Smoking Times

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smokewhisperer

Newbie
Original poster
May 27, 2008
12
10
Hello All!

It's been a while since I last posted, but I hope you will forgive my absence.

I need some advice regarding the length of time it will take me to smoke the pork I have for a party this weekend.

I will be smoking 3 pork butts @ approx. 8.5 lbs per butt and 12 racks of spareribs St. Louis style cut. The three butts will be in my smoker and the ribs will be on grills set up for smoking (8 on one grill and 4 on the other).

My question is how long should I smoke the meat?

I know the real answer is how ever long it takes for them to reach an internal temperature that I want (195 degrees for the butts and 180 degrees for the ribs--my preference). However, I need an approximation of how long this will take.

I know the general guideline is approx. 1.5 hours/lb for pork butt and approx 6 hrs for the ribs, but does this remain true for these quantities?

If I have 3 butts in my smoker does that mean I smoke them for 38.25 hrs (1.5 hrs x 25.5 lbs) or 12.75 hrs (1.5 hrs x 8.5 lbs). In other words, should my smoking time be based on combined weight or individual weight?

What about the ribs? Any increase in the length of time there? Should I smoke the ribs on the grill with 8 racks longer?

Any help anyone can provide is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

smokewhisperer
 
I'm still new around here, so take this with a grain o' salt... the approximations are based on individual hunks of meat, not combined (so would be 8.5x1.5... but that's not a real safe way of doing it...

Go off the internal temp... I had a 7-1/2# butt that took over 14 hours from start to finish, and others have had larger that took less...

Hopefully someone here can give you a safe 'guesstimate' to use, but honestly, I'd look at about 6 hrs for the ribs (3-2-1) and go solely off internal temp on the butts (probably going to be 10-14hrs if I had to guess)...

Hope that helps at least a little...

Bill
 
I always find that more meat in the smoker will add some time. I would guesstimate the time for the largest butt and then add 25% to come up with a ball park estimate. Please understand that each piece of meat will cook on it's own schedule. I once had two 7 pound butts started at the same time finish at times that were 2 hours apart. Also for the ribs, more meat cooking will absorb more heat, so I would guess that they will take a bit longer also.

Hope this helps!

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey
 
If you can i'd cook the butts the day before. I always think they taste better the next day anyway.
As for times i'd go with the normal guesstimate of 1.5 hours per lb. Then add at least two or three more hours and maybe another to be sure. So maybe look at 16 - 18 hours. As always though ..... cook to temp.
At least by doing them the day before you won't be so busy on the day of the party so you can enjoy the company more and be less tired.

Check this link for just how long a butt can take even with the best planning!!

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...threadid=19353
 
What teeotee said.
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I've only done one so I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination but I do think it tasted even better the next day. And it was pretty darn good on the day I cooked it! Plus, it is quite a committment of time. Be nice for you to be able to relax at your party.

Dave
 
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