first overnight - saturday night


 
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Benji Whitehead

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i'm planning on doing pork butts for Sunday dinner. We'll probably have 8 people planning on eating at 1:00 on Sunday afternoon. i'll need to have the meat in a cooler by 10:00 so i can go to church. does that sound doable? how big of a butt (or butts) should i get, and how long should i plan on cooking? my first cook was great, i don't want this one to be a disaster.
 
Cook time depends on temp. you are cooking at. 7-8 lbs butts, 200* to 250*, plan on 14 to 18 hours. Remember you can hold them in a heated cooler for four to five hrs.

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It's doable, but it is hard to predict a butt, or any bbq for that matter. I give myself 2 hours per pound and I run at about 250º. So if you want to pull them off the wsm at 9:30am and you buy two 7 pounders, you'll need to have them on the smoker at 7:30pm the night before.

At lot of us here buy the two to a pack bone in butts from Sam's or similar place. Those usually run about 7 pounds each - give or take. That has always worked well for me. Trust me, if you haven't seen a big hunk of meat, which these are, you'll be thinking "this is too much meat", but pork butt reheats well and freezes well and makes good take home gifts for your guests.

If you don't already have one, you might want to look into getting a Foodsaver (vacuum packager). They are very good to have when you have a lot of meat.
 
Good info. there Jerry! But as I have done before, not starting them early enough, and know I WILL cooler them! And it is great to reheat with some apple juice in the oven. Let us know how it comes out!

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I did two 8lb butts a couple of days ago. Target temp at the top vent was 250, with a full water pan. The cook time to 192F was 17 hours.
 
I have always cooked butts or shoulders with a target temp at the lid not to exceed 250. Last weekend I went for 275-300 at the lid and it worked out fine. 13 hours and the 2-10 lb shoulders were done instead of the usual 18-20 hours it has always taken. The bullet held close to 300 at the lid the entire cook and the meat did indeed render the fat just fine.

One thing I do now is leave the rind on or fat cap and cook that part down for protection from the heat. I used to cut all of the fat off but just dont see much use in doing that. There are more ways of cooking you just need to find what suits you.
 
Dale,
When you cook hot and leave the fat cap on, how much is left and how does it affect pulling? Do you have a small mess to deal with or what???
 
I've been doing butts at ~300 lid for some time. I can't remember the last time I trimmed a butt. Can't speak for Dale but what I do is separate the muscles, trim off some bark here and there, and chop it. The meat I chop and shred with a knife. I like a mix of nuggets of meat and short shreds. I toss the meat together with any bark I've chopped. I don't find leaving the false cap or any exterior fat on a problem.
 
i got two ~8 pound butts, the charcoal is lighting as we speak. i hope to get everything going and get the meat in at 6. i'm going to watch it periodically through the night and see what happens. we have hamburgers and hot dogs as a backup plan. i'll keep you guys posted.
 
i'm 45 minutes in and the temp at the lid is about 225. i closed the vents to 25% at 5 minutes in cause the temp was 200, and have gradually opened them all back to 100 open since then. hopefully this will all work out.
 
You're doing ok, benji. Be careful not to chase the temps back and forth though.. It takes sometimes 20 to 30 minutes to fully realize your last change.
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I never trim a butt. If you want to have the best part of the butt then don't trim. When you look at the butt you'll see a fat cap on the one side. Ok now the fat that's ontop is really a false cap which many of you know, but for those who don't i'll try and splain it. Under the top cap is a really thin band of pork then the true fat cap is under that. I never share that thin band of meat, it's the cooks reward. Now you'll need to be really careful when pulling off the false cap because that meat can get lost in there. But i'm telling you it's the best part of the butt if you can find it.
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thanks, bill. i'm trying not to do that. it's hard not to fiddle with things a lot.

bryan, i'll remember that next time, and i'll keep it for me.
 
Kevin indeed answered the question asked to me just like I would have. When I pull the meat I like to leave some good size chunks just because I still have good teeth that love to chew. There isnt anymore mess cooking them the way I described either. Just less mess in the kitchen getting started.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by benji whitehead:
i'm 45 minutes in and the temp at the lid is about 225. i closed the vents to 25% at 5 minutes in cause the temp was 200, and have gradually opened them all back to 100 open since then. hopefully this will all work out. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hows it going? Remember one thing, WSM'scan go back and forth in temp 10-15* Don't micro manage it! It will come to you with practice.

I think you started them early enough, and then hold them in a cooler. Keep us informed, Dont forget to get some shut eye
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thanks dave. micromanagement of the grill/cooker is something i'm learning not to do, but it's hard.
just checked it at 4hrs30 mins. my temp has risen to 275, so i closed the vents from 50 to 25%. i just added hot water at the 4 hour mark, when the temp was 260 (at which point i closed the vents to 50 from 75).
i'm going to add some more water at 5hrs, i might put cold water in there. i plan on going to bed at that point. i'll get up to check it at about 4AM (i'm throwing a fattie on there for breakfast).
any tips?
 
It sounds like you are FREEKING out, now only 4 hours in to your cook!
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Try this , and remember this is not a competition, it food for the family/friends and you have 12 to 14 hours to go on this, That said, dont touch the lid/ open it or move the vents for the next 1 1/2 hours. But first check your coal you should have 75 to 80% of your unlit coal still in there ( you did use the Minion Method?)
 
naw dave, i'm not freaking out at all (i've done that before). i'm actually quite calm. i know that all is well and will work out. i haven't been yoyoing the temps too much. it's only my 2nd cook. i'm just trying to get the temps to come down a little before i go to bed. i'll check it out at about 4am and see what happens.

at the 5 hour mark i filled the water pan the rest of the way up with cold water, closed the vents to 10%, and i'm off to bed for a while.
 
Ok Man, sounds like you got it, I remember My first over night cook, I slept out in the shop/ garage 6 feet from the WSM
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What a great hobbie we have my friend, talk to ya later
 
checked it at 4am and all was well, meat was 170, lid was 240. got up at 7:30 and the lid temp was 190, meat was 160. i opened up all vents, stirred coals, and propped the door open. i'm almost to 250 already.

i don't know if it will be done by 10.
 
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