Estimated cooking times


 
B

Bill Hoppy

New member
I just got my 18.5 WSM and have a question. After seasoning and testing my skills with temp. control I would like to cook two 6 lb. pork butts for a party. I would like to know if I use one butt on each rack would there be a difference in the cooking time vs. cooking them on the same rack?
Thanks: Bill
 
Nope. Hard to give you an exact time for the cook because each butt and cook is different. I have had 8 pounders take as few as 8 hours and had one that took almost 14 using the same temps. Someone on here once told me "barbecue is done when its done". But saying this I would give it at least 10 and if its done earlier so be it. Good luck and jump right in.
 
If it does get done early I just keep it nice and foiled and then put it in an ice chest (with no ice of course) it will keep it nice and warm for a few hours.
 
It won't make much of a difference.

Put both on top rack and you will be fine. Probably will take about 8-10 hours or so at 225-250
 
Hi Bill and welcome!
Just curious why you would want to use both racks when two 6# will fit on the top rack with no problems?
IMO you get better color on the top rack, which looks for a better cook and you don't have to deal with the mess of cleaning an extra grate.

Tim
 
Those are on the small side for butts but even if they were larger, I would put them on the top rack just for ease of cooking. If they are large, I flip them mid cook so there is not one side that is nearer the heat that is on the outside edge of the cooker. With them on one rack (the top), if they are different sizes or one just finishes sooner that the other, it's easier to just take that one off and leave the other one alone. It's obviously easier to check on both of them if you don't have to remove the top grate to get to the bottom one.

For planning purposes, I give my self about 2 hours per pound (usually doesn't take that long) and then put them in a cooler to rest as was mentioned. Not only do I foil them before putting them in the cooler, I wrap them in towels. They stay warm a long time that way (like a few hours easily).
 
Jerry N. said:
Those are on the small side for butts but even if they were larger, I would put them on the top rack just for ease of cooking. If they are large, I flip them mid cook so there is not one side that is nearer the heat that is on the outside edge of the cooker. With them on one rack (the top), if they are different sizes or one just finishes sooner that the other, it's easier to just take that one off and leave the other one alone. It's obviously easier to check on both of them if you don't have to remove the top grate to get to the bottom one.

For planning purposes, I give my self about 2 hours per pound (usually doesn't take that long) and then put them in a cooler to rest as was mentioned. Not only do I foil them before putting them in the cooler, I wrap them in towels. They stay warm a long time that way (like a few hours easily).
Click to expand...

man theres just a wealth of information here,i love it
 
Yes. Two 6 pound butts will cook in about half the time of a 12 pounder. Not exactly half the time and there are a lot of variables, but much faster.
 
Yep, you go by individual (6#) not total weight (12#) You don't double, triple or quadruple the cook times based on the amount of butts you add. It just takes a little longer to come up to temps, cause the amount of cold meat does act as a natural heat sink.

Tim
 
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That makes sense to me. Thanks to you folks on the forum I hope to get off to a great start smoking. This is really a great resource.
Bill
 
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