidance for me?


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## brooksy

Aaron Ziem said:


> So next smoke I think will be smoked salmon....anyone have some guidance for me?


  Search the forums for smoked salmon and you'll get a lot of ideas then when your ready to do it past and the experts will be along to help in no time


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## dougmays

Aaron Ziem said:


> Here it is! Btw, any recommendations on cleaning an electric smoker?


will the grates fit in your dishwasher? if not  you can fill a pan or 2 of water and maybe some citrus and crank the temp up to steam the inside of the smoker then take the grates out and scrub them. 

you dont necessarily want to clean the inner walls as thats "seasoning"...and help flavor meats in future smokes


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## beebster

Need some help. I cooked 3 butts this weekend on a electric smoker  and 2 of the 3 took 17hrs. 1 was 7 lbs and the other 2 were 4.5 lbs. I started off cooking them at 225 fir the first 12hrs. One 4.5 lb finished but the other 2 hung up at 160°  so I had to bump the temp up and after 2 more hrs they were stuck at 170°.  So I ended up taking one out and putting n another smoker. After dome time at 260• they finally finished. Can somebody tell me why they too do darn long. I put in to cooking for 1.5 hrs per pound. 
Thx


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## dougmays

Are you sure your thermometers are reading correctly? Sounds like your smoker wasn't at the temperature you thought it was.

If thats not the case, not all meats cook the same. Some hAve longer stalls and some have shorter. I usually estimate 2 hours per pound to account for this and resting time. So with that in mind your 7 lb butt would have taken 14 hours


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## cliffcarter

They took so darn long because you cooked at 225°, next time turn up the heat. There is no advantage to cooking butts at that temp IMHO.


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## beebster

So I should cook them about 2hrs per lb at about 240?


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## dougmays

Beebster said:


> So I should cook them about 2hrs per lb at about 240?


There is never an exact method but i always error on the side of caution by going 2 hour per pound because i also like to let it rest for atleast 2 hours. I've smoked from 225-300 and have had great results. But going a little hotter will most of the time get you over the stall quicker.


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## aceoky




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## beebster

Sounds good and thanks for the help on this. It was a frustrating weekend for sure!!


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## smokin-q

Always start early, you can put the finished butts in a cooler to hold if they are finished early. I just smoked a 7.5# butt at 225*, it took 22 hours to get to 203*. Sure was good!


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## cliffcarter

Beebster said:


> So I should cook them about 2hrs per lb at about 240?


I cook mine at 300°-325°, the one I did Sunday was a couple of ounces under 7 pounds and was done in 5 hours. About 43 minutes per pound, YMMV.


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## timberjet

I love it when a good thread just won't die. You guys did notice this thread was 3 years old right? Hahahahaha.......


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## cliffcarter

timberjet said:


> I love it when a good thread just won't die. You guys did notice this thread was 3 years old right? Hahahahaha.......


Just a young pup....


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## dougmays

timberjet said:


> I love it when a good thread just won't die. You guys did notice this thread was 3 years old right? Hahahahaha.......


Old Thread, New Question :)


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