Has anyone successfully smoked three or more pork butts on a WSM 18.5 at one time? I've never done more than one, and have recently been told I have to do three for an event at school. I'm a little worried about controlling the temp and getting them to fit. When I smoke one, I don't have to reload with wood or charcoal and I'm good at 250 for about 14 hours. Any advice is appreciated on how to handle this.
Need advice on cook in WSM
- Thread starter AaronK
- Start date
Don Reed
TVWBB Pro
I don't have the 18 but have read that 3 can fit but you may have to set them on end and use skewers to connect them to keep them from falling over the timing shouldn't be that much different providing they're all about the same size oh and by the way the butts were 8 lbs. apiece.
timothy
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I've done six ( three per rack ) and like Don said you might have to set them on edge like a teepee. The amount of cold meat will act as a heat sink at the beginning, so coming up to your temp might be slower, but after that cook times are the same with one, two or more butts.
HTH and good luck!
Tim
HTH and good luck!
Tim
ChadVKealey
TVWBB Pro
I've done up to 4, standing them on edge and using bamboo skewers to keep them separated. As others have mentioned, adding that much cold mass to the cooker will mean a longer rebound time. I usually let it get up to about 275-300 before adding the butts; it'll come back up a little faster, just be ready to dial back the intake vents.
Justin Hancock
TVWBB Member
Load the charcoal ring to the brim (assuming you're using the minion method), shake it to pack them down and put more in the ring. This should give you a very long burn time. You could also shorten the cook time with wrapping the butts in foil after a few hours in the smoke. This is all personal preference though.
3 should be no problem. I do 2 on a single rack all the time. Just load 2 on the top rack and one on the bottom.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
3 should be no problem. I do 2 on a single rack all the time. Just load 2 on the top rack and one on the bottom.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
Bruce Bissonnette
TVWBB Guru
I've done 3 & 3, keep in mind if you put them on cold your temp is going to drop in the cooker. It will take a little while to get it back up to temp.