how much/how should I cook 3 questions


 
C

Craig Lax

New member
1. I'm having about 20 adults adn 15 kids over this weekend. Doing ribs (spares) and pork butts for pulled pork.
i was thinking of doing two butts and 6 racks. Will this be enough? We have dogs/burgers/sides but don't want to run out of food.

2. Also, how should I cook them? Put the butts on first (bottom rack) for 2-3 hours then get the ribs on and cook for 6hours (total cook time for butts 8-9hours ribs around 6). CAn you fit six racks (st. louis style, coiled up) on the top grate?

3. Finally, Does adding hickory wood chunk to the fire for the ribs, after smoking and cooking butts for 2/3 hours effect the butts? What I mean is, will smoking the ribs after the butts have already gone through a smoke dry them out, make them bitter, too somkey?

thanks for any advice/suggestions

Craig
 
I'll give you my 2 cent's worth. When I cook Butts the cook time is usually 16 hours +. Then I would let them rest at least an half an hour. If you put the butts in a cooler to rest you can hold them for 3-4 hours while the ribs cook. Spares can go 6-7 hours. I'd get the butts going the night before and plan, or hope they are done 2 hours before everyone eats.
 
Depends on the size of your WSM and the size of the butts. I have a 22" and I can fit 3 medium butts on one grate (6-7 lb butts). If you can, I would make 3 butts, since they go faster than you think and make for great leftovers.

I've never coiled ribs but again, if your WSM is the 22" I would think you could get 6 racks on.

I'd also suggest, if you have not already, checking out some of the modifications Chris lays out on the site to allow for 3 or 4 grates. If you're able to get even a third grate you can take out all question of having enough room.

If it were me, I'd put the butts on top. I like the idea of that delicious pork fat dripping down and basting my ribs.

I'm in the minority here, I am sure, but I think "too smokey" is hard to do. You might, perhaps, get a little more smoke flavor into your butts than you originally intended, but to me that's better than not having enough (or any) smokey flavor in your ribs. Butts are very forgiving as well, so even if your bark comes out too strong on the smokey flavor, it'll be mixed in and will have only a little effect on the pork once it's pulled and mixed.

Hope this helps.
 
My suggestion would be to make things easy on yourself and smoke the butts ahead of time and reheat. I've done this with great success.
 
Originally posted by Jason Pedu:
I'll give you my 2 cent's worth. When I cook Butts the cook time is usually 16 hours +.

16 hours?? Wow, that's a long time. Do you spray them to keep the outside from drying out? how big are the butts? What is the best cut for pulled pork? is it the butt or the sholder?

thanks

Craig
Click to expand...
 
If I understand correctly, the shoulder is the entire section, consisting of the butt and the picnic ham. The butt is generally more revered for pulled pork, and is certainly more popular, but there are plenty of folks who prefer the ham end for BBQ.

If you're looking for a sure-fire bet, do the butt. If you're looking to experiment a little and expand your experience, try out a ham.
 
Thanks. That's what I thought I had read.
How much time on average to cook one/two? I know the meat tells you when your done, but what's an average guess? 8hrs? 10?16?

thanks

Craig
 
I did two 5lb butts over the weekend and they took about 10 hours. The only other time I did butts they were a bit larger and took about 12-13 hours. If you get some big ones, like an 8-9 lb range I would expect 14-16.

Both in my own limited experience and from reading, there's a lot of wiggle room, but they stay warm for a long time and can be tossed back onto the smoker an hour or so before to reheat.
 
A general guideline for butts is 1.5-2 hours per pound of meat. However, having said that, I must say that I've had some that took almost three hours per pound, and some that took about an hour per pound. But 1.5-2 hours per pound is a decent guideline for planning purposes.
 
The problem as I see it is that butts aren't done...until they're done. an 8lb butt may take 9 hours today and tomorrow an 8lb-er will take 13 (this has happened to me), so I've learned the hard way not to try and be too fine in my time calculations. Unless you're very experienced you risk making life too complicated, imho. i would do the butts before hand, pull and vacuum freeze and reheat when you need them the day of the party, that leaves you free to concentrate on the ribs.
 
what I have done with my butts is started them around midnight, and then when I wake up in the morning I put whatever else I am smoking on (chicken, ribs or turkey).

Whenever the butts are done, I pull them off and double wrap them in foil and stick them in a thick styrofoam cooler (courtesy of Omaha Steaks) while the rest of the meat is finishing. Once the other stuff is almost done, I put the wrapped butts back on for a few minutes to heat them back up.

Doing it ahead of time and freezing/reheating isn't a bad plan at all, but if that's not an option, don't be afraid of sticking them in a cooler for a few hours.
 
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