Bone in Butts


 
Jeff Bittel

Jeff Bittel

TVWBB Fan
I normally use boneless butts, but my neighbor asked me to cook a couple of butts for a party of his. He brought home cryovac packages of bone in shoulder butts. I don't think this will be an issue but I wanted to check and see if I needed to be careful about anything in particular. I trimmed them up last night and they are sitting in the fridge getting happy. Tonight they go on at about the midnight time frame for a 6:00 PM dinner the following day.

I have two basic questions:

1. Will they cook about the same time?

2. Each package had a small butt and a large butt. How should I arange them in the WSM? Small + Large on each rack? Two smalls and two large on each rack?

Thanks in advance for the answers.
 
The simplest is to place the smaller ones on the bottom, and assume for most of the cook that the upper rack will be warmer, and the larger butts will cook faster there (or the smaller ones slower, depending on how you look at it), giving you a higher chance that all will reach the desired final temp at more nearly the same time. Not to worry if not, however, as you have doubtless read how forgiving pork butt is, and how easy to hold a couple hours before serving if necessary. Bone-in might be a good thing in this case, as an easily-removed bone is a great indicator of doneness, regardless of an exact final temp.
 
Thanks for the quick answer. I'm looking forward to this burn. I can't wait to taste the meat and see if there is a difference with that bone.

+ my dog is going to be real happy!
 
I don't like to take food off the bottom grate before the food on the top is done. I try to set mine up so any tending can be done in a few seconds, then get the lid back on. Personally, I would put the smaller ones on top for this reason, then maybe add something that cooks quickly when the top butts are finished if the bottom still has a ways to go.
 
Valid point, and I would agree if we were talking about cooking combos with different levels of attention required, like ribs and butts. Butts need so little attention. I always take the top rack out and sit it on a side table for things like foiling ribs, replacing the lid while doing so.
 
Bone-in is preferred because they come with their own pop-out timer.

I've also noticed that bonesless butts often have a funky odor that I assume is minor contamination from handling.
 
Howdy Jeff, I've always used bone-in butts. Always thought the bone added to the flavor. I go with small on bottom, large on top and have always had good results. Good luck.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">2. Each package had a small butt and a large butt. How should I arange them in the WSM? Small + Large on each rack? Two smalls and two large on each rack? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
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I guess I missed the 2 cryovacs part.
 
All four of them are in WSM getting happy. Small on bottom, big on top. Temp at the grill is 250. Lid is 240. I shut down all the vents to about 1/4 open. I'll stay up another 20-30 minutes to see where the temp stabalizes at and make any adjustments. Then I'm off to bed.

Thanks for all the help.
 
All four of them hit 190 degrees at the same time at 15 1/2 hours. They pulled great and my neighbor was thrilled. They were the hit of the party.

Thanks for all the good suggestions.
 
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