Newbie question #2: Cooking a single pork shoulder


 

Petra Z

TVWBB Member
I see references to cooking two butts/shoulders at a time, but what about only cooking one? How does that affect cook time? I usually wind up cooking for one or two and I don't have a dedicated freezer, only that which is at the bottom of the fridge (and it's an average-sized fridge), so I don't want too much for the freezer.

Thanks in advance!

Petra
 
Agreed, takes about the same amount of time.

If you have a foodsaver, I would recommend looking into doing two and freezing. If you cook two butts, clean them well when you pull, have a couple people over for dinner one night there's not that much to freeze. The foodsaver takes all the air out and it won't take up that much freezeer room. Plus, you'll have pulled pork around to eat and it will go quick. Just a thought.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chuck_B:
It's still 1.5/2hrs per. Less meat does create less of a heat sink though so watch the temp. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Just to add to what Chuck posted. As he said, 1-10# but will take about 1.5-2hrs/#...so 15 - 20 hours. 2-10# butts wont take 30-40 hours but still about 15-20 since they are two different pieces. To estimate time don't add total weight in the cooker but use the weight of the smallest butt as a guide to start checking for tender. Also, as he said, more total weight will create more of a heat sink at the start, so it may add some time because it may take a little longer to get up to temp.
 

 

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