First pork shoulder smoke—too large?

[Steve Tiilikainen]

My wife just picked up 15 lbs of something called “pork shoulder butt”. Is this actually a butt and a picnic?

A lot of the advice I’ve be been seeing on smoking pork butt has been geared toward 6-8 lb of meat. What I’ve been reading is that larger cuts of meat may have problems with the outer meat drying out before the inner meat arrives at the proper temperature.

Is this a risk with larger cuts? How would you guys smoke this bad boy? What special measures am I going to need to take just based on its size?

 

[Brett-EDH]

That’s a two pack. Two Boston Butts in a single pack, bone removed. Cook one and freeze the second or cut up the second and make another dish besides pulled pork.

 

[Steve Tiilikainen]

I’m… very embarrassed that I didn’t see that myself.

I wonder if I could fit both of these onto the top rack of my 18.5”.

 

[DanHoo]

I’m… very embarrassed that I didn’t see that myself.

I wonder if I could fit both of these onto the top rack of my 18.5”.

I made the same mistake with a Costco 2 pack. No need to be embarrassed.

Two will fit on one rack of the 18.

 

[DanHoo]

Do you have a vacuum sealer? It's great to have smoked shredded pork butt vac sealed in the freezer.

 

[Steve Tiilikainen]

Do you have a vacuum sealer? It's great to have smoked shredded pork butt vac sealed in the freezer.

I do not. I’ll probably watch black Friday sales for one.

 

[Anne M.]

I do not. I’ll probably watch black Friday sales for one.

Zip lock or other plastic bags also work. Just squeeze out as much air as you can and eat it a bit quicker

 

[DanHoo]

here's a little reading for you. Some of the models listed are no longer avail. The Geryon I have has an updated version, and a higher price.

Vacuum Sealer Recommendations needed

The kids have all moved out so we have leftovers now. I can eat pulled pork or brisket twice a day for a week but my wife is not on the same page. Freezing in foil and a freezer rated storage bag don’t work very well. Recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

tvwbb.com

How and why do you use a vacuum sealer, and is it essential for you?

I’ve never had or used a vacuum sealer before, so I don’t know the benefits to having one or what to do with it if I did have one. My wife doesn’t particularly like smoked food (or meat, really), so I have to eat everything right away before it goes bad. Needless to say, smoking a brisket is...

tvwbb.com

and a discussion of vac seal bags

vacuum sealer bag recommendations

I had a vacuum sealer years ago and it died, and recently bought a new one and need more bags. Any recommendations?

tvwbb.com

here are two worth watching. Others might add more

This is very close to the one I have, though I only paid $33 for mine and it is not around $50

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B4W5PMB/?tag=tvwb-20

This one looks pretty good and is also about $50

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N2HE2HD/?tag=tvwb-20

 

[DanHoo]

Zip lock or other plastic bags also work. Just squeeze out as much air as you can and eat it a bit quicker

Definitely, agree. use freezer zip lock, or freeze it in a tupperware, then wrap tightly in saran wrap and then put in a freezer zip lock.

The big benefit of pulled pork in a vac seal bag is you can thaw it by tossing it in a pot of nearly boiling water, shut off the heat and it will be almost up to eating temp before the bag is even opened.

 

[Anne M.]

The big benefit of pulled pork in a vac seal bag is you can thaw it by tossing it in a pot of nearly boiling water, shut off the heat and it will be almost up to eating temp before the bag is even opened.

True that
But in my climate it gets close to eating temperature as soon as you remove it from the freezer

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

Steve, first, welcome to the place where there are no silly questions or observation failures. We have all been there! Now, yes, you can fit two on one rack of the 18, I’ve done it many times. You will want a lot of folks to eat that much pulled pork! The vacuum sealer will be a great addition to the equipment racks, you will start packing things like there’s no tomorrow! have a ton of fun!

 

[MartinB]

No size doesn't matter where the pork butt you're not going to come out dry. In fact I would say the standard size is closer to 10 lb. 6 to 8 is pretty small imo. One guy here did 8 pork butts at once in his wsm18 a few years ago. Stiood them on their edge, 4 on each grate

 

[Jim C in Denver]

I cook that boneless two pack from Costco a couple of times a year. You can tie them up and both will fit on the top rack.

But usually I go another way. Butterfly them (which is mostly done already since the bone is removed) and lay them out flat on the two racks. Cooks a lot faster and gives you a lot more bark. Kind of like the below.

Freezes great in zip lock bags. Lasts a long time and is great for sandwiches, tacos, chilaquiles, etc.

Sometimes, I will smoke one butt and make slow cooker carnitas with the other (also freezes well).

Pork Butt Split In Half - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Pork butt split in half before cooking maximizes dark outside bark & shortens cooking time. This article shows how to do it for best results.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

 

[Bruno]

Yep 2 pack, do those a lotZ live the Costco butts, but, I hate cooking 2. I don’t have bags big enough to freeze em and by the time I’ve gone through a butt I’m good for a couple months.