Smoking more than one pork butt

[logan]

Can i cook 3, 8lbs pork butts on the smokenator? or will the cook time be a lot more due to the amount of meat in the cooker and more meat to bring to temp? I read a couple things online that said if you do 1 butt or 6 butts it would still take the same amount of time as long as they were evenly spaced apart and had good air flow and consistent heat(smokenator is always consistent)

I am going to have a get together with my family and friends and i wanted to smoke some pork butts for pulled pork. there is going to roughly be 30 people. After reading other posts they say average 1/2 pound of meat per person. Also read pork butts lose about 30% of its weight when cooked. After doing some math it appears i will need to do about 25 lbs worth of meat. Is that a realistic amount of meat to pull off on the smokenator with out it taking a ridiculous amount of time to come to temp?

[ecripps]

My guess is the cook time will be longer, but I'm not sure how much longer. Figure 1.5 hours per pound, but as you state they can spaced apart from each other. You'll need to rotate them so they cook evenly. Please let us know what you find out.

Ed

[ncsmoker]

Hi Logan. I smoked butts for 40 people a couple of years ago. What I did was get 5 & 6 lb. butts so I could maneuver them around the grill and not take as long to cook the larger butts. An 8lb. butt will take about 12 hrs. to cook, while a 6lb. one will only take 9hr at 1.5 hrs. a lb. I also allowed 15 to 30 minutes extra per piece. You will need to rotate the ones furthest from the SN to the SN and I also flip them. I do this every two hrs. when I stir the coals and when I add new coals at the 4hr. & 8hr. points.

A couple of hints: Get a good instant read thermometer so you can check each piece. Second take them off at 185-190 degrees and wrap in heavy duty foil this will allow for carry over cooking to 200 degrees and allow the juices to redistribute thru out the meat.

For wood you might want try some apple wood for part of the smoking. I do a combination of hickory, oak or maple and apple. If you only have hickory cut the smoke at 6hrs. or you can make the butts bitter. If you do a combination you can go 8hrs.

Good luck and hope your family and friends enjoy.

NC

[logan]

Update: I smoked 2 ten lbs butts yesterday. I started at 3am and they were done by noon keeping the temp between 225 and 275, way faster than I had originally planned. When I say done they were both at internal temp of 203. My go to temp after reading amazingribs.com's recommendations. I think they cooked quicker because I foiled them both early on which made the dreaded meat temp stall not so much of a stall.

I watched a YouTube video made by BBQwithFranklin (the famous BBQ joint well known in Texas) and he recommend that when smoking butt you cook it fat side up. Once the fat splits(about 3 hours of smoke) you wrap it tight in foil with a little sprits of apple cider vinegar then continue to
Cook it until the desired temp.

I tell you what, not to toot my own horn or anything, but that was the best pulled pork I had ever had and most of my family agreed. It was tender, super moist and above all delicious smokey pork taste. I have had pulled pork ranging from Missouri, Tennessee, Texas and Carolina and no joint I ever tasted came close to what I did this weekend.

Now the only trick now is to duplicate it again and make it just as good next time. Thanks for
All the recommendations on this thread and others on this awesome smokenator forum. Thank you smokenator best product I have ever purchased for cooking food!!!

[kenny]

Your post reminds me how much difference method makes to time. As we like lots of bark I don't foil wrap butt or ribs. I do it with brisket as that can be tough otherwise. I have had a single butt take 16 hours to hit 203 degrees. As for multiple butts, I cannot see TIME would be increased if the grate temp is kept in the traditional 225 range. I can see where FUEL usage would be increased as you have more slugs of cold meat absorbing the heat. You would have to burn fuel faster to compensate. I agree with the others about rotating the butts as the temp is not constant as you get further from the SN. Also, I know I am in the minority but I remove the fat cap from butts before smoking. I don't know anyone who wants to eat it in the pulled pork. And trimming it after smoking causes a lot of rub to get thrown away. There are lots of "right" ways to smoke- maybe even more than "wrong" ways.