Hi. I was thinking of trying to cook 4 boston butts for pulled pork simultaneously, two on each rack. I did three simultaneously quite awhile ago, and vaguely remember something about difficulty maintaining temp due to the quantity of meat absorbing the heat energy, but it isn't clear. Have any of you cooked four at the same time, and if so, do you have any methods to make it work out well?
Max Boston Butts on a WSM 18"?
- Thread starter Gerry S
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- boston butt pulled pork
You can fit four butts, two on each grate. Assuming you're using Minion Method to fire the WSM, start with 40-50 hot coals and a very full ring of unlit charcoal. Consider going without water and spritzing meat starting at 3 hr mark, this will extend your fuel.
Good luck!
Good luck!
I cooked without water on Thanksgiving (one turkey) for the first time, and found that the temperature soared above 400 degrees and I couldn't get it down. I won't need to worry about that?
What type/brand of charcoal did you use? How much did you use? What method did you use to light it? Was the turkey cold straight out of the fridge or did you let it sit out before it went into the WSM? How did you manage the vent dampers?
Kingsford blue (as always), about 4/5 full, starting with about 25 hot coals minion style, and the turkey was probably out of the fridge 60 minutes before cooking. When using water I usually leave the dampers open about pencil width, but had to close them to quite a bit less without water to keep the heat down. The temp spike occurred after opening up the lid at around the three hour mark. I suspect that all the oxygen that entered increased the heat.
None of that sounds unusual, except the spike in temperature after opening the lid.
How hot was the WSM running before you opened the lid? How long did you have the lid off the cooker? How big was this turkey?
But to get back to the original question, I don't think you'd have this problem when cooking 4 butts. So much meat that it's really going to soak up all that heat. I doubt you'd have a similar spike in temp.
How hot was the WSM running before you opened the lid? How long did you have the lid off the cooker? How big was this turkey?
But to get back to the original question, I don't think you'd have this problem when cooking 4 butts. So much meat that it's really going to soak up all that heat. I doubt you'd have a similar spike in temp.
Well, I started my cook at 6:00 AM today, and followed Chris’s advice. It went pretty well! I found that it was more difficult to regulate the temperature without the water, but it did allow the WSM to run at the required temp. It actually tended to want to run hot, spiking up to 270 on occasion, requiring me to close the dampers almost completely, including the top one a bit, and that brought it down. The huge spikes in temperature after I had the lid off, due to the increased oxygen I expect, occurred again, but I found that if I just keep the smoker covered and the dampers sufficiently closed, it goes back down over time. I think that last time, I panicked and took the lid off to try to “fix“ things, which just made things worse, adding still more oxygen. I am finding that a philosophy of “don’t sweat it” and putting up with some temp inconsistency tends to make the smoking experience much more enjoyable without affecting the end product too much.
From what I have read, pork butts should be wrapped after they reach 165°, but since my four butts were only at around 157° after six hours, I opted to wrap them
at that time so they would not absorb too much smoke, then they went into the oven where they will still be for a few more hours. Did I do the right thing?
What I would like to try this time is to let the butts sit for an hour after finishing so they can absorb the juice from the foil pans I have each of them in. Then I thought I would drain the pans into a bowl, spoon off the grease, then add the juice back in to mix when the pork is pulled. In my experience, there is a lot of flavor in the juice due to it being in contact with the spices, so I don’t want to lose that.
Thanks for the tips!
From what I have read, pork butts should be wrapped after they reach 165°, but since my four butts were only at around 157° after six hours, I opted to wrap them
at that time so they would not absorb too much smoke, then they went into the oven where they will still be for a few more hours. Did I do the right thing?
What I would like to try this time is to let the butts sit for an hour after finishing so they can absorb the juice from the foil pans I have each of them in. Then I thought I would drain the pans into a bowl, spoon off the grease, then add the juice back in to mix when the pork is pulled. In my experience, there is a lot of flavor in the juice due to it being in contact with the spices, so I don’t want to lose that.
Thanks for the tips!
Lew Newby
R.I.P. 1/26/2024
When the meat is probe tender I double wrap in foil and put them in a cooler with towels above and below for 1 to 5 hours. That helps the liquid redistribute inside and helps the finished product. I pour the liquid from the pans into a fat separator but any container will work. I also reuse the drippings. Enjoy.
timothy
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Sure. I don't go by temp. More like time at a certain cooker temperature and when the color looks good and the bark looks set.
I think165 is when it reaches the stall? But I don't temp butts.
Timothy F. Lewis
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Lew speaks the truth again! I’m finding myself going more by feel than defined temps. It’s less stressful, I’ve also learned to start three hours earlier than I used to. If the butts are done early, foil, towel, and leave them in a cooler until feasting hour! Less stress, better party!
Tony-Chicago
TVWBB Wizard
Great job. We want an update too. The oven is a great reliever. Do not hesitate to use the oven. Clearing space on the smoker for other things..
The stall can vary in temp. Want to get the bark set, but what temp is a bit harder. As above, experience knows when the combination of temp and time allows. 150 to 170 is a big range. I usually wrap a bit early cause of time and space. But there a people here who routinely let it ride, and their pulled pork is moister and better than any of mine.
Could use more info on using the fat drippings and such. Mostly I save it for after I pull the stuff then poor over when I serve buffet. But for smaller cooks not so much. Thermometer and fat separator are worth twig*.
Mustard sauce, or a good finishing sauce can help too. My mustard sauce is good. My finishing sauce... well one out of two
The stall can vary in temp. Want to get the bark set, but what temp is a bit harder. As above, experience knows when the combination of temp and time allows. 150 to 170 is a big range. I usually wrap a bit early cause of time and space. But there a people here who routinely let it ride, and their pulled pork is moister and better than any of mine.
Could use more info on using the fat drippings and such. Mostly I save it for after I pull the stuff then poor over when I serve buffet. But for smaller cooks not so much. Thermometer and fat separator are worth twig*.
Mustard sauce, or a good finishing sauce can help too. My mustard sauce is good. My finishing sauce... well one out of two
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Kevin L (NKY)
TVWBB Diamond Member
I used water in the pan for the first few cooks always hated clean up,so messy. Then was reading about a dry foiled pan much better and in my region high humidity easy to control but the foiled pan was still messy, then went to the clay water tray for flower pots and it was easy to foil ,and clean up, it also soaked up a even amount of heat for better controlled cooks.
jaystraw
TVWBB Member
I had an issue with soaring temps in my 10 year old WSM. I could not figure it out until I found a pinhole in the bottom of the charcoal bowl that had rusted through from the inside due to damaged enamel. It was covered from the charcoal dust and you couldn’t even tell. Patched it with lava lock for the short term, but had Weber send me a new bowl. Probably off-topic but thought I would mention it just in case you hadn’t checked the bowl.