Questions on dual grate pork butt cook

[Kevin K.]

I’m going to be doing my first dual grate pork butt cook on my WSM tomorrow night and have a couple of questions.

I’ll be cooking 3 butts weighing a total of 21 lbs. One weighs 5 lbs and the other two weigh 9 and 7 lbs.

From what I’ve read on this board, I should put the 9 pounder on the top grate and the two smaller butts on the bottom. Is this placement correct?

I have a Maverick ET-73. Should I place the food temp probe in the 5 lb butt on the bottom grate assuming it will finish first and then transfer the probe to the largest butt on the top grate, assuming it will finish before the 7 pounder on the middle grate? Finally, should I measure the smoker temp on the bottom grate or the top?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Doug D]

All of your assumptions are correct. Place the cooker thermometer wherever is convenient, bearing in mind the top grate will typically be an average of 15° warmer than the bottom. Given the weights, I would expect the 9 and 7 to finish about the same time, but, as you have also undoubtedly heard, all butts are different.