cook time for 6 butts

I'm doing 6 butts on my 18" today and was curious if the cook time is going to be significantly longer or if once I get the temp set it should be pretty close to the same. I'd say overall its close to 55 lbs of pork and I've only done 2 butts previous to this which I've got dialed in at right about 17 hours at 225.

Also should I have my temp a little higher when I go to put them on?

Thanks!!

Lexx,

I have done six a few times. The biggest difference is getting up to temp with all that meat. Assuming the minion method, you should start with more charcoal and let the cooker get up a little higher than you normally would before putting on the meat. Cook time for me is usually around 16 hours at an average of 250 deg. which is about normal for me whether doing 2, 4, or 6.

BTW, a good trick when doing six is to take the 3 smallest ones and stand them on end against each other like a teepee on the bottom rack and use bambo skewers to create some space between them. You dont have to create a lot of space as they will separate more as they cook down. Do the same thing with the 3 biggest on the top rack. First thing in the morning (assuming you overnight) I will turn each end for end so the bottom is on top and the side that was toward the middle is now facing the wall of the cooker. I don't swap bottom to top rack. I hope this helps.

Scott

Lexx,
I'd agree with Scott. Three on each rack will cut down your flow of heat in between and around the meat. I've never propped my butts like Scott describes, so I've always figured for an extra 3 to 4 hours. However, I'll also foil and rest in a cooler for a couple of hours to have a little "leeway" on my time estimates between finish time and chow time.
Donny

well I took a serious look at the situation and the butts I got are HUGE so I've decided to take two to a friend with a smoker and let him do two of them. I'd rather play it safe since the entire party is relying on me showing up with food.

Donny I always foil them in a cooler for a couple hours prior to eating them. I'd definitely screw it up if I tried to have them done at an exact time.

Thanks for all the advice!!