Pork Butt 16 Pounder, what would you do?


 
T

Tom (Gunner)

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Hey All,

Going to attempt my first pork butt on the WSM this weekend for a party. Went to costco and picked up a 16 pound pork butt. I wanted to do an overnight cook and have this sucker ready to pull around 4PM the next day...but since it's 16 pounds I am not sure how to schedule this logistically! Should I cut it in half? I am a little bit intimidated because it's my first one and it's one of the main dishes of the party. I don't mind it being done a few hours before I am ready to pull it, I will foil it and wrap in a towel and put it in a cooler to rest. Should I go low and slow overnight then when I wake up maybe get it going to a higher temp? What would you experienced people out there do?

Thanks in advance!
 
16#...a pork butt? It's either two or they lied and it's a pork shoulder. It is normally 1.5-2hrs per. If you're looking for pulling it at 4pm and you're doing L&S, do it over night. A big thing though...is it a pork shoulder or two butts?
 
Originally posted by Chuck_B:
16#...a pork butt? It's either two or they lied and it's a pork shoulder. It is normally 1.5-2hrs per. If you're looking for pulling it at 4pm and you're doing L&S, do it over night. A big thing though...is it a pork shoulder or two butts?
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It is kyro packed, but I didn't open it. And aren't pork shoulder and pork butts the same thing? Is that the dumbest question ever? Should I assume there are two butts in there? I have never bought one from costco before only small ones from local grocery stores...I THINK it said pork shoulder on the package but will have to look when I get home
 
Originally posted by Tom (Gunner):
It is kyro packed, but I didn't open it. And aren't pork shoulder and pork butts the same thing?
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A pork butt (aka "Boston Butt") is a pork shoulder blade roast, not the same as a pork shoulder, which I think is also called a "picnic".
If you bought pork "butts" and it's a cryo weighing 16 lbs, there are more than likely 2 butts in the cryo each weighing about 8 lbs.
 
Originally posted by Clark "Harbormaster" Hodgson:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tom (Gunner):
It is kyro packed, but I didn't open it. And aren't pork shoulder and pork butts the same thing?
Click to expand...
A pork butt (aka "Boston Butt") is a pork shoulder blade roast, not the same as a pork shoulder, which I think is also called a "picnic".
If you bought pork "butts" and it's a cryo weighing 16 lbs, there are more than likely 2 butts in the cryo each weighing about 8 lbs. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Wow, learn something new everyday on this website...I always thought they were the same! I will have to look at the package when I get home...If it's a pork shoulder do you cook it the same as a butt? Can you shred a pork shoulder like a butt?
 
The butchers I buy from have always told me pork butts and pork shoulders are the same thing. All I can tell you is a pork butt or shoulder, whichever I've been doing on my 18 1/2 in Weber Mountain Smoker takes a long time. The largest I've done was 9 pounds and I did it at about 235 and it took about 12 hours if I recall correctly. However, I like to pull the pork as soon as it comes off the pit.

Good luck, it's good eating.
 
Sounds like you have a whole shoulder which is the butt and picnic combined. This is what I usually get from my local butcher. Last 13# one I had took close to 18 hours to cook. I was cooking in the 250 -275 range.
 
If you're planning this cook for a party - then if I were you, I would open that sucka' up early enough to cope with whatever is inside
(don't surprise yourself in the morning-of):

If it is one big piece, then starting it in the morning, the day of, may not be a good idea. It takes a L-O-N-G time for the low heat to penetrate a chunk of meat that big. At that point, maybe you can cut it into two even-weight chunks or start at least 24-hours before you'll want to serve it.
Two 8-pounders does not usually take a lot longer than one 8-pounder, but it should take a lot less time than a single 16-pounder.
(Plus, you get more of the tasty bark.
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If it turns out to be two mid-size pieces, then starting EARLY in the morning (like, on the smoker by 4-5 am) may be an option.

Either way, if you're done early (and this is what you should WANT to do), hot butts / shoulder keeps its temperature for a LONG time when double-wrapped in foil and kept in an old cooler with a couple of old towels / old blankets. Then, you can keep 'em hot and pull them just in time to serve like the barbeque-hero that we all strive to be!

So, size it up and then plan accordingly - Hope this helps
 
Originally posted by George David:
The butchers I buy from have always told me pork butts and pork shoulders are the same thing. All I can tell you is a pork butt or shoulder, whichever I've been doing on my 18 1/2 in Weber Mountain Smoker takes a long time. The largest I've done was 9 pounds and I did it at about 235 and it took about 12 hours if I recall correctly. However, I like to pull the pork as soon as it comes off the pit.

Good luck, it's good eating.
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Hey George you might want to find a new butcher lol
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Tom let us know what it is when you get home. Even in the kryo if it's two butts you should be able to see a seem where they were slapped together.
 
Tom, I smoked 6 of those from Costco (2 per package) Memorial Day weekend on the WSM. Mine took 16 hours, but it should be a little quicker with 2.



I had a PP sammy every day last week for lunch with the leftovers. Go for it and enjoy!
 
I've never seen Costco sell pork picnic roasts; it's always two pork butts per package.

[ETA] Here in Texas, you can also find "pork for carnitas", which is nothing more than small packages of boneless pork butt. They're great for sausage making.
 
Thanks for all the input guys so far! This is why I love this forum
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Ok, so I took a look at the package when I got home, and it says Boneless Pork "shoulder" 16 LBS. It is frozen solid so I am waiting for it to thaw to see if it is actually whole. It kinda looks like it's split in two but it's hard to tell because it's one big pork ice cube right now....
 
It could be the whole shoulder which includes the butt and the picnic ie the entire front leg. If it was from the rear, it would be called a fresh ham and they run the same size - 16 - 20+ pounds. I used to be able to get them whole like that from BJs but now they only sell butts and picnics seperately. And picnics are about .20 a lb cheaper. They do smoke up and pull nicely.
 
I should know tonight what I'm dealing with..it was still too frozen to tell last night...I will open the package tonight and let you all know!
 
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