6 Pork Butts

I’ve got six (6) 8-9lbs pork butts on my 22 WSM. They went on at 6:45pm tonight, and the top grill temp is running steady at 260 degrees. I’ve cooked 3 before, but never 6. Does anyone have any suggestions as to: how often I should rotate them between the racks, what temp should I try to maintain, foil or no foil, etc. I need to have them fully cook and ready to serve by 12:00 noon. I appreciate any suggestions – Thanks.

Mike McK said:

I’ve got six (6) 8-9lbs pork butts on my 22 WSM. They went on at 6:45pm tonight, and the top grill temp is running steady at 260 degrees. I’ve cooked 3 before, but never 6. Does anyone have any suggestions as to: how often I should rotate them between the racks, what temp should I try to maintain, foil or no foil, etc. I need to have them fully cook and ready to serve by 12:00 noon. I appreciate any suggestions – Thanks.

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Hello Mike,

I'm not sure if you got any timely responses. I hope this helps you in the future. I usually cook 4 butts (~28-30 lbs), all on my top rack every 3-4 months. Last week, I smoked 6 butts (42 lbs) for my first ever charity event. My advice is K.I.S.S. Backward plan when you need to have the meat served; this includes a min of 2 hours of rest (panned/wrapped) in a towel lined cooler.

For my charity event using my 22.5", I smoked for 9 hours (220-275F lid temp), I panned and foiled 2 unpulled butts (160-175F int temps) in a deep half sheet pans (3 total) then placed in a 300F oven for 2-3 hours (probe tender or 205F int temp). I transferred to new sheet pans to drain the cooked juices, separated the grease then set aside. I rested the meat for 4 hours before serving then pulled the meat before it went it into the serving chafing dish.

The resting in a towel lined cooler is important. The meat continues to cook (buttah tender) and it stays above the min 140F serving temp. The meat was very moist and tasty.

Avoid the temptation to remove the lid and I don't worry about rotating butts. Good luck.