multiple butt cook time


 
H

Hunter Lewis

TVWBB Member
So I am planning an overnighter with a couple of butts. I want the food to be ready to pull off around 5 or 6 tomorrow night, if early, I can always rest the meat in a cooler. For a single butt, it is 1-1.5 hrs per pound. Does this increase for 2 butts at once? thanks all. also, how much wood is about right? I always fear I am going to ruin the meat, but I love the smoky flavor.

smoke on

hunter
 
Jim,

thanks for the quick response. It is slightly breezy, about 55 degrees, and my pit temp is going to be 225-250. the butts are both around 8 or 9 lbs. in the past they have taken 13 or 14 hrs, but im cooking at 6000 ft. I love how religiously you check this board. It is always nice to have the input of a barbecue pioneer.

p.s. how do you make the best ribs ever?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> also, how much wood is about right? I always fear I am going to ruin the meat, but I love the smoky flavor. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

IMO it would be very hard to over smoke a butt unless you're using some really strong wood for your smoke flavor. i.e. mesquite or say black walnut.
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I second dale. I have taken to using 18 hrs as a start when planning a butt cook. I regularly cook two at a time, and am usually not too far off the plan. That usually works out around 2 hrs per pound. Even when I cook 4, that ends up being a good starting point.

Rick
 
Sweet dancing Jehovah!

It is 815 and I just woke up to check on things. Last checkup as around 430, but in my semi-conscious state, i forgot to add more water to my water pan! Temp at the lid was at 330!!! A few bottles of cold water to the pan and 2 totally closed vents and we're moving the right direction. How much might this change my overall cooking time? Also, I still have unburned wood chunks in the fire, should i pull them out so that the meat doesnt get too smoky?

Hunter
 
Hunter
calm down , you can't hardly hurt a butt , trust me I know as little as anybody on this board and everyone I've cooked so far has been Super . Cut the air back some add some cold water to the pan and drink some coffee. it will work out. Steve

ps ;one time my door fell off and my thermometer goes to 350 , it was all the way around the bottom and back up to 150 . I put the door back on cut the air and it was fine . I figured it used up some charcoal but that was about it .
 
Hunter

With the temp spike, you may have a somewhat shorter cook but you're not likely to notice a discernable difference in the butt. Do watch the internal temp of the butt and take off by 195. The higher heat might give a little more and tougher bark, but holding in the foil for several hours will soften it.

Paul
 
Hunter - how did things turn out?

I've had some pretty nasty temp spikes too. If it occurs in the plateau stage, I've noticed that my cook shortens by hours (because it quickly bumps that sucker out of the plateau). If it happens early on, it doesn't seem to have too much effect. But all of that depends on how long the spike lasted.

The other thing I've noticed with temp spikes - like Paul mentions, is tougher bark, due to the sugar caramelizing.

all that said, I bet your butts turned out great.
 
I having same trouble trying to decide about when to put the butts on and take off. I am taking them to a friends. I have to leave the house on the day I start cooking by noon so I will need to get the butts on by 10 am to have stable by time I leave. I am taking them over the next day at noon also and will eat around 2. The butts will be about 9 lbs each. I will be buying them at Sams so I will try to get the biggest I can. This leaves about 26 hrs between when I start butts and when I leave with them. They should take around 18hrs to cook. What should I do with them for the 8 hours when done until I leave?
 
I think 8 hrs is too long to hold in foil, etc. I would remove when finished cooking, place in HD foil/cooler for at least 2 hrs, pull, place in zip lock freezer bags in the frig and reheat at my friend's house.

Paul
 
Just cooked 5 butts that finished up yesterday. 3 on one WSM and 2 on the other. I also needed to serve by 6:00 PM last night. Butts went on at 6 PM figuring on an 18 - 20 hour cook. At 10 AM the two butts were done. The other three I pulled off at 1 PM because I had to be at my destination by 2. These temped out at 180 degrees. They were all foil wrapped in a cooler wrapped with towels. Upon arriving the foiled butts were put in 200 degree oven until they were served. The first butts I took out at 10 were still HOT at 3 PM. I think the added heat from the other three in the cooler helped.
 
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