The answer here depends on how large the butts are. Assuming that the butts are all the same size, the butts on the lower rack will typically get done just a little bit earlier than the ones on the top rack. But, you will usually have a variety of sizes where you can put the larger ones on the bottom rack and then they should come out pretty darn close to each other. I buy my Boston Butts at Sam's Club and they come in cryovaced 2-Packs. There is almost always one that is close to a pound larger than the other. If I put the smaller one on top, I'm guessing that they would come out pretty darn close to one another based on my memory from the last time that I did this.
I get my pork butts at Sam's. Bought a case to smoke for a surprise birthday party for my wife there three years ago. Don't like the boneless ones at Costco. Speaking of which, someone on this forum or the SI forum said that Costco removes the "skin" off the back of their baby backs. I stopped at mine today to pick up some photos and the meat man said that is NOT true. Just an FYI if you care.
My wife and I are doing some catering and our reputation is getting out there for producing really good smoked meats and sides. So much that we are contemplating a restaurant, kiosk, going to Farmers Markets, etc etc and see if we can make a go of it. My fear is we will lose something going from smoking two butts to 6 or 8. Or from one brisket to 3 or 4. 3 racks of baby backs to 10 or so, you know? I guess that's here nor there, I just hope, if I spend this much money on a smoker, that I will not regret it, even if we just use it for ourselves and never sell another thing.
You can easily two 7-8 pounds butts on one rack. You "may" be able to do 3 per rack (personally I don't think I would do this), but that would be pretty close and they would smoke more like a single piece of meat verses two.
The 3D and 4D each have racks that are about 18" by 22", right? Nope, that's not right. Figured I would look it up. The 3D racks are 14 1/2" x 21 1/2" and the 4D are 18 1/2" x 21 1/2". I believe you are correct that you "might" be able to get 3 butts on a 3D rack, but it would be tight. A better chance with the 4D.
The last time that I smoked 4 butts, the bottom butts jumped out to a big head start and I started to freak out a bit. But, as they moved through the stall the upper two butts caught up to the lower ones and finished probably only 1-2 hours after the bottom ones. I had one of the top butts probed and also one of the bottom ones. I didn't bother rotating. I just took the lower ones out when they were done, double-foil wrapped and placed in my meat cooler with some towels on top for a rest.
Did you drop your probe through the vent or run it out of the door?
For ribs, you should be able to fit three racks (bone-down) per rack and probably 3-4 racks without rotating. Admittedly I have only smoked 4 racks if ribs at one time though. So, I do not have the direct experience as I did on the pork butts. You may want to create a thread on the SI site with this question, as you have a much larger number of SI owners (especially #4 owners) over there that would be able to answer your question with better experience than me.
Thanks, I may give that a shot.
I answered this question about using an
AMNPS over on the SI site and gave you a link to a thread that I had started with my testing along with feedback from some other users.
Sorry I missed that. Will go look, thank you.
If you use quality chunks/chips, you won't have any problems especially in an SI smoker. In fact, chunks are by far my preference. I only use my A-MAZE-N smokers when I cold-smoke. They just aren't necessary for hot/warm smokes. The reason is that the well insulated and oxygen deprived environment of the Smokin-It smokers prevent most flare-ups/combustion that happen in smokers that are not sealed as well. If you use wood from a big box store which is kiln dried, yeah you will probably have some combustion and white acrid smoke. But, if you get some good quality smoking wood chunks that have between 15%-25% moisture, you won't have a problem with using chunks in the SI smokers. Most of us on the SI site have started ordering out wood from
www.smokinlicious.com. The wood is excellent and is very competitively priced with awesome customer service. Each box of wood is moisture tested and noted on a shipping label that is included in the order.
I hate to ask a newbie question, but how long will these chunks you are recommending remain optimal for smoking purposes without catching on fire, etc? And is there a way to store them so they don't lose their moisture? Like vacuum sealing or in a Home Depot type bucket?
My suggestion would be to create a new thread over on the SI site with all of your questions and you will get some really good feedback. This forum is awesome, but if you are looking for specific feedback from actual SI owners, you'll probably get more responses over there by creating a new thread.
THANK YOU so much for taking so much time to answer my questions and try to help. I sincerely appreciate it. My name is Scott, by the way. From Southern California. :)
