40 pounds of shoulder


 
B

BillElverman

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Longtime lurker, first time poster!

Doing my first quadruple shoulder smoke on my WSM.

Each shoulder weighs 9-10.

Dinner at 6 PM tomorrow.

Pretty decent at this by now, but unsure of how that much mass will affect smoke.

What time would you start smoking?
 
Ideally 3am. But I'd start them around midnight, then hold them whole until ready to pull tomorrow afternoon.
 
Hi Bill. Welcome aboard. I recommend checking out the Virtual Weber Bullet: How Does Amount of Meat Affect Cooking Time? where it says:

"Theoretically, it doesn't matter how many chickens or pork butts you're cooking. If you have a cooker big enough to hold 100 4-pound chickens with adequate air flow around each bird and can maintain a steady 225-250°F operating temperature, all 100 chickens will cook in 4 hours. Of course, it's going to take a lot more charcoal to cook 100 chickens than just one or two!

So increasing the amount of meat cooked is not about increasing cooking time—it's about starting with more hot charcoal so the cooker gets up to 225-250°F as quickly as possible after the meat is added, and it's about starting with more unlit charcoal so your cooker has enough fuel to operate at 225-250°F for the estimated cooking time."
 
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Hi Bill, good luck on your smoke. I'm doing the same cook as you (40 lbs., sending it with my son back to college for his fraternity brothers).
I'll be starting mine tonight around midnight and will be thinking of you.

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Around my place, 2AM is the regular start time for pig butts. It's going to take a minimum of 12 hours, but prolly longer! Enjoy! We need pictures! :)
 
If you don't want to do an overnighter start at 5 am and cook at 275. You'll be done mid afternoon (8 hours for 10 lb'ers is my average) and they can rest foiled wrapped in a dry towel and placed in a cooler. Gives you some wiggle room on time so if cooks slower due to mass and takes an extra 60-90 minutes your still not rushed. I agree with prior poster. More lit charcoal to handle the increased thermal mass.
 
We're all loaded up and smoking... but I don't have as much real estate as I thought... I've got the shoulders sitting on their side, fat facing out. Still have space between each shoulder.

Hesitant to lift the hood up, but I've still got enough margin of error where I could lift it one more time and re-configure. Any sure-fire tips for stabilizing pork shoulders that are stood up on their side?
 
BillElverman said:
We're all loaded up and smoking... but I don't have as much real estate as I thought... I've got the shoulders sitting on their side, fat facing out. Still have space between each shoulder.

Hesitant to lift the hood up, but I've still got enough margin of error where I could lift it one more time and re-configure. Any sure-fire tips for stabilizing pork shoulders that are stood up on their side?
Click to expand...


The whole "looking your aren't cooking" thing is largely a myth. WSM's have a pretty quick recovery time overall. more of a concern would be runaway temps due to more airflow.
 
BillElverman said:
We're all loaded up and smoking... but I don't have as much real estate as I thought... I've got the shoulders sitting on their side, fat facing out. Still have space between each shoulder.

Hesitant to lift the hood up, but I've still got enough margin of error where I could lift it one more time and re-configure. Any sure-fire tips for stabilizing pork shoulders that are stood up on their side?
Click to expand...

They'll shrink. I wouldn't worry about it.
 
That's exactly what happened... so far, so good... happy with how temps are progressing. As mentioned, burning through a lot of fuel... but all good.
 
They were... Here's the final rundown:

Lit the first chimney at 12:30 AM.

Had all 4 shoulders in the WSM at about 1:15 AM.

As you can see at about 2;00 am, had some doubts about how shoulders were configured... Reconfigured as I didn't want one tipping over and touching side of smoker....

Monitored periodically... Through 5:30.

Heat was struggling at that time, even wide open... Dipped down to 190. Lit another chimney at 5:45.

6:00 added chimney (should have added more coals as well). Took this opportunity to deconstruct and rotate shoulders...

6:00 - 9:15... Pretty constant 225-240

9:15... Noticing dips again, even wide open... Lit another chimney, but also added more unlit coals this time...

9:15- noon, all goof 225-240

Noon: rotate shoulders, fire going strong. Nearing end of stall.

2:30 - things going well.... Meat temps ranging from 175-183, but temps dropping again. Didn't want to crutch them, but didn't want to risk anything (as I had to pack and drive them to the neighboring town as well). So:

2:45: lit one last chimney. Crutched each shoulder, reassembled WSM. Stole fat chunk from one shoulder to render down into homemade bbq sauce.

3:00 homemade bbq sauce made.

3:45: first shoulder hits 201.

4:00 all shoulders hit temps and are packed into cooler.

5:20 start ripping them apart. Best pull I've had yet.

5:30: first serving dish goes out...

Final dinner tally was 70 or so.... Lots of older folks, so normal portion rates didn't equate.

3 of 4 shoulders consumed completely.

1 shoulder divided up amongst those who profusely loved the pork.... And I kept about a 3rd of it myself for leftovers myself.

All together. A success. But man, some of you who've done 6 at a time, I'd love to see how you stack 'em, because I wasn't comfortable with my initial setup of 4.

So thanks all for your input on timing. Worked perfectly.
 
Yes, Congratulations Bill! and Welcome to our obsession!

for your next fete, try using the Minion Method of coal...
fill your chamber with until charcoal and place about 10 lit coals atop them with your favourite wood for smoke.

"The unlit fuel catches fire gradually throughout the cooking session, resulting in long burn times of up to 18 hours, depending on weather conditions."
 
Congratulations on a successful yet stressful cook! I do four butts a lot, and 6 occasionally, and I guess I just don't get too wound up about positioning. I'll stand them on their sides, with the prevailing "lean" to the inside so that if they do tip, they'll just fall in to each other and not against the side. On cooks with 6 butts (18.5" WSM) I will pin them together with a toothpick just so that they are all cozy and not too close together. With so much shrinking, they always settle in to their space eventually.

Coal-wise, Mr. Lampe is correct, Minion method will have you lighting one time and never looking again. I pack the ring full, set my wood on top, then place 10-12 fully lit coals in the center. Assemble the cooker, thermometer in the lid vent, and it's off to the races.
 
Dwain Pannell said:
Hi Bill. Welcome aboard. I recommend checking out the Virtual Weber Bullet: How Does Amount of Meat Affect Cooking Time? where it says:

"Theoretically, it doesn't matter how many chickens or pork butts you're cooking. If you have a cooker big enough to hold 100 4-pound chickens with adequate air flow around each bird and can maintain a steady 225-250°F operating temperature, all 100 chickens will cook in 4 hours. Of course, it's going to take a lot more charcoal to cook 100 chickens than just one or two!

So increasing the amount of meat cooked is not about increasing cooking time—it's about starting with more hot charcoal so the cooker gets up to 225-250°F as quickly as possible after the meat is added, and it's about starting with more unlit charcoal so your cooker has enough fuel to operate at 225-250°F for the estimated cooking time."
Click to expand...


I agree with this.
 
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