Small butt question


 
T

T Bounds

TVWBB Super Fan
I'm planning to satisfy the family with a few racks of baby backs for the 4th, but I'd like to smoke a small butt at the same time for my own cravings. I've done so many ribs that I'm confident starting around lunch I'll have delicious ribs for supper. What I don't know is:

I'd like to do a small butt, 3 or 4 pounds max. If I start it in morning will such a small butt dry out too much by the time it's done? I'm used to 7 to 9 pound butts that work great, but a small butt that only takes 7 or 8 hours is brand new to me. Any thoughts from experience out there? Thanks for any replies, and happy 4th to you all.
 
Great question. I too will be doing a few racks of ribs and will be cooking a small but too. But this will be my first butt so I'm looking forward to hearing some responses.

Good luck.

Steve
 
I am by no means an expert, but I usually do smaller butts rather than big ones (to date anyways). I find the 3-4 lbs butt tends to be done in 6-7 hours, then I pull and rest. No problem for drying out for me anyways.. Works the same just shorter
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Smoke em and show em
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Thanks, Jeremy. I got the 4 lb butt on at 8 this morning, ran the wsm at 300, and it's looking great. It's currently hanging at 187, in great shape for supper. Plus the two racks of baby backs I put on at 1 will be nice and tender by supper, too. I'll let you know about the juiciness later when I taste it. Here's hoping it is great! Happy 4th.
 
Anything that size 'round here is a HALF butt, and they can easily take well over 2hr/lb, cooking low-n-slow (235-ish*) if you don't wrap in foil to speed up the cook.

If it was me, I'd wrap in foil to both speed up the cook and help retain moisture. Bigger typically means more moist, but the trade-off is that the smaller ones will have more flavor from the smoke and rub, due to increased surface area.
 
Dave, you're right. It turned out great, and took almost exactly 2 hours/lb. It was not as moist as my bigger butts, but the flavor from the rub (from Weber's Big Book of Grilling) was spot on and provided lots of flavor.
The bark was incredible. I made a hybrid eastern/western NC sauce, adding a little honey, and the sauce saved the day. The baby backs finished up in a frog choking rain, and the family enjoyed it all. By the way, yes it was a half butt, as I just wanted a 3-4 pounder and the great people at Fresh Market cut a bigger one in half for me. It's great to live near a Fresh Market!

Happy 4th all!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by T Bounds:
Dave, you're right. It turned out great, and took almost exactly 2 hours/lb. It was not as moist as my bigger butts, but the flavor from the rub (from Weber's Big Book of Grilling) was spot on and provided lots of flavor.
The bark was incredible. I made a hybrid eastern/western NC sauce, adding a little honey, and the sauce saved the day. The baby backs finished up in a frog choking rain, and the family enjoyed it all. By the way, yes it was a half butt, as I just wanted a 3-4 pounder and the great people at Fresh Market cut a bigger one in half for me. It's great to live near a Fresh Market!

Happy 4th all! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sounds like you had a great cook, and learned a thing or two along the way...Can't beat THAT.
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Regarding the bark, one technique that's been used with good success on charcoal smokers is to "butterfly" the butt, giving you more surface area for even more smoke flavor and bark to mix in with the meat.

Glad it all turned out good, and happy 4th back at ya!
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